Even with the Mississippi River at near-record low stages, James Turner of Vicksburg was still confident that at least one of his favorite jetties would be productive.
Oh yeah, was he ever right.
After finding one that was at the perfect level, with water spilling through a break in the top of the rocks, the bite was on. Cast after cast produced white bass, ranging from half-pound throw-backs to 3-pound brutes. In between those sizes, we caught about 50 perfect for the fillet knife — about 1½ to 2 pounds.
“A lot of people just like to fish for these for sport, and they are best enjoyed on ultra-light tackle with 2- or 4-pound test,” Turner said. “But I tell you what, you take these medium-sized white bass, dress them out, and they eat pretty good. And, generally, when you can catch one or two, you can catch 50 or 100. You can go to town on them.
“They may not taste as good as crappie or even catfish, but they will certainly do. I like to cut the red meat out of the middle line and it leaves you nice fillets, including a thick shoulder you can cook anyway you want, and you can take the bottom fillet and the tail end and get these little thin flat pieces that fry so crispy.”
The true joy of Mississippi River white bass fishing, however, is in the catching. When it’s right, it is a hoot.
“There’s more than one way to catch them, but in the heat of the summer I usually look for the kind of place that will make for quick, fast action so I can catch a bunch and beat it back before it gets to hot,” Turner said. “The ideal spot is one of these jetties where the water is rushing over a low spot or break in the top.
“The key is learning the locations that (are) right for the different river stages. This jetty we’re fishing today is usually 10 to 15 feet under water most of the year. But this summer, the river is low and it’s one of the few places in this stretch of the river (near Vicksburg, his home port) that is good. The great thing about it is that with the river at this level, the fish are going to be stacked in the few places available.”
Turner’s favorite lure — 99 percent of the time he’s throwing it — is simple enough, a quarter-ounce lead head jig with a thin wire hook, and a 3-inch pearl curl-tail grub. The thin wire hook helps make for an easier release when it hangs in the rocks, and you are going to hang in the rocks.
“If you aren’t bouncing the grub off those rocks, you’re not going to be catching as many fish as you should be,” Turner said. “And you need to work each little break in the rocks thoroughly, which means casting across it, into it, above it (and letting it come through the white water), parallel to it and every other presentation you can imagine. They might bite it on one pattern for a little while and then change to another.”
It takes practice, but learning to keep contact with the lure as it rides the white water through the rocks is a must. It is critical in keeping the lure from hanging and discerning the difference between a rock and a strike.
Another fun factor in white bassing on the Mississippi River jetties is the unknown. Whites may be the target, but many other species can come into play from catfish, stripers, largemouth, crappie and even sauger — all species this writer has caught on the jetties.
But my favorites are the white bass, on 4-pound test on the lightest spinning gear I own. The action can be so fast, I suggest a long-sleeve t-shirt because you will forget to reapply sunscreen.
It can get that insane.
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