White bass

The people's pelagic

White bass (sand bass in Texas) are the democratic fishery of the middle of America: prolific, aggressive, schooling by the hundred and famous for spring runs that fill riverbanks with lawn chairs. A single unbroken stripe, a 3-pound ceiling and zero subtlety: when whites are in, everyone catches them.

Runs, schools and birds

The calendar has two headline acts. The spring spawning run (water hitting 55-60F) sends them up every tributary: small jigs and spinners in the current. Summer-fall turns them pelagic: schools corral shad on flats and humps at dawn, often revealed by working birds: run to the splashes, throw anything silver, repeat. Between windows, troll small cranks until you find the school.

The mistakes that cost fish

Arriving late to the run: white bass runs peak in days, not weeks: watch temperature, not the calendar. Casting into the middle of surface schools (drive-bys sink them): cast past and retrieve through. And oversizing lures: 1/8-1/4 oz matches the forage: bigger 'to reach fish' usually reaches nothing.

Temperature range

Tackle setups

Seasonal playbook

Month by month

Best waters for white bass

Every water we cover where this species headlines, each with a fresh daily report.

Common questions