ar you voir ne water “temperate” reser fresh bass t a ive a F e Oth Th er ➤ Striped bass are among the members of the ➤ temperate bass family, which thrive in freshwa- ter lakes, reservoirs, and rivers from California to Georgia. ASS B> DAVE & EMILY WHITLOCK, WITH BILL TEMPERATE BASS ARE A BUTTS AND JOHN SMALLWOOD FAMILY OF FIVE GAME- Photo ❱ Ben Levin FISH THAT ARE STRONG, INCREDIBLY AGGRES- SIVE, AND BEAUTIFUL, FLY-EATING PRIZES. I vividly remember catch- ing my first temperate bass on a fly in one of my favorite Oklahoma creeks when I was 16 years old. That strike and relentless fight had me convinced that I’d finally hooked my dream, 5-pound small- mouth. You can imagine how surprised —and then pleased—I was when I brought in an exotic 15- inch white bass that had worked its way up the Mississippi River to the Arkansas River and final- ly to my little creek. 36 • FLY FISHERMAN • • flyfisherman.com • 37 ➤The Other grow to more than 50 pounds. Hy- es invigorates schools to hunt down brids average 6 to 10 pounds but they baitfish and crayfish. Fly Tackle fight like they weigh twice that much. Some of the most exciting and RODS. To choose the ideal fly tack- Their body shape and abnormally wildly chaotic fly fishing you can -ex le, first decide what sizes and weights large tails might suggest they are on perience in fresh water occurs when of flies best imitate what your target- ASS performance-enhancing drugs. a big school of stripers, hybrids, or ed bass are feeding on, and how much B Temperate bass roam in large white bass herd a mass of baitfish to rod you’ll need to control the fish, es- Every year since then, I’ve been schools, are aggressive feeders, fast the surface or into the shallows. I’ve pecially if hybrids and stripers are consistently taking these fine game- swimmers, and flourish best in lakes, seen perfectly sane fly fishers have a present. We believe that if we can only fish in streams and lakes all around reservoirs, and the large rivers that melt-down when a big school erupts take one rod, the choice would have to the country. At age 80, I finally get to flow in and out of these impound- all around them! be a 7-weight, 9-footer with a stout tip share this lifetime of experience with ments. Springtime, flowing-water Because they have excellent low- and mid-flex action. When targeting help from a pair of fly-fishing, fresh- spawners, they scatter their eggs over light vision, these bass most fre- stripers and big hybrids only, an 8- or water temperate-bass specialists from the gravel bottoms of streams when quently feed at sunup, sundown, on 9-weight, 9-foot rod is ideal. This cal- Springfield, Missouri. Bill Butts and water temperatures reach 55 to 65 de- dark cloudy days, and at night. Their iber of tackle best handles the bigger John Smallwood are magical when it grees F. The eggs sink or drift down- large eyes assist in low-light vision, flies, sinking-type lines and distanc- comes to finding and catching tem- stream, depending on the species, and sharp binocular focusing on fast- es needed to reach these big, spooky, perates on flies, and have contribut- until they hatch. swimming prey. The best fly fishing hefty prizes. ed significantly to this feature, as I Massive schools of these bass stage for these five bass occurs when wa- When white perch, white bass, and/ consider them my gurus for temper- in high-flow streams and rivers to ter temperatures range from 55 to 75 ➤ Many of the nation’s best temper- or yellow bass are the only opportu- ate bass. spawn, especially in the first two or degrees F. ate bass fisheries are in man-made nities, I enjoy just using a 6-weight, three visible shoals above still water impoundments and in the rivers 8½- or 9-foot rod. Usually these 1- to Fishy Cousins or below dam spillways or turbines. Tailwater Temperates flowing into and out of them. 3-pound fish are chasing bait from 1 to Temperate bass are all in the fam- These fantastic runs usually carry on After spring spawning, temperates Photo ❱ Dave & Emily Whitlock 3 inches long, so a 6-weight rod with a ily Percichthyidae (alt: Moronidae) for two to four weeks. Unlike many return to heavy foraging of baitfish, small fighting butt is perfect. and derive their more common fami- other game species, these fish active- crayfish, and emerging, burrowing streamers or poppers with drop- In lakes they hold and cruise along Since a typical temperate bass day ly name from their wide tolerance to ly feed until the very hour they begin mayfly hordes all summer until late pers. On more than one occasion, submerged river or creek channels