White bass fishing addictive

Jim Nelson of Springfield is in his element because the white bass are hitting early in the morning as well as later in the day.

Nelson fishes for the whites by watching places where the fish are chasing shad. When he sees action in the water, he throws a silver spoon into the feeding fish and the fun starts.

Recently, while fishing for crappie on Pomme de Terre, Nelson saw the water churning in a cove and knew the white bass were on a feeding frenzy.

“I rushed into the cove and cast a silver spoon and caught seven whites before they moved,” he said. “It was fast action and what I had been waiting for.”

Nelson and Bob Smith of Blue Springs were fishing for white bass on Pomme and Stockton for years before Nelson moved to Springfield, but when the whites start hitting, they get together for some great fishing.

“We used to fish Table Rock or Bull Shoals when the whites made their spring spawning runs and then again about this time of year when they were chasing shad early and late in the day on one of the big impoundments,” Smith said. “The fast action when you find a school of big white bass is about as good as it gets.

“For years, I have caught a lot of whites in Martin’s cove on the Pomme. An old fishing buddy, Tom Oliver of Kansas City, and I would catch what seemed like a ton of whites every late August through October. Oliver is gone now, but every time I fish the Pomme, I can almost see him laughing as he hauls in a white bass.”

Fishing for white bass gets addictive. Just ask Rod Parker of Des Moines, Iowa.

Parker remembers when they put white bass in the Pomme and, in just a few short years, there were many whites caught over the lake in a few hours.

“They really took hold,” Parker said. “Today you might see an angler have a fish on every cast.

“The fish have really kept anglers busy starting this time of year.”

Parker also fishes for the whites on Truman and Stockton, where he has taken a lot of whites over the years.

It’s no wonder that Nelson, Parker and Smith hit the lakes early and late during this time of the year for some fast action. While those white bass are feeding and you find out just where, the action can be fast and furious.

As Nelson said, “Not only are the whites fun to catch and can give you all the action you want, they also make for some good eating.”

Although spring is the time when most anglers think white bass, you might catch them at any time of the year.

“I start off the season catching whites in April or even March and continue through November,” White said. “Some of my best days are in the fall when the fish are hitting shad on top. When you find them, you couldn’t ask for more action.”

Fishing reports are starting to show that the white bass are hitting early and late in the day on several of the big lakes. Using Roadrunners, spoons or jigs, nice strings of whites are showing up at the local marinas.