[d-el]

Greetings fellow fishermen! I caught this bass at the Falls Area Tailrace, right by the Falls Lake dam. I am a relocated Yankee (from Maine originally), and Maine only claims 2 species of bass, largemouth and smallmouth. I ignorantly assumed this was an unimpressive largemouth bass, had my significant other snap a quick picture, and threw him back. After some research, I think this is a pretty impressive White Bass! (Trophy weight/size being 2lbs/17 inches).

Should I be bragging about this fish?

 

[NCangler]

Hi d-el and welcome to NCangler.com. I think you may be right about that being a white bass. If you look in our "Fish Facts" section you'll see the illustration below of the White Bass.

The NC record catch was: 5 lbs 4 oz Kerr Reservoir 3/15/86 Caught by: Jim King Type of Bait: Bucktail

BTW great photo. The lighting on the fish is great.

 

[d-el]

" BTW great photo. The lighting on the fish is great."
Thanks! (Fringe benefit of having a significant other who has a photography degree

OK, so the state record is 5 pounds, I bet mine was 1.5-2lbs, so nothing earth shattering. This is by far the biggest/strongest one that I've caught in the Neuse though, I'm wondering if a seasoned White Bass-catcher would be proud? Or is this about average for an NC White Bass?

 

[Jeffonc]

Sounds a little bigger than average to me. Plus its a species first for you - go ahead and brag about it! I've heard tales of people catching 50-100 of them in a couple hours, but I don't think I've ever caught more than 1 on a trip (in hundreds of trips to falls) and only 1 or 2 in that size range. 5lb 4oz worth would look like a metal garbage can lid with lips & tail. They fight great - I'd love to have 50-100 of them hang around and wear me out some afternoon!

What did you catch it on?

 

[d-el]

What did you catch it on?
I caught it on my "ultra-portable" 4'8'' Shakespeare Ugly Stick with a 004 Rooster Tail spinner. 4-lb test line. (I use this rig for panfish, and that bass was at the threshold of being too much for that little pole to handle!)

There is a spot that I like to fish just below the dam that I can usually catch 4 or 5 bass in an hour or so, always little guys though, this one was a standout.

 

[Hookeye]

Sounds like your having a great time out there, It looks like a white bass to me also.
Great little fighters.Good eating too from what I hear.

 

[Dave B.]

That's a nice white bass. You'll see hybrid lookin ones on Jordan, some folks call'm wipers (white bass/stripers). That one there is a little bigger than the ones my boy and I have caught in the river there at Jordan.

Nice catch!

 

[Crummy]

We used to get into schools of those on Lake James while walleye fishing. Great fun. Not bad eatin' either.

 

[chilly]

Nice white bass d-el. I catch them alot in jordan lake while trolling for striper. They are a great fight on small tackle.

 

[Sportsman126]

good eating. some people confuse those with white perch and also the hybrid bass which isnt alot difference than a whitebass. from what i understand anyway. but nice fish, its fun catching a first for yourself species. i felt that way catching a tripple tail, never seen one and i was excited for catching one after finding it was kinda rare for my area.

 

[Jeffonc]

Sportsman126 - what's a triple tail?

 

[Topsail Angler]

Sportsman126 - what's a triple tail?

Its a saltwater fish mainly found around shallow water reefs and wrecks. Tripletail get their name from the formation of the dorsal, caudal and anal fins, which give it the appearance of having three tails. They are blackish across the body and head, paler beneath, where they sometimes are tinted yellow. The pectoral fins and the margin of the tail are a faint yellow.

Not very common in NC waters but not unheard of either. They are suppose to be tasty.

 

[sinker man]

Nice catch d-el. For their size they sure do fight. They should be spawning soon. usually the peak of spawning occurs during the dogwood bloom. Go catch you some more.
As for triple tail they like warm water and are generally found near a piece of driftwood or trash, floating on their side so as to appear part of the floating object. They ambush minnows , small fish, shrimp and crabs in their hunt for cover.

 

[d-el]

Thank you everyone for your informative posts! I am excited to try and catch a few more this weekend. I am an extremely amateur fly-fisherman, got the rod for Christmas last year, and I think I may try to land some White Bass in the river with my fly rod.

Anybody have any advice for flies? I've got a handful of those big "plug" bass files and some of your basic wooly buggers etc.

 

[Sportsman126]

yeah for the triple tail, i actually cought it in the whiteoak river in brackish water more to the fresh side. fishing for bluegill. and the thing is i havnt seen another, and i have set alot of flounder nets and spot nets and have yet to find another. i looked it up after i cought it and reading it taste good, and yep it sure did some nice white filets

 

[specreck]

I remeber the first time I caught white bass. They were all about around 1-2lbs, but I thought they were small so we threw them all back. I hit my self now not realizing that thats about an avrg. size for the fish. Live and learn