St Croix/Lake Pepin white bass

Just so people are aware, there is a white bass tagging project the MNDNR is starting this year on the St Croix and Lake Pepin. Yellow tags will be sticking out of the backs of tagged white bass. We are going to start posting flyers at boat ramps and bait shops and will also have creel clerks handing out little business cards with instructions on how to report tagged white bass.

Reporting the tags is easy and can be done online at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fisheries/tagged_fish_reporting/index.html and simply walk through the process. You can click on the interactive map to show where you caught the white bass, then the next page will have a menu of a few things to fill out like species, length, color of tag, number on the tag, harvested or released, etc. Although as of right now, white bass are not on the drop down menu of tagged fish species, they will be added shortly.

Tagging has begun and we are hoping to tag several thousand between the St Croix and Lake Pepin. Reporting these fish will go a long way towards helping us understand this overlooked fish. The more reports we get, the better the data.

Feel free to post any questions and thank you!

Joel Stiras

How will you acquire several thousand white bass?

Quote:

---

How will you acquire several thousand white bass?

---

fyke nets or boom shocking more than likely

Very happy to hear this. Seems to me the white bass populations on the croix and Mississippi have taken a huge nose dive the last few years. This time of year they used to show up thick in the stretches of croix around Osceola up to the dam. The last 3 or 4 years a good catch up there might be a dozen in a day. More likely we find none.

From what I have seen on pool 2 it is about the same. In years past we caught a few white bass on just about ever fishing trip no mater what time of year. Now its seems to be a notable catch if we find one. You can still seem to get them in some prime spots and at peak times but the numbers there are still way off. About as off as the sauger population on pool 2.

We’ll collect the white bass by any means necessary. Electrofishing, trap nets, short term gill nets, etc. The ones we tagged the other day were by-catch in a commercial fisherman’s seine haul.

i agree Mike at least where the Croix is concerned. used to catch some real nice ones out there. seems like since the bluegill boom the white bass are scarce.

There are still quite a few on Pool 4. I went out with “Turk” on the St. Croix probably 6 years ago on a guided trip and man did we hammer them. Not to mention a 28″ walleye to boot! So much fun to catch. Glad to see they are being monitered

Quote:

---

We’ll collect the white bass by any means necessary. Electrofishing, trap nets, short term gill nets, etc. The ones we tagged the other day were by-catch in a commercial fisherman’s seine haul.

---

are the commercial netters already pulling in prescott?

I seldom get out on the Criox except for in the fall and that a good time to see them.

It seems like the white population has been declining for over ten years…at least from my point of view.

Some of the older old timers say the walleye population is getting smaller as well. Not to mention the channel cat population.

Sure seems like something is changing the balance there once was. (I have no clue if there ever was a balance).

We where talking about the white bass decline the other day on pool 2. Kinda ruled out water quality as the croix and Mississippi have complete different water conditions. Maybe its just a cycle thing. Other thought is more people are targeting them now with many being kept. Could targeting them during the spawn have that much effect? From what used to be there you would think it would take a lot of fishing pressure to bring the population down. Here again I think the croix most likely gets more pressure than pool 2 but the fish there are way down to.

I’m thinking its a cycle thing also. I’ve noticed the largemouth bass population increasing the last few years on pool 2. Haven’t seen much of the white bass the past 3 years.

Quote:

---

How will you acquire several thousand white bass?

---

The mungs coolers!

They’ve been in serious decline the last 10 years here too. I’m going to be waiting for the Minnesota DNR’s report to see what thier findings are, even if its 5 years down the road.

Wisconsin needs to put a limit on White Bass. Mongs from out of state even Minnesotans will buy an out of state Wisconsin license to take as many as they can. Not only on the Mississippi but around Petenwell when the run starts it is Mongs and every thing they can put White Bass into. Not saying they are the only ones but the majority.

Close the season for a few years for Iowegians. They’ll come back. I’ve seen everts fish cleaning house of horrors after an Iowegian has cleaned his limit of 2 of white bass.

