How many times have you found yourself on the bank of a large river when fish are busting bait 10 to 15 yards beyond your casting range? How often have you been boat-fishing and seen a big school of white bass surface, again just out of reach? Your trolling motor won’t get you there in time and cranking the big motor will spook the fish. That’s frustrating.

You could do what I’ve often observed among riverbank anglers—get a 12-foot surf rod and a big spinning reel filled with 20-pound test, tie on a weighted popping cork and leader with several bucktail jigs, and bomb it out there. Hook a white bass, plane it across the surface, and whip it onto the bank. A real sporting approach!

Though not often considered a prestige catch, white bass are common across most of the country and always fun to catch. The frisky predators commonly feed on shad, forming large schools that chase these preyfish in the depths and often push bait to the surface, where whities often seem to feed just out of reach. The feeding sprees begin soon after white bass complete their spawning run, when water rises into the mid-60°F range, and continue into fall. Because the fish are liable to surface in seemingly random spots, long casts can be critical to success.

Expanding Your Reach

White-bass fishing is more fun and more effective with a new fishing approach, using rods designed to fish the float-and-fly for smallmouth bass. These light-action 8- to 10-foot spinning rods are pleasant to use and provide a scrappy tussle with white bass of just a pound or two. With a bit of practice, you can fire 1/4-ounce lures more than 50 yards, far beyond the range of standard 61⁄2-foot spinning outfits.

Rod Specs: Growing popularity of the float-and-fly has led manufacturers to offer appropriate actions, rated to cast lures weighing 1/16- to 3/8-ounce. I’ve used the Bass Pro Shops Micro Lite Series (8-, 81⁄2-, and 9-foot models) and G. Loomis’ 91⁄2-foot rod in the Bronzeback Series. Editor Steve Quinn has enjoyed using St. Croix’s 8-foot medium-light, moderate action rod and their 91⁄2-foot light-action rod in the Salmon and Trout Collection, both in the Avid Series, as well. Rods should be a little faster than blanks labeled slow, soft, or ultra-light action. Their length and taper absorbs sudden jumps, lunges, and quick changes of direction that these gamefish feature.

Such rods are too soft for trolling and don’t work well for jigging, but they’re just right for distance-casting light lures. You can launch a tiny topwater and impart wild walking action thanks to the blank’s generous flex. Tie on a compact spoon like a Kastmaster, Krocodile, or Cotton Cordell C.C. Spoon, and your range will amaze.

Line Selection: These rods match mono lines from 4- to 10-pound test. Six- or 8-pound line handles most situations. In slack waters, 4-pound usually is up to the task. And if you encounter heavy current or ragged underwater obstructions, or if wipers are present, 10-pound is an option, though it may cut casting distance.

I’ve experimented with thin superlines including Berkley FireLine, PowerPro, and Spiderwire Stealth. Their thin diameter can help you cast even farther. Just for fun, I spooled with 6-pound braid and launched a 1/2-ounce spoon to a pipe in the Arkansas River that we measured at 103 yards. Of course, it isn’t practical to fish at that range because you couldn’t set the hook, but it illustrates the potential. These lines are considerably more expensive, however, and also prone to wind-knots that can require cutting the line. For that reason, most anglers stick to mono, but braids can enhance performance when used with care.

Reels: With 4- to 8-pound-test line, choose reels in the 25 to 35 size, whose spools are wide enough to enhance casting distance and reduce the tight coils that form on mini-­spinning reels. If you must use 10-pound, upsize to a 40 series reel.

These outfits increase casting distance substantially, and that means fishing range for bank-bound anglers. You’ll have more fun fishing and catch more fish, as well, since you won’t be restricted to hefty lures to reach distant schools.

What to Toss

Lures that catch white bass number in the hundreds. To narrow your selection, consider the most common situations where you find white bass. Bladebaits, tail spinners, safety-spin spinnerbaits, cranks, and spoons all work at times. Single and tandem-rigged crappie jigs matched with 3-inch curlytail grubs are deadly and inexpensive.

If you fish muddy streams or stained reservoirs, bright colors work well, and hardbaits that rattle often get more attention. In clear, shallow streams, however, you need smaller, natural-colored lures that can be cast without making much of a splash. And in some of these situations, long casts aren’t essential and a shorter rod may do fine. On large rivers, though, casting distance is almost always a factor.

Do something for yourself this season: Break that 7-foot spinning rod barrier and try a float-and-fly rod. As a retired bachelor with 58 years of fishing experience, spending 250 days a year on the water, I get plenty of opportunity to experiment and see what works and what doesn’t.

Of the 72 different rods I own, the float-and-fly outfit is my most frequently used and most enjoyable. See if one won’t enhance your enjoyment of white bass fishing, as well. They’re not just for smallmouth bass any more.

Roger Bullock, Greenbrier, Arkansas, is an avid angler and longtime friend of the In-Fisherman staff.