White Bass Fishing

Welcome to our White Bass Fishing Home Page

White bass look similar to striped bass, however, they are much smaller than striped bass. White bass are silver, but they have horizontal black stripes that are unbroken above the lateral line. The lines below the lateral line are barely visible and are irregular. The horizontal stripes on a white bass usually stop just short of the tail.

White bass are fun to catch as they can often be found in large numbers. With most fish in the 10 to 14 inch range on many waters, this is more of an action game, so break out your finesse gear and have some fun. There are some places down south that routinely grow some very large white bass with fish up to 18 inches being possible, but this is not the norm for most bodies of water.

White Bass Fishing Tips

Quick Links

Baits, Rigs & Techniques	Tackle Recommendations

Best Fishing Rigs	Fishing Line Recommendations
Best Fishing Techniques	Fishing Rod & Reel Recommendations
Best Live Baits
Best Lures	Time of Day & Throughout the Seasons

Catch More & Bigger Fish	Seasons (Spring thru Winter)
	Time of Day
Catch Big White Bass
Catch Lots of White Bass	Water & Weather

Kitchen Table	Lakes & Reservoirs
	Rivers
Eating White Bass	Weather

Habitat

These fish usually are found in large bodies of water, particularly reservoirs. White bass are known for their spring migrations up the rivers and streams that are connected to the lakes or reservoirs. Some of these migrations can be quite large with thousands of white bass. When the white bass are running, it is very obvious because you will see lots of anglers in the rivers as they attempt to fill their coolers with some fresh fish. Out in the lake or reservoir, white bass will usually just roam the open waters as they chase schools of baitfish around the lake. You may find them in just a few feet of water or out very deep. White bass will move with the bait, so it can be a constant guessing game if you are targeting these fish on a large body of water.

White Bass are a Schooling Fish

White bass are also known for schooling up on bait fish such as shad in open water. At times, huge schools of white bass will push hundreds of shad to the surface. Anglers can typically see birds circling above the action as huge numbers of shad will be boiling on the surface as they try to evade the hungry white bass. This usually occurs in the summer and extends into the fall on many bodies of water.

White Bass Love Smaller Lures

Smaller lures work great for white bass, so you don’t have to use live bait to catch them. Smaller jigs, spinners, swimbaits and crankbaits work great for white bass. Just try to imitate a smaller bait fish and it will probably work.

White Bass Love Minnows & Other Smaller Bait Fish

White bass feed heavily on minnows and smaller bait fish, so go with the real thing or use baits that resemble smaller minnows.

White Bass Make Huge Spawning Runs Up Rivers

The spring spawning runs can be huge and if you time it right, you may be able to catch huge numbers of them. Anglers report catching more than 100 white bass per day when the big spawning runs are going on.

White Bass Feed Aggressively From Spring through Fall

White bass are fairly easy to catch because they will eat aggressively from spring through fall. Find the fish and get the right lures in front of them and you’ll probably catch some white bass.

Featured White Bass Fishing Destinations

There are so many good places to fish for white bass if you’re just looking to put good numbers of them in the boat. However, there are not nearly as many destinations that give anglers the opportunity to catch big white bass. Learn more about the best destinations for numbers and big fish.

Best White Bass Fishing Destinations