*deleted* by mudshark

Quote:

---

Wow….
This topic sure took a turn for the worse….

BTW it’s Hmong

---

Mine was a joke. I didn’t see the others before me.

You can’t just blame one group. Although, when you see things with your own eyes, it sometimes reinforces some “stereotypes”. I’ve been witness to that.

Here is an aside about Hmongs and this is not an excuse. I knew some Hmongs and they always were within the law. Their father explained to me that in Laos, meat was scarce and a rare treat if you ever got meat to eat. So they appreciated the availability of the meat resource here.

Sorry DNR if this went off course.

Don’t worry about it Pug as sometimes things don’t turn out like thier intended because thier just a ribbing for fun. I’ve seen the whitebass population here plumet the last 10 years and I really don’t know the culprit. I’m not making the flathead or larger channel catfish the reason but I do suspect they take thier fair share of whitebass. I know thier a light colored fish and easier to see so maybe its easier for bigger catfish to see and feed on them. Theres probably a half dozen scenerios that it could be.

I seen somewhere eigther here on Indepth fishing or somewhere, where birth control for women might even come into play, imiagine that and if thats one of the culprits its going to be hard to turn that one around. Maybe the whitbass has to have a certain minimum amount of numbers to keep the spawning hatch high because of mortality. Maybe if it falls below a certain number, the whitbass are still there but can’t reach the numbers they need for a higher population like we’ve seen in the past. I caught quite a few whitebass years ago and all thier stomachs were plumb full of 1/2″ long crappies so the crappies fishermen might like it the way it is now and I’m also curious to see if the crappie numbers come up in the next few years. I’m curious to see what the Minnesota DNR has to say in thier future findings,,,

Last summer when the water was low I set a trotline for catfish and baited with shrimp. I checked it twice a day in the morning and afternoon. I didn’t catch anything over 3 pounds and all of the stomachs I checked were empty or very little in them. That tells me they are very hungry and very hungry fish eat small whitbass and crappies. The crappie numbers in the back waters and some parts of the river in slower water are pretty good, so what happened to the whitebass. Most river crappies here are white Crappies and thier also a light colored fish and thier numbers are good and the whitbass numbers are down, so whats happened.

Befor the flood of 2008 the whitebass population was low then so the highwater didn’t ruin spawning habitate and there was no serious floods befor that. The Cedar here is constantly shifting sand and gravel bars with mud bottoms in the back waters, so the spawning habitate hasen’t changed in the last 10 years when compared to what the river was when thier populations were high.

I don’t know how much actual spawning takes place in the Cedar river here and I do know that they will come from way down river from the Iowa river which presently has a good population of whitebass. The Iowa rivers only about 40 or 50 miles from here and thats not far for a fish to come up, but still the populations of Whitebass are low and you have to work to find a school. Sand Sturgeons come up river from way down river every spring when the waters high so why not the Whitebass. Are Sturgeons hardier then Whitebass and is thier foodsource more available then what the Whitebass needs, not alot of shad here in the Cedar like there is in the Iowa river, so maybe its a minimum count when it comes to thier food source. I’m curiopus to see if theres any findings about thier food source from the Minnesota DNR. The Iowa river here has lots of shad and also alot more whitebass, here theres less shad and also alot less Whitebass then there was years ago. Does the Whitebass population depend heavily on the present shad population in that river, less shad means less Whitebass?

