Lincoln quickie

[Boatloadakids]

Fished Lincoln this a.m. for a couple of hours. Catrat had to be home for a Dr. appointment by 9:20 so it was a short but fun trip. Many baby whites feeding at the launch channel.-- mostly 2 to 3 inchers.

Headed for the island and decided to get out of there when a big black thunder storm was just getting ready to go to work. Went to BS and found calmer water where we were only 10 minutes from the launch channel. Picked up some good cats in the 25ish range and then started dragging chunks of white bass. Catrat hooked into a nice cat that we were sure we could stretch to 28 inches but after pulling hard from both ends the best we could get was 27 1/2 inches. Nice fish.

Big storm coming so we were in the truck and outa there by 9:00. One other guy fishing from the end of north arm. He had a couple of black mink harassing him and looking for something to steal.

Fun short trip. We'll be back.

BLK
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[SkunkedAgain]

Crazy how perspective changes, I'd be glad for a 27.5"er... But then again I still have 25's on my score card... Thanks for the report, sounds like a fun trip... Later J
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[Piscophilic]

3" sounds OK for bait, but 27 1/2 sounds great for a cat. I'm still looking for 26.

Glad you had just enough fun to be back at the truck when the storm hit[]

Thanks for the report!
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Good to hear the whities got off a good spawn this year. Kinda dismal last year.

Time to get out the special whitie lures.

By the way, fish those little rascals under a bobber and you might just ACCIDENTALLY catch another walleye or two. Oh yeah, one other little tip. Be sure you kill them before using them as bait. Our DWR officers frown on using live ones. Too bad.
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[a_bow_nut]

What kind of lures would you recommend?
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Those baby whities will hit anything. But if you are specifically targeting them for bait...to gather a supply for a long day...or to freeze for later use...there are several options:

First, arrive right at daybreak. That is when the little tykes swarm over the ramps and under lights in the harbors. They almost boil on the surface as they mop up midges and other goodies that have fallen in the water overnight...or which are hatching in the morning.

If you have a light flyrod, you can have a ball fishing a tandem (two) fly rig with a couple of small flies. The flies can be drab gray...like the midges...or they can be chartreuse or almost any other color. Make short casts and retrieve them just under the surface. Don't be surprised if you catch doubles.

Another option is fishing two small jigs on a spinning rod. Add a bit of worm for added attraction. And fish them below a small bobber if you need help seeing the bites.

You don't have to make long casts. Often just swinging your offerings out a rod length away will get plenty of action.

Also...try tossing larger plastics or cranks out to the edges of the bitty whities. Amazing how the walleyes and cats respond to the dinner bell rung by the gathered little white bass.

The little tykes grow fast and will just about double in size in the next month or so. It won't be long until a lot of them start pestering anglers fishing for bigger white bass or other species. You will feel a lot of "rattle rattle" bites while retrieving tube jigs or twisters...and you will even reel in a few of the small ones that somehow managed to get their mouths over the end of larger hooks.

There are lots of trips when I have not worked to catch any small white bass before hitting the water, but end up catching enough to keep me supplied with them for bait once on the water. See the picture below.

[inline "WHOPPER WHITIE.jpg"]
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[Boatloadakids]

I like TD's way of catching small wb.

I also use a very small hook, a gold salmon egg hook is about right, with a very small piece of crawler just covering the hook. I use no weight and just flip my line out a few feet and move the hook slowly toward shore. Hard to catch the itty-bitty ones and I like to wait until they are 3-4 inches long. I can arrive at the launch early with a couple of g-kids to help and have a good supply in a few minutes.

I was there this a.m. just to watch and see if there was any action. Lots of wb but they are still very small. Also noticed lots of big splash action in the area... carp? or maybe LMB, Walleye, or cats?? Some were definitely carp but others looked like they were chasing minnows?? Hmm.... will have to check this out one of these mornings. Maybe catch a couple of small wb, put them on a single hook and dangle them under a bobber a few feet out. Who knows? Might just find that 36 incher I have been chasing all over the lake to find.

Good bait coming soon.

BLK
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[Tin-Can]

I doubt if it's any news to TD or BLK, but my wife and I were hookin up the WB at AF River outlet in June on bare hooks.............[] [fishon]
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[Dirty42]

[quote Boatloadakids]
Big storm coming so we were in the truck and outa there by 9:00. One other guy fishing from the end of north arm. He had a couple of black mink harassing him and looking for something to steal.

BLK[/quote]

That was me, and there were at least 5 of them at one point. The mink attempted to steal the bag of shrimp i was using for bait, a pack of cigarettes, and a plastic minnow. We're no longer on good terms.
I did fairly well that morning. 5 channel catfish 18-22" long, and one battle worn 28" cat that was a darker than the others.

Right after you came in, I landed a white bass that I used as a bait upgrade. Got one more on each pole, so I used bigger chunks thinking that it might discourage them from trying to eat it. One pole had a tandem rig with a couple of 4/0 hooks that I didn't expect bass to mess with, but I reeled it in with both hooks occupied on two separate occasions.

I should have packed up about 10 minutes earlier than I did. I got pretty soaked but wasn't too bothered by it since i'd already gone for an unplanned swim to retrieve one of those castable fish finders I'd received as a gift the day before. The line broke when I threw it out on the south end at 4 am. In case anyone is wondering, the Fish Hunter Pro is extremely accurate with depth. I'm having trouble with the mapping feature, but need another attempt on a boat to say that for sure.
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[TubeDude]

[quote Tin-Can]I doubt if it's any news to TD or BLK, but my wife and I were hookin up the WB at AF River outlet in June on bare hooks.............[] [/quote]

[#0000FF]Hey, old buddy, if you can't afford lures let me know. I think I can spare some plastics.

Ha. Just kiddin'. I too have experienced the wild and crazy action when the whities are swarmin'. With that much competition they gotta munch first and sort out the edibility thing later. Poor little things. Reminds me of the dining room table at a family gathering when I was younger. I would reach for the last pork chop and get several forks in the back of my hand.
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[Tin-Can]

Seen that happen several years ago the first time I took the family to Mantua with me new (at the time) 2004 Lund. My daughter would drop a bare brass hook about a foot down in the water and watch the Bluegill hit it. She boated over 30 fish that day.
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