White Bass

Planning to target White bass at Lake Nacimiento this weekend with FM1, Cochino and maybe DPshim and bloodbath. I know Dan and Andy have a lot of experience fishing there and probably know a thing or two about catching those stripey slabs. Just wondering if anybody has ever gotten on them before and has any tips on lures, structure to look for, depth they might be at this time of year, etc. Also wondering if they're worth eating??? I always get excited with the prospect of catching a new species, hopefully the bite is on

What's up, Pablito?

I have never ventured to Naci just for white bass, but have caught my share while out targeting spotted bass, along with the occasional fat crappie. The key is to find them... In my case, this usually meant stumbling across a big surface feeding frenzy near the mouth of a creek or cove. We'd toss any kind of baitfish imitating lure at it and hook up.

They definitely school up, so either you find them or you don't. I hear there can be better white bass fishing back near the narrows, but that's a LONG haul from the public launch.

Honestly, if I were back at Naci I'd just go after the spots. Soooo much fun to catch on light tackle. A small green pumpkin worm on a darter head will keep you entertained for hours.

Thanks for the tips Alex! I'm hoping it won't be such a long paddle since there is no water   Looking forward to getting on some freshwater action. Spots and panfish are always fun action. We'll post a report and let you know how it goes

Yeah, I bet the lake is REALLY low right now... Should be interesting.

As for white bass lures... They're after threadfin shad. Any small shiny shad imitator should do the trick once you find them. Rooster tail spinners, kastmasters, small tubes...

The go-to tactic for targeting white bass at Naci seemed to be trolling rooster tail spinners until you find them busting the surface, then cast it at them.

I have only fished Naci a handful of times, but we seemed to find them just outside Cantinas (i think that was the name?) Creek inlet. If I remember correctly, there was an old fence that ran down into the water and made structure for the bait and the white bass would tear them up. Kastmasters and white feather jigs was what we would catch them on. Maybe troll a small silver lipless crank until you find them or, like mentioned before, look for them working the surface.

We usually find them near the docks but this time I think we are going to head towards Las Tablas. We have often used featherd white jigs, and live shad but this time I will try ad fool them by using A umbrella jig with three hooked imitation black shad, non the less I think we will have A blast!   Heres one Cochino caught some time ago. They fillet out nice and taste pretty good in Manteca. .. Lots of merc though so don't eat too much.

Also gonna target the kities...

White rooster tales are the Shiznit at Naci.

Nice table of kats!

Fishing for white bass is fun when they're schooling and on the chew.