Heres another after thought about the White basses food source here. During winter this and the last 10 years you can watch eagles fly down and pick up shad from the water that goes over the lower roller dam here in town and land in the trees right by the dam. The shad thier picking up are bigger shad that the winter kill has produced and can be easily seen in thier claws. But I do remember when shad populations were higher in the Cedar then, then they seem to be in last years. Theres a spot by the lower roller dam where the shad used to congregate and guys with thier throw nets used to net them there for catfishing and get all sizes of them in a few to several throws. Come to think of it in recent years beings the shad numbers seem to be down I haven’t seen many guys throwing thier nets in that spot. From what I’ve heard and didn’t do a search to find out forsure but I think Gizzard shad are plankton eaters and small larva and insects. Also last year when driving my boat along the sides of the river running ditty poles I seen shad jumping from the noise of the boat and all were bigger shad and no small ones. Those younger catfish I was catching on my trotline would be feeding on the smaller shad if there were any to feed on and there weren’t any in thier stomachs, and I know thier the same size the Whitebass would feed on, 2 1/2″ and under. The ones I seen jumping were 2 1/2″ and bigger and no bigger schools of them, just a few here and there and no smaller shad jumping, especially in schools of that size like I used to see.

Do you guys see many big schools of 1 1/2″ shad and smaller up there compared to what there used to be, or are the same big schools still there like I used to see when I lived in LaCrosse 35 years ago. Back then huge waves of shad used to surface when fish came to feed on them. Its no wonder there were big schools of Whitebass back then if thats what it takes to keep big schools of Whitebass. I remember schools of shad 30′ across and shad would jump in various parts of the schools and would come up out of the water like waves, in diffrent parts of the school and all at the same time. Now come to think of it I haven’t seen any big schools of that size shad surfaceing here in the Cedar river eigther for years. The schools of smaller shad that would surface in the Cedar river were smaller then the schools I used to see in the mississippi but still no schools of 1 1/2″ and under, especially 1″ shad like I used to see here.

*deleted* by mudshark

How about them white bass!

In case you missed it in the drivel, here’s the orignal post:

Just so people are aware, there is a white bass tagging project the MNDNR is starting this year on the St Croix and Lake Pepin. Yellow tags will be sticking out of the backs of tagged white bass. We are going to start posting flyers at boat ramps and bait shops and will also have creel clerks handing out little business cards with instructions on how to report tagged white bass.

Reporting the tags is easy and can be done online at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fisheries/tagged_fish_reporting/index.html and simply walk through the process. You can click on the interactive map to show where you caught the white bass, then the next page will have a menu of a few things to fill out like species, length, color of tag, number on the tag, harvested or released, etc. Although as of right now, white bass are not on the drop down menu of tagged fish species, they will be added shortly.

Tagging has begun and we are hoping to tag several thousand between the St Croix and Lake Pepin. Reporting these fish will go a long way towards helping us understand this overlooked fish. The more reports we get, the better the data.

Feel free to post any questions and thank you!

Joel Stiras

Quote:

---

Heres another after thought about the White basses food source here. During winter this and the last 10 years you can watch eagles fly down and pick up shad from the water that goes over the lower roller dam here in town and land in the trees right by the dam. The shad thier picking up are bigger shad that the winter kill has produced and can be easily seen in thier claws. But I do remember when shad populations were higher in the Cedar then, then they seem to be in last years. Theres a spot by the lower roller dam where the shad used to congregate and guys with thier throw nets used to net them there for catfishing and get all sizes of them in a few to several throws. Come to think of it in recent years beings the shad numbers seem to be down I haven’t seen many guys throwing thier nets in that spot. From what I’ve heard and didn’t do a search to find out forsure but I think Gizzard shad are plankton eaters and small larva and insects. Also last year when driving my boat along the sides of the river running ditty poles I seen shad jumping from the noise of the boat and all were bigger shad and no small ones. Those younger catfish I was catching on my trotline would be feeding on the smaller shad if there were any to feed on and there weren’t any in thier stomachs, and I know thier the same size the Whitebass would feed on, 2 1/2″ and under. The ones I seen jumping were 2 1/2″ and bigger and no bigger schools of them, just a few here and there and no smaller shad jumping, especially in schools of that size like I used to see.