usually requires a lot of casting with water temperatures between 55 and their spawning activity. Some waters fall. By midwinter, water tempera- I’ve watched her take temperate bass and on windy points, flats, and rip- subsurface flies and sinking lines, I 75 degrees F. There are four “natu- that contain whites, hybrids, and tures dip into the 40s, and their feed- nearly every cast during the last hour rap areas. recommend a mid-flex action instead ral” family members: striped bass, stripers may experience three consec- ing slows considerably. This is a good of daylight. It is some of the most ex- A boat outfitted with a fish locator of a fast-action rod, especially for white bass, yellow bass, and white utive or overlapping runs of differ- time to seek these bass below tailwa- citing fly fishing we could possibly is the ideal tool to find concentrations those fly fishers over 55, as it’s much perch; and also hybrid striped bass. ent species each spring! Any fly fisher ters or warmwater discharge power wish for. of temperate bass. I use a simple, 16- easier on joints. Striped bass and white perch can live would be overwhelmed with single- lakes. As winter water temperatures When temperate bass are not ac- foot aluminum skiff and 25-hp motor FLY LINES. Our choice for just in both salt and fresh water, but the day catches of these three species. give way to spring, this cycle starts tively feeding in streams, they will with an electric motor for most of my one line would be a weight-forward others live in fresh water only. Hy- Shad, herring, and shiners are their again. hold around main current edges in temperate bass fishing in lakes and (WF), Type III, 10- to 15-foot sink- brids are a hatchery cross between preferred foods, and they are most of- We have one area below a near- root wads, submerged logs, and fall- rivers. I always take along binoculars ing tip, but it’s important to also have male white bass and female striped ten caught on flies that imitate these by dam that most evenings from July en trees. Rock formations also attract for spotting congregating gulls and a weight-forward floating line like a bass. Hybrids are sterile, they have baitfish. Crayfish, aquatic insects, to October, when the generators are them, especially jetties, rip-rapped the splashes and wakes of surface- RIO Clouser, and a clear, monofila- incredible strength and stamina, and leeches, eels, and worms are also on running, Em and I can wade and banks, and midstream rubble islands. feeding bass. ment-core intermediate line such as a for fly fishers they fill the size gap the menu. Wind, changing weather, take four different temperates at the Stillwater Scientific Anglers line. between the white bass that average or sudden water flow increases from same time—stripers, white bass, yel- When I was striper fishing in the 1 to 2 pounds, and striped bass that precipitation runoff or dam releas- low bass, and hybrids—using shad Arkansas Ozark Mountains on big, clear reservoirs a few years back, I cast threadfin shad streamers to pods of 10- to 35-pounders that were break- Top 10 States for Temperate Bass ing and rolling on the surface. It was ➤ then I discovered that clear interme- 1. Alabama: Lewis Smith Lake for stripers; and the Coosa River system including Weiss and Martin lakes for striped, hybrid, and white bass. diate lines would outfish floating lines every time. The main reason for this 2. Arkansas: Beaver Lake and its tributaries the White River and War Eagle Creek; Norfork Lake and its primary tributary the North Fork of is that these big guys, feeding just un- the White River; Ouachita Lake and the Ouachita River; and Greer’s Ferry Lake. der the surface, were easily frightened 3. Georgia: Lake Lanier for striped bass; the Coosa River system, Allatoona Lake, and the Chattahoochee River system, particularly south- by a highly visible floating line on the west of Atlanta. surface. As a result, I always carry a 4. Kansas: Milford, Cedar Bluff, Cheney, Sebelius, and Webster reservoirs for white bass and hybrids. clear, intermediate line if I’m fishing streamers within 3 feet of the surface 5. Kentucky: Cumberland, Barkley, and Kentucky lakes for white, yellow, and striped bass; Barren River Lake for hybrids. in calm, extra-clear lakes or rivers. 6. Missouri: Stockton Lake and its tributaries Little Sac and Sac rivers; Table Rock Lake and its tributaries the James and Kings rivers; Bull Shoals Lake and its tributaries the White River and Beaver Creek for white bass; and Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks for white bass and hybrids.