Finding Consistent Action After the Spawn

The spring white bass run follows a bell-shaped curve, starting tentatively, then ramping up and peaking before it inevitably falls to a finish. At the run’s dreaded end, most anglers hang up their spinning rigs, jigheads, and white curlytail grubs until the following spring. If you’ve wondered what it would take to successfully pursue white bass after the spawn, consider using downriggers.

Downrigger fishing can yield returns and extend your white bass season from Postspawn in late spring right up through the following winter when these freshwater pelagics again return to reservoir headwaters and stage for the spawn. Downriggers allow you to accurately present small artificial lures in deep water and in a way that no other method can—not driftsock drifting, three-way rigging, trolling leadcore, or even towing the famous Hellbender-Pet Spoon combination. Downrigging covers water quickly, eliminating unproductive areas and enabling you to focus on, and pass your presentation over, active fish in short order.

Downrigging Preparation

In its simplest form, a downrigger consists of a boom arm with a crankhandle-equipped spool of cable and a rod holder on one end. A deeply grooved pulley wheel is affixed at the opposite end of the boom to guide the cable. A weight (typically 6 to 12 pounds or more) is suspended from the cable off the pulley end of the downrigger, while the remainder of the cable is stored on the spool.

The weight is raised and lowered using the hand crank. The weight-and-cable combination maintains a near-vertical orientation in the cable while trolling, which allows for precise depth control. A release clip connects the fishing line from the rod and reel to the downrigger weight, keeping the line and lure at a desired depth. The release clip also keeps the trolled lure at a set distance behind the weight.

If you already have a downrigger mounted on your boat, check it over closely, especially the last 3 to 4 feet of cable at and above the weight. Inspect the connections and the cable for frays. If you’re just getting started with a new ’rigger, mount it where it works for your needs. Being able to watch your rods while keeping an eye on your sonar is ideal. Make sure your downrigger ball displays on your sonar unit, and check that your sonar is plumb and level, as a correctly positioned transom-mounted or through-hull sonar transducer shows the level at which your weight is tracking relative to the depth at which fish are holding.

Adjust your release clips before you get on the water. Make sure that both your fishing line and the friction pads of the release clips are soaking wet as you adjust the release tension by trial and error when not on the lake. When in doubt, err on the tight side. Hooking a fish and having to manually trip a release is better than dealing with false releases. The release clip should never be so tight that you can’t manually trip it by powerfully sweeping your rod upwards.