“And the winner is...” the announcer pauses for just a moment; then declares, “The Heavy Weight Champ of the World is Mrs. White Bass!”  With that said, Mrs. White Bass swims around the live well showing off both her magnificence powerful body and good looks.  Every angler looks at this powerful bass in awe, a true story book fantasy come to life on Beaver Lake, Grand Lake, and other reservoirs inhabited by white bass.

Anglers in need of a fishing fix this spring need only to be reassured; the white bass spawn will soon be upon us.  The joy of catching, catching, and catching these powerfully bass will quickly vanish our wintertime blues.

White bass begin the spawning process when water temps reaches around 60 degrees.  In 6 to 10 feet of water over rock bottoms female white will spread about one million eggs, which hatch depending on the weather within a couple days.  These hatched fry will stay together feeding on zooplankton.  At the end of one year, fry may grow 8-inches and will begin feeding on small prey.  A normal white bass life span averages 2 to 4 years and will weigh on an average of 1 to 3 pounds.  The size of a female white bass usually runs heaver than a male.  Arkansas’s state recorded white bass weighed in at 5-pounds, 6-ounces from the Mississippi River, while Oklahoma’s state record white bass caught at Lake Eufaula weighed in at 5-pounds, 4-ounces, and measured 21-inches long with a girth of 15-inches. 

Popular lures among angler to catch white bass usually have a small profile.  In muddy water white bass prefer a vibrating lure.  A short list of all time best white bass lures would be; Rebel minnow in Silver/Black or Silver/Blue, Rebel Pop-R in Tennessee Shad or Silver Shad, Bomber Model 6A in Baby Threadfin Shad, Cotton Cordell C.C. Spoon, C.C. Super Spot in Chrome/Blue or Gray Shad, Heddon Zara Puppy in G-Finish Shad or Shad patterns, and Heddon Tiny Torpedo in Shad patterns or G-Finish Blue Shad.

For the most part anglers prefer to catch white bass on spinning rods and reels.  A typical set up may consist of a 6-foot All Star Platinum Series spinning rod combined with a Pflueger President spinning reel.  Another option would be a combo like Shakespeare’s ultralight Ugly Stik spinning combo.  Almost every angler favors 6- to 8-pound test fishing line with these spinning reels.

The condensed list of popular areas to fishing for white bass on the south end of Beaver Lake would be; the Twin Brides, Kelly Creek, Piney, and fifty-cent hole up the War Eagle River arm.  There is no limit on white Bass for Beaver Lake and its tributaries including Lake Sequoyah.  On Grand Lake, white bass can usually be caught around Cowskin Bridge or up the Grand and Spring Rivers during the spawn run.  The daily/minimum size limits on Grand Lake: striped bass hybrids and /or white bass; 20 combined per day, of which only 5 may be 20-inches or longer. So grab a fishing pole and start a battle with Mrs. White Bass.  The winner of the battle will probably have the opponent frying in grease!