White bass catching — a great day on the water

Conor Harrison could not stand it anymore. After printing the next issue of Lone Star Outdoor News last night, he woke this morning, took his daughter Marley out of school and went fishing. They are fishing the Trinity river above Livingston and report lots of dinks and lots of fishermen. Look for a more detailed report when he gets back soon.

Updated report:

We met friend and guide Simon Cosper of Get the Net Guide Service at 9:30 in Riverside, and proceeded to head to the Harmon Creek RV Park and Marina. We put Simon’s boat in the water and were fishing in 20 minutes.

The water in the creek was clearer than in days past, according to Simon, but it was still a dark brown color due to recent rains. We found fish immediately — all small males.

“The males are the first in and the last to leave,” Simon said. “I think the majority of the females have already spawned. We just have to work through a bunch of males to find some bigger females.

We were throwing small spinner baits by Blue Fox in pink and blue. Each hole or bend in the river produced several male fish but no females. But, it was still fun to let Marley throw her lure and reel in fish after fish by herself.

One of the big issue, according to Simon, is the amount of people trolling up and down the small creek.

“If the fish are in a school, these trollers really break them up,” Simon said.

More than 15 boats were cruising up and down the small creek, each catching loads of undersized white bass but few keepers. The run is ending in this part of the state and the white bass are headed back out inot the main lake.

Eventually, we found a handful of the big females — enough to take home for dinner.

It was  a great day on the water with my daughter and a good friend.