White Bass - It was a good run!
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 4:38 pm
I always try to make my way up to the local river for the white bass run, and this year the Nueces was so low that it required a bit of searching to find suitable spots. It quickly became clear that power boats could not launch or navigate in the river, so I looked forward to the quiet times fishing without the big crowds. After putting in the miles to locate good structure, I was relieved when a few fish started to show up in the shallow spots. The fish often moved and were not usually aggressive in biting, but that's all part of the fun. I knew fish were in the river somewhere, so I would keep searching and casting into every likely looking spot until I located them. Many trips featured over a hundred fish being released, and a little Schminnow style fly that I was tying up worked great. It pushes a little bit of water on the retrieve, so I could get attention by making sharp, short strips or get a different kind of attention with smooth and slower strips of the fly line. One approach would work for a while and then go cold, so I'd switch it up and continue catching fish. Winds became a problem for the 2wt a few times, so I switched to the 4 wt and casted into the wind as needed.
The run is just about over now and I managed 1,031 fish on the fly. Not a bad year for such low water levels!
The run is just about over now and I managed 1,031 fish on the fly. Not a bad year for such low water levels!