Try it -- You'll like it

While waiting for the turkey season to open and taking a break from hunting morel mushrooms -- and after hearing fish stories about the white bass running up the river -- Tom Ward of Joplin decided to give the whites a try and was glad he did.

Along with a fishing friend, Jack Peterson, they headed up the Little Sac River off Stockton lake. It didn't take long to tell the fishing was or had been good.

"We counted 15 other boats on our way up the river and saw a few anglers pulling out fish. Things were looking good," Ward said.

On Peterson's first cast with a Castmaster silver spoon, a hard hit told him they had found the whites. In less than an hour, both anglers had caught their limit of 15 whites each.

"It was the best fishing I have had in years," Ward said. "We didn't catch the really big whites, but had the ones that fit in the skillet and we also caught a few crappie and one nice walleye."

Ward and Peterson were fishing for white bass on Pomme de Terre several years ago and got addicted to catching the hard fighting whites.

After moving to Springfield, Ward fished Table Rock and Bull Shoals when the white bass run started.

"We used to fish Bull Shaols near Forsythe when the whites made their spring run," Ward said. "The fast action when you find a school of big white bass is about as good as it gets."

Fishing for white bass can get addictive. Just ask Dave Harris, a transplant from Oklahoma. Harris recalled when about 400 white bass were put into Grand Lake near Grove, Okla., and in just a few short years, there were that many whites caught over the lake in a few hours.

"They really took hold," Harris said. "Today you might see an angler have a fish on every cast for an hour or more. The fish have really kept anglers happy and busy on Grand Lake."

In Missouri and Kansas, the whites are found in nearly every big body of water. Several years ago, Sam Gibson, Independence, was fishing at lake Jacomo when he hooked a white bass.

"I never knew there were white bass in the lake until I hooked one," Gibson said. "Today it isn't uncommon for a fisherman to catch one there," Gibson said.

Its no wonder that anglers like Ward and Peterson hit the rivers early for some fast action. When the whites are feeding and you find them, the action can be fast and furious.

As Ward said, "Not only are the whites fun to catch and give you all the action you want, they also make for some good eating."

Recent fishing reports show the whites are hitting on several of the big impoundments and rivers. Using Roadrunners, spoons or jigs, nice strings of whites are showing up at local marinas.