Sunday, February 18, 2001

Chasing river whites

As I headed out of town last month on vacation, I learned that the white bass run at Choke Canyon Reservoir was under way.
   I could have canceled my plans, hung a left at Highway 72, fished and photographed the excitement and filed a story.
   But I didn't.
   Sorry that I was unable to tell you sooner about this.
   Give me some credit though. At least I had asked to be notified by sources on area lakes when the fish began their annual migration into rivers and creeks to spawn.
   Choke Canyon guide Jerry Dunn provided the first alert. He won't be the last to let me know about what is a pretty big deal among freshwater anglers.
   The event usually comes at a time when black bass fishing is slow at best. And this is not a catch-and-release prospect.
   Missing the run
   But that's only one reason for the popularity of white bass, or sand bass. Not only is the species considered good table fare, but they are easy to catch and aggressive fighters for their size, which generally is between one and two pounds, sometimes larger, depending on habitat size and conditions. Choke has the largest whites I've ever seen. Most are caught using light tackle and small lures or minnows.
   Liberal bag and size limits allow anglers to fill stringers with up to 25 fish that measure at least 10 inches in length.
   Dunn explained that by the time I would return to South Texas in late February, the run would be about over. The good news is I'd have another shot at them in the Frio River during the spawn, and again when they returned to the reservoir. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell me when this weather-dependent re-entry would occur.
   Just like the spawning run, no one can predict this with any certainty.
   Finding the fish
   Heavy rainfall may have sparked this year's run to begin earlier than usual because of the extra river flow, said Howard Elder, fisheries management biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife.
   As of last week, anglers still were catching whites in the Frio River, around the Highway 99 Bridge and farther north. And crappie were beginning to spawn in the shallows. Then, more recently, I have gotten reports of a few whites found upriver, above the San Miguel Creek boat ramp within the James Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area.
   That's where Choke Canyon guide Carl Wengenroth and I caught a few last week on crankbaits. It was slow and relaxing, unlike fishing during the heat of a spawning run.
   The sun-bleached hardwoods that line the riverbanks create a backdrop reminiscent of my roots. No cypress, but plenty of alligators, red-winged blackbirds, snakes and red-eared turtles.
   Call the Callaham Unit of Choke Canyon State Park at (361) 786-3868 for updates and directions.
   Just before the fish begin their return trip to the lake, anglers have been known to paddle or use trolling motors to reach narrow stretches of the river. When they run out of navigable waters, anglers get out and walk along the banks to reach fish. Whites tend to congregate in river bends, where currents have dug deep pools.
   Catching the migrations
   At this point in the game, the trick is to keep moving until you locate a school. They'll bite on minnows, small jigs, crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps, small in-line spinners.
   When they trickle back into the reservoir, it usually takes a week or so for whites to regroup and recover from their journey, Elder said. But after that, anglers find them in areas from Telephone Pole Point to the dam and spillway area. I've heard about them being caught 40 feet deep in water that's even deeper in the middle of summer, using heavy slab lures.
   They can be caught year-round in coves and in deeper parts of lakes, such river channels.
   Lake Texana holds white bass too, but the Sandy Creek arm is closed to anglers because of an infestation of the exotic plant, giant salvinia. Spawning white bass, however, should be in the Navidad River arm of the lake, Elder said.
   Lake Corpus Christi whites had begun their migration up the Nueces River as of last week. Crappie also are beginning to show up in the shallows. But the whites were being caught between the George West Bridge and the river mouth, according to sources on the lake.
   Before it's over, Lake Corpus Christi's spawning whites generally swim way upriver to just below the dam at Choke Canyon, I'm told.
   In general, white bass are an open-water fish that feed in schools sometimes numbering in the hundreds. They spend most of their time chasing schools of threadfin and small gizzard shad.
   They can be caught day or night.
   Some biologists believe a secondary run occurs in mid-spring, perhaps because of a pecking order.
   Smaller males migrate upriver first, followed by females days or weeks later. These voracious feeders are even more aggressive during the spawn, when limited water and food spurs intense competition.
   They tend to move upstream in waves, pausing only to rest and feed. Often, that's when they are caught.
   By the way, even though I missed the major run down here, I caught my share of white bass during my vacation. Canyon Lake, near New Braunfels, holds a healthy population of them and my friend Bill Caldwell always needs fillets for his annual fish fry.
   But we had to chase the fish in open water, often looking for gulls to signal a school of whites and stripers. The spawning run on Canyon Lake hadn't started yet. It's due in late February or sometime in March, when the water begins to warm.