Suite101 Event- The One That Got Away

Often my partner, Herb and I will fish on Crooked Nose Bay. This is a body of water that empties into Lake Ontario. Throughout the year many species of fish enter Crooked Nose Bay to spawn. Lake Ontario has about 75 different species of fish ranging in size from a few ounces to 50 pounds.

One fish Herb and I target often are white bass. This is a hybrid species of fish. The white bass is an under fished and often ignored species of fish. It is a fish for all seasons, all anglers and all fishing methods. This is the Rodney Dangerfield of fresh water bass. Whatever your favorite method of fishing, it will be successful for White Bass fishing. It is a greedy feeder all year long and least affected by a cold front.

One prey fish that has white bass on its menu is the northern pike. In the early months after the white bass spawn the northern pike move in to feed heavily on the smaller white bass. This particular day Herb and I were fishing for white bass. We knew that the northern pike may roam for food so we tied on ten pound test line instead of the usual six pound test line.

Both shad and white bass are wanderers. In spring time the shad spawn about a week or so before White Bass. The shad move to the stream arms followed by the White Bass. Some White Bass spawn near bridges, piers and banks with high walls and points. A rod, reel, six pound test line, shad minnows or night crawlers and a bobber are the tools of the trade. Cast it near structure and the white bass will take your presentation.

After launching our boat we decided to fish near the banks with a high wall. We forgot there was a deep hole near the wall a excellent hiding place for northern pike. We knew the current would run along the wall so we anchored out from the wall and set up to cast toward the wall.

Shad and white bass are current oriented. The plankton floats with the direction of the current, the shad eat the plankton and the white basses eat the shad. The location of the shad determines where you will find the white bass. The white bass are nearby usually on the surface or beneath the shad.

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