White Bass in the Fall

While the spring spawn can be a great time to catch a trophy white bass the fall season is also a great time for a big one. They are fat from feeding for the spawn, and full of eggs, adding to their weight considerably and in the fall, they gorge on baitfish to prepare for winter. Their bellies are fat, and the fish are heavy. Look for baitfish and you will find the white bass. Open water will be in play until the shad begins to move shallow. When the shad are shallow casting a swimbait or crankbait works great but don’t overlook a small topwater bait, especially when you see them on the surface.

My favorite way to catch white bass anytime is with my LiL TUFFY Swimbait. There is nothing better than a swimbait strike and they love the LiL Tuffy. On a trip to Lake Washington in Mississippi we caught many white bass over 4 pounds. These were the biggest white bass I had ever seen and several were less than a pound away from the state record. With the number of white bass over 4 pounds I can easily say that Lake Washington could produce the state record white bass that has been held since 1979.

All of the big white bass that day came on the LiL TUFFY Swimbait and they loved the orange one. The fish were up shallow and were tucked tight to wood. Lake Washinjgton has plenty of targets to throw to and letting the bait drop into some of the holes around submerged cover generated massive strikes and a great fisht. We were there to catch a few crappie but when we found out that the white bass were biting we switched gears. It was a blast.

White bass are prime targets for fun and food. Some say they like white bass as well as crappie. I would say catching white bass over 4 pounds is not going to be a regular occurrence on most lakes but if you find your way to Lake Washington in Mississippi be prepared for a great time.