Fishing Reports News

San Marcos Friendship Fishing Club made an annual pilgrimage up the Guadalupe River above Canyon Lake in pursuit of white bass. Spring is the time when white bass travel from lakes and reservoirs up creeks and rivers to spawn in flowing water.

The trip up the river from Rebecca Creek boat ramp was unlike most of my February and March white bass trips. It’s usually cold - especially when you add a 30-mph boat ride wind chill. But Tuesday was a warm morning.

Our plans had included building a fire on the gravel bar at the “rapids” to cook our white bass catch for lunch. But the burn ban put the stops to that fun. Especially since our club leader, LaRay Taylor, is a San Marcos policeman we thought it best to obey the law.

LaRay, Judy, and Ted fished together in Ted’s boat. Tommy Bodine and Erwin Hagadon fished in another boat. Richard Stewart fished with me.

Richard started off like a house afire. His chartreuse and white 1/8th ounce crappie jig was just what those white bass wanted. He put several fish in the live well before the rest of the club had a bite. LaRay did hook a nice striper but lost him near the boat.

I finally got in on the action after spotting Richard a six fish advantage. A green and white streamer fly on my fly rod produced best for me. When we quit at noon and ate our sack lunches Richard had caught seven white bass and a small Guadalupe bass. I ended up with three whites and a Guadalupe.

A dozen white bass by noon might be fair in some circles but in March on the Guadalupe it was poor. Bobby Whiteside and I fished the river about three weeks ago and caught only seven. This means one of two scenarios. The migration is late this year and will break out strong in the next few days. Or, the run will be weak this year. I think the latter is the way it will be.

Last year by mid-February we were catching big numbers of fish. If anything, with the mild winter this year, the whites should have run early this spring. Why would the run be weaker in 2006? Maybe the fact that the river is low and running very weak due to the drought is affecting the fish migration. Or, perhaps the spawn last year was weak resulting in a diminished year class of recruits.

I hope I’m wrong. Maybe thousands of fish will yet show up. For sure, hundreds of fishermen will.

A better bet to catch fish this spring will be Bastrop Lake. This little lake in March and April is tops. Bobby Whiteside and I fished on Bastrop several weeks ago and caught big numbers of largemouth bass. Most were already in shallow water. As the spring spawn happens they will move more and more toward the shoreline.

Bobby and I fished Bastrop again yesterday in a howling wind. But fishing was still good. As almost always in the spring, the bass were in shallow water around grass patches. Just look for those dark weed beds in about three to six feet of water.

Which lure to use didn’t seem to matter. We caught them on soft plastic cincos, ring worms and lizards. We caught some with the plastics Texas-rigged (weight down against the worm), some on Carolina rigs (weight attached a couple of feet above the plastics) and wacky-rigged.

The wacky worm is a stupid looking outfit but very effective. Instead of hooking the plastic worm through the end you hook it in the middle. Looks real wacky. But when you pull it the worm swims and pulsates. Bass love it. Fish it with just a hook or with a weighted hook, depending on water depth.

But soft plastics were not the only lures producing. We also caught fish on lipless crank baits (Rattletraps), deep crank baits, and jerk baits. I caught one on a fly rod using a streamer fly.

I had to come home early. When I left, Bobby was still working on our 10-fish keeper limit to feed hungry grandkids.

Bastrop is a slot lake. All bass between 14 and 21 inches must be released. But you can keep five fish under 14 inches. These smaller fish are the best for eating anyway.

Jim Darnell is outdoors writer for the Daily Record and is host and producer of the syndicated outdoors show God’s Great Outdoors.