White Bass.
This underappreciated game fish is a great fly rod quarry, especially during the spring spawning run.
[by Phil Monahan] The white bass (Morone chrysops) hails from parts of the Mississippi and Ohio drainages where fly fishing was never the predominate method of angling, as well as from the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest, which are inhabited by other, sexier species such as trout, steelhead, and smallmouth bass.
But because the species is easy to stock, grows quickly, and is a prolific spawner, it has been introduced from coast to coast, and a small cadre of anglers enjoys targeting the hard-fighting fish, especially during the springtime spawning run.
This is the best time for fly fishers to strip or swing baitfish patterns to intercept schools of fish on the move.
If you time things right, you can run into huge numbers of fish during the spring spawning run, allowing you to hook and fight fish until your arms are tired.
More commonly, they are called wipers, whiterock bass, or simply hybrids.
A hybrid is usually more football-shaped and has more distinct stripes than those on a white bass.
The world-record wiper, at 27 pounds, is more than three times heavier than the record white bass.
This phenomenon, known as breaking, often produces some of the fastest fishing for anglers
This underappreciated game fish is a great fly rod quarry, especially during the spring spawning run.
[by Phil Monahan]
The white bass (Morone chrysops) hails from parts of the Mississippi and Ohio drainages where fly fishing was never the predominate method of angling, as well as from the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest, which are inhabited by other, sexier species such as trout, steelhead, and smallmouth bass. As a result, the diminutive white bass (also called silver bass, sand bass, or sandies) has often been little more than an afterthought for many anglers. But because the species is easy to stock, grows quickly, and is a prolific spawner, it has been introduced from coast to coast, and a small cadre of anglers enjoys targeting the hard-fighting fish, especially during the springtime spawning run. This is the best time for fly fishers to strip or swing baitfish patterns to intercept schools of fish on the move.