Do you guys see many big schools of 1 1/2″ shad and smaller up there compared to what there used to be, or are the same big schools still there like I used to see when I lived in LaCrosse 35 years ago. Back then huge waves of shad used to surface when fish came to feed on them. Its no wonder there were big schools of Whitebass back then if thats what it takes to keep big schools of Whitebass. I remember schools of shad 30′ across and shad would jump in various parts of the schools and would come up out of the water like waves, in diffrent parts of the school and all at the same time. Now come to think of it I haven’t seen any big schools of that size shad surfaceing here in the Cedar river eigther for years. The schools of smaller shad that would surface in the Cedar river were smaller then the schools I used to see in the mississippi but still no schools of 1 1/2″ and under, especially 1″ shad like I used to see here.

---

I cant say I have ever seen a shad less than 2.5″. Of course I do not net them. The white bass around here chase shiners, schools of millions of them. Just yesterday one of the guys fishing by me threw a net for shiners and gave me a bucket full. They were from 1″ up to one huge one at about 3.5″ long and 1″ top to bottom. The average was about 2″ I’d say. That is what the whites eat.

Where do you live Kevin?

On the Miss in the Quad Cities.

After 35 years now I’m wondering if it was huge schools of shad I was seeing when I lived in LaCrosse or shiners, but I do remember huge schools of baitfsih, by the zillions. Are there still decent schools of Whitebass in the Quad Cities area?

Quote:

---

After 35 years now I’m wondering if it was huge schools of shad I was seeing when I lived in LaCrosse or shiners, but I do remember huge schools of baitfsih, by the zillions. Are there still decent schools of Whitebass in the Quad Cities area?

---

I’m sure there are lots of balls of little shad around here, I just havent seen them. You were probably seeing both.

There used to be good schools of whites here but not in the last 4 or 5 years. The water used to boil when the whites would come though, but you dont see that very often anymore.

Last summer was pretty good for whites, we found the shiners running on the back side of an island and the whites were there for about 3 weeks solid. They are just now starting to run, the last couple days they have turned on. Not boiling yet or schooled up, but lots of numbers in areas.

Quote:

---

Wisconsin needs to put a limit on White Bass. Mongs from out of state even Minnesotans will buy an out of state Wisconsin license to take as many as they can. Not only on the Mississippi but around Petenwell when the run starts it is Mongs and every thing they can put White Bass into. Not saying they are the only ones but the majority.

---

The blame game never ends does it? Obviously its not an issue in WI if its no limit. Let the WI DNR do their job and decide. Ive been to wolf river and white bass waters in WI. Plenty of different ethnic groups & caucasian keeping loads white bass alike. People fishing out of state bring plenty of revenue also. If Asian anglers want to drive out state to catch these fish why not? Ive seen how some locals up on Devils Lake, ND dislike white bass and hate the fish for just being in their waters but yet dont like the idea of visiting anglers taking the fish either???

White bass, Striped bass are popular fish among the Asian community both as a food source and sport fish. Fish can be a large part of diet for Asian community, consumed much more often, for some several meals a week is not uncommon. When you see a person of Asian ethnic, its just not Hmong. It could be Laotian, Vietnamese, Combodian, Chinese, Koran, etc. Its best not to assume what you dont know. I will attest that C&R is heavily also practice among many Asian fishermen.

White bass are prolific breeders, hence the large limits or no bag limit regulations. If the DNR feels a need to better manage the population of these fish im sure they will do the available research and resource to maintain healthy populations. Its taken a very long time, but im glad the MN DNR is now giving White Bass the attention. Many Asian American anglers do travel out of state to seek the abundance of these fish and I would rather they spend the money here in hometown to help our state.

There’s many folks from IL and IA that come up to P4 to fish OUR whites. OUR as meaning everyone’s whites.

They’re a hoot to catch and taste pretty darn good as well.

Is it possible that grocery stores are now carrying white bass on the fish counters. Maybe people realize that they taste pretty good and are keeping more of them. I also didn’t know that they are commercially fished, does that have any bearing on reduced numbers that I have seen over the past 5 or so years?