It’s time for white bass to start spawning

By Jim Darnell
Daily Record Columnist

March 13, 2008 11:31 am

— Folklore says when you see the pink blossoms on the redbud trees the white bass will be spawning. Any harbinger of spring — green grass along the roadways, birds singing, longer days — indicates that it’s white bass time.
Unlike the black basses that build nests and guard them during the reproduction process, white bass move out of lakes and reservoirs into flowing rivers and creeks to lay their eggs. The females build no nests but instead deposit their eggs in the flowing streams. The males then fertilize the eggs and the eggs begin to tumble down stream with the water flow. Huge numbers of eggs are fertilized to insure that a few offspring survive, even without protection.
The white bass spawning run is legendary on many Texas streams. The run above Lake Buchanan on the Colorado to what used to be called the old Lemons Fish Camp (now called Colorado Bend) is a huge run and one of the best known in Central Texas. The shallow shoals there provide some excellent wade fishing, especially with a fly rod. The migration from Lake Travis onto the Pedernales River toward the Reimer Ranch area draws big groups of anglers. To the south, one of the earliest runs is on the Frio River above Choke Canyon Reservoir. The junction of San Miguel Creek and the Frio is a big staging area for the whites. Also, fish from Lake Corpus Christi make a strong run on the Nueces.
One of the more publicized migrations that is fished heavily by Houston anglers is on the Trinity River above Lake Livingston. Livingston has a huge white bass population to fuel that spawn.
Locally, many of us fish the Guadalupe River above Canyon Lake. In comparison to Colorado Bend and Livingston this is a small migration. But you can’t beat it for beautiful Hill Country scenery.
Warm weather during February got fish moving up the river to the shoals about 12 miles above the lake early. Bobby Whiteside and I found good numbers of fish there on February 20. We put 22 in the live well and all of them were far above the average size for the Guadalupe. Most were males. The males always arrive first to await the fat, egg-laden girls. We also counted 52 Rio Grande turkeys on our trip up the river at first light.
San Marcos fishermen Tom Ray and Gary Magee fished the next morning and landed 27 big whites. As with Whiteside and me the action was early. With no rain since September the river is extremely clear. You can see the bottom in pools eight to 10 feet deep. So the fish are spooky. Once the sun gets up visibility increases and catching decreases. Most anglers who stay in bed too long are catching none.
The following week was very good. Pastor Mike Schlimgen and I caught 35 one morning, most of them before 8:30 a.m. Mike landed 10 of that stringer on his fly rod.
Then the severe cold fronts returned. This has slowed things down considerably. Last week, Kyle fisherman Mike Mosel and I landed only 9 fish. Tom Ray and Gary were fishing beside us and they got two. The next morning I took a Florida guest and we boxed 13 fish. I expect the run to get stronger as the weather warms.
But all these runs pale in comparison to the white bass run on the Sabine river above Toledo Bend Reservoir. The fish are huge for white bass. Two pounds is average with many fish pushing the scale over three. I discovered this East Texas gold mine fishing with guide Jane Gallenbach out of her River Ridge Campground near Tenaha. We filmed a TV show with this multi-talented lady and caught huge numbers of big fish. I introduced her to some of my outdoor writer friends and she has now become a legend. Her picture has been in multitudes of outdoor publications.
Several San Marcos fishermen now make cross-state trips to the Sabine to fish with Jane each spring. Harry Bishop and friends go every March and never fail to catch their 25 fish each limit.
Ron and Glenda Carnes just returned from fishing with Jane. Three days before they arrived the river rose six feet and Jane’s clients caught only 23 fish. By the time of the Carnes’ arrival it had dropped some. But the weather called for the possibility of strong north winds, rain and sleet. But they got blessed with a beautiful few hours before the front arrived.
After trailoring Jane’s boat about 10 miles up river they motored to where a small creek flowed into the river. The creek was just beginning to clear up.
From the first cast Ron said, “It was instant action.” In just a little over one hour the Carnes had their limit of 50 fish, weighing between two and three pounds. That size white bass are powerful fighters. Glenda had never caught so many fish in her life. She really got hooked.
“Glenda is now ruined,” Ron said. “We have two days already scheduled for next March.”
To fish with Jane Gallenbach on the Sabine call 903-693-4441 or check out www.riverridgetx.com.
Jim Darnell is an ordained minister and host/producer of the syndicated televisions show God’s Great Outdoors. His column apears every Thursday in the Daily Record.