Spring white bass spawning run off to a slow start on Texas rivers

By MATT WILLIAMS

 

Special to The Eagle

Each year, East Texas rivers come alive with huge schools of white bass during late winter and early spring. Anglers are anxiously awaiting Mother Nature to give the signal for the annual run to get going.

If there is one fixed rule for fishing the annual white bass run on riverine stages across Texas each spring, it's this: The fish are only where you find them.

Judging from reports that trickled across the outdoors desk late last week, ambitious anglers might have better luck grubbing for a needle in a hay stack these days than hunting for the giant schools of hard-hitting white bass across East Texas rivers. Despite the whispers of an occasional flurry that ends about a quickly as it begins, the 2010 spring spawning run is off to a crawling start on the Sabine, Angelina, Trinity and Neches.

"It's not happening," said veteran Sabine River fishing guide Jane Gallenbach of Tenaha. "I've checked upriver and down river and nobody is catching them to speak of. I went out on [Jan. 21] and caught 11 in about three hours. That's the most fish I've caught in nearly a month. They just aren't here ... yet."

Gallenbach's reports are as reliable as you can find on the Sabine. She and her husband, Tom, own and operate a riverside fishing camp off FM 699 in Panola County. Fittingly called River Ridge, the camp caters to catfishermen during summer and fall. Come January, however, it transforms into a hub for white bass junkies, many of whom drag their mud-crusted jon boats across Texas to sample what is arguably one of the richest venues of the map for brawny fighters weighing upwards of three pounds.

In a normal season, white bass usually begin spilling out of Toledo Bend Reservoir and finning their way upstream in catchable numbers sometime around New Year's Day. The males are always the first to make the move. When the timing is right, the fat girls start rolling in, usually in steady droves that will keep right on coming through early March.

The egg-laden females deposit thousands of eggs into the slow-moving current to be fertilized by their smaller male suitors. A percentage of the fertilized eggs will eventually hatch, and the offspring will make their way back to Toledo Bend, where they will grow to become the next generation of white bass.

An aggressive school fish by nature, white bass gang up around still-water eddies, near sandbars or in the mouths of creeks, often in numbers so great it is entirely possible to sack up a 25-fish, 10-inch limit in 25 casts when you stumble across the right spot.

Opinions vary as to what it takes to jump-start the annual spawning run each year. Some say current is the catalyst. Others believe water temperature is key. It wouldn't be wrong to say it is combination of the two.

While nobody knows for sure why the spring run is off to such a slow start this year, there has been plenty of speculation about the weather. Gallenbach said if she had to guess, she would pin it on the below average water temperatures that came as a result of the nasty Arctic blast that powered across Texas in early January.

"The water temperature dropped to 39 degrees after that front, and I think it put them in shock," Gallenbach said. "The water has since warmed back up to 48 degrees, but that's still pretty cold. There are a few fish up, but they just don't seem like they are very aggressive. I think a week or two of warm weather is what we need to get things going."

Things are moving at a slightly faster pace on the Trinity River above Lake Livingston. According to Mark Collins at the Lock 'n Dam Marina at the State Highway 7 crossing west of Crockett, anglers were reporting a few limits as early as Christmas. That bite, however, was stifled by the cold snap in early January.

"The cold weather drove the fish back into the deeper holes, and it made them real lethargic," Collins said. "The water has warmed back up over the last week. We are beginning to see quite a few males showing back up around the dam. I tried to catch some shad in my cast net the other day and I was catching four to five whites on every throw."

Collins said the best catches right now are coming on live shiners fished beneath a cork and on Rat-L-Traps. Bank fishermen are experiencing plenty of success. Collins expects the fishing to improve as long as warming trends continue and the water remains relatively clear.

Those who have never visited the Lock 'n Dam should be aware that there is no public boat ramp available. Boats must be transferred from the trailer to an electric trolley, which lowers the boat down a rail system about 200 feet to the water.

Collins said there is a boat size limit of 16 feet (aluminum only) with outboards no larger than 50 horsepower. There is a $10 launch fee per boat. The nearest public ramp is at the Texas 21 crossing near Midway.

Positive reports from Angelina River that feeds Sam Rayburn have been scattered over the last couple of weeks. There were a few reports of partial limits beginning to circulate around New Year's Day, but the cold snap killed that buzz and it has yet to bounce back.

Anglers looking to explore the Angelina have several launching options. Kingtown and Marion's Ferry are good options for tapping the bottleneck where the river meets with Sam Rayburn. Farther upstream, you can launch at the old railroad tram off Saint's Rest Road or at the U.S. 59 crossing between Lufkin and Nacogdoches.

Lake Palestine fishing guide Ricky Vandergriff said white bass are pretty much nonexistent up the Neches River these days, but he looks for the vacancy sign to come down sometime within the next couple of weeks.

"We usually don't see many until about the first week or so of February," Vandergriff said. "The Neches always runs a little bit later than the other rivers."

Vandergriff says the Neches can be accessed from the upper reaches of Lake Palestine, but it can be a tricky run through lots of stump fields. The best bet is to launch a flatbottom at the Texas 31 bridge south of Chandler and work your way up or downstream.

Timing the annual white bass run is strictly a waiting game that can change over night. One day a stretch of river might be dead, whereas the next it will be so full of fish that catching a limit hardly seems like a challenge.

Here's hoping Mother Nature flicks the proverbial light switch on soon.

Matt Williams' e-mail address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.

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