UL State Park White Bass

[MWScott72]

Hit UL State Park yesterday for WB, and they didn't disappoint.  It took about 1.5 hours to find them, but once we did, they were stacked up.  Most were males, so the females are still on their way.  Best lures were small spinners with gold blades although silver worked well too.  Standard cappie jigs and curly tails worked too but not as well as the spinners.

My only regret is that now I have a 2.5 hour cleaning session, but tacos and ceviché on the backside will be awesome!!

As an aside, I fished the same location last Wed night and the fish weren't in, so if you miss them one day, don't give up.

[wiperhunter2]

Wow, you are going to be busy for a while, nice haul. FYI: the method you used to add your pic is not allowed, it is only for adding PDF files. I fixed the pic but in the feature, please use the procedure at this link:
https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/showthre...id=1101135

[MWScott72]

Thanks Wiperhunter - I was trying to figure it out but admittedly got frustrated early. It won't be quite as bad as it looks since the fish in the soft tote are a friend's haul. It will be bad enough though! ??

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks Wiperhunter - I was trying to figure it out but admittedly got frustrated early.  It won't be quite as bad as it looks since the fish in the soft tote are a friend's haul.  It will be bad enough though! ??

OK, that makes it a little easier, are you using an electric fillet knife? You might be able to find a YouTube video that will give you some tips on making the job quicker.

[MWScott72]

Yes - electric fillet knife for the overall fillet then a standard knife to cut out the rib cage. Ended up cleaning 80 fish, and from start to finish (fillet, bag, clean up), it took 2.25 hrs.

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Meant to post this yesterday but forgot. Last Friday while my friend and I were slaying them, a couple guys just 20-30 yds away were smelling a skunk. An older gentleman came over to look at what we were using, I gave him my rod and told him to catch a few...which he immediately did. He was beside himself how it was so easy on my rod but he was getting blanked on his. A couple observations:

1) I was using 4 lb test with low memory, he was using 12 lb test with a TON of memory. The fish were mid-channel, so a 30+ yard cast was needed to get to the fish. He could only cast 15-20 yds with his rig.

2) Who needs 12 lb test to catch a 10" fish? Spawning WB are pretty aggressive, but were fish getting spooked by the rope he was dragging thru the water?

3) His spinner was HUGE! At least 1/4 oz maybe bigger. The fish were biting 1/16 oz size offerings. If your chosen lure/bait isn't producing, go smaller. This seems to work for me more often than not...but no always.

Catching fish seems to be a science - there's a few sure fire ways that usually produce and then alot of "testing theories" to try and figure out other ways when the tried and true methods fail. Lighter line and smaller baits are a couple of my go-to methods. Alot of the time it works, but sometimes it doesn't which leads to alot of headscratching.