Snag 'em, bag 'em: Paddlefish, white bass runs arrive
Paddlefish snagging heats up on the Grand River system and sandbass action will heat up in coming days as rivers clear and warm
While it may reflect poorly on my character, I must confess that Easter morning will not find me in any church—at least not one made of brick, mortar and lumber.
The season to beat yourself up on the riverbank with a paddlefish across your lap or fill a cooler full of white bass is upon us. Hallelujah!
As I write this several rivers are just plain blown out, but my conversation with Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation fisheries biologist Josh Johnston was bound to trickle down to one conclusion: The white bass, often called sand bass, are going to be running somewhere this weekend, the paddlefish snagging should be pretty good, and it likely will be better next week and the week after that.
The saying goes that when the redbuds bloom the sand bass run and when the dogwoods bloom the crappies are on the banks—and most years that’s not a bad gauge.
White bass need a good flow for spawning so they love nothing more than spring rains and high flows, but the water temperature is best for spawning when it’s upwards of 50 degrees and the length of day helps cue that spawning activity, too. That’s when those bigger females will enter the mix.
Those sunlight and temperature conditions just tend to line up with those blooming trees—which enjoy a little moisture too.
The redbud tree in my backyard started blooming late last week.
Over the past two weeks northern and eastern parts of the state have seen upwards of 4 inches of rain, and parts of southern Kansas saw more than that, so Northeast Oklahoma has some pretty full rivers and some lake levels are above normal.
“People call and ask about the white bass and, you know, I tell ‘em, if you have a creek that’s running you might as well go out and try it. If it stinks then wait and go back in a few days, but that’s better than missing out,” Johnston said.
Ain’t that the truth?
You can call all your buddies and watch Facebook until your eyes hurt but the best thing to do is to get out and throw a line in the water, or at least take a drive and scout the creeks.
That said, some Facebook groups to watch include Oklahoma Spoonbill Snaggers, Oklahoma Spoonbill Fishing and Oklahoma Fishing Report, and Oklahoma Hunting and Fishing.
High flow is a great thing, but it also sometimes blows out a creek or a river and turns it into chocolate milk. That makes fishing tough. It can also make access tough.
Johnston said he had good reports (me too) of sand bass fishing with good numbers of both males and females caught in Lake Tenkiller up to Cherokee Landing, Dry Creek and Caney Creek area in the past couple of weeks, and anglers were catching males upstream.
That tells you the sand bass are running, but reports late this week had the Illinois River blown out and muddy so main-river fishing will be really tough unless you know the spots that fish hold in that lower river/upper lake area during high water. Your best luck probably will be found in tributaries of those streams and lakes in days ahead.
As the week progresses and we roll into the first weekend in April, sand bass fishing should get better and better.
A lot of us tend to think of the Illinois River and the Neosho/Grand for their famous white bass runs—and they do make good indicator rivers to watch because so many people go there—but there is a reason the white bass is the Oklahoma state fish, you can find them in just about any reservoir. If they’re in the reservoir, they’ll be running upstream from those reservoirs in days to come.
The other thing to know is that when the sand bass run, the paddlefish run.
Saturday the crew at the Oklahoma Paddlefish Research Center, 61091 E 120 Road, Miami, expected a busy weekend ahead.
The paddlefish run is underway and water levels in the Grand River receded back inside its banks and is fishable at the Twin Bridges Area at Grand Lake State Park, so snagging should be good in the river above Grand Lake.
Snagging in lower areas of the Grand River system will depend on releases and Pensacola, Hudson and Fort Gibson dams but whenever the Corps or GRDA or Southwest Power Administration are releasing the paddlefish will be running—and white bass won’t be far behind.
It is tough to know for sure when a dam will be releasing but, to wrap this up, here are a few resources to check on dam releases and flows—and, I’m sorry to report, you shouldn’t be surprised if on any given day the forecasts aren’t the same at each source.
Well researched and well written as usual. I enjoy every article.