Thread: killed them on wateree

i remember back 15 year ago or so, killing them in clear water cove.

[QUOTE=uncle remus;3069079]I have seen a total of 2 white bass come out of Wateree in the last 7 years caught one in a throw net and one on hook put um both back[/QUOTE

He must means White perch.I have never caught a White bass (top picture) that I know of at Wateree but have caught boat loads of White perch and Stripers.

Talked to Richard at Lake World saturday and he told me we no longer have white bass in Murray. The white perch have taken over, which he said he is going to have a perch jerk in late November.

[QUOTE=B10gone;3069383]

Originally Posted by uncle remus

I have seen a total of 2 white bass come out of Wateree in the last 7 years caught one in a throw net and one on hook put um both back[/QUOTE

He must means White perch.I have never caught a White bass (top picture) that I know of at Wateree but have caught boat loads of White perch and Stripers.

There are white bass in Wateree, but they are kinda like Muskie, a fish of a 1,000 casts now a days. It seems like once the perch invaded, the white bass took a massive decline. Thanks for the ID pictures!

We used to catch white bass by the bucket full at Cedar Creek in the springtime. We fished from the bank with dark green rubber tail jigs. We also used to troll small spinner baits in Wylie and fill up the cooler with white bass. Santee, up in the swamps at Rimini, was also a great place to fill up the cooler. Since the introduction of white perch about fourty years ago, I'm afraid the white bass are mostly gone. I caught one at Wateree about ten years ago. That was the last one I have seen there.

The story I got from Don Drose, the best Santee guide I ever fished with, was that cat fishermen from Virginia brought white perch from the Chesapeake Bay to Santee to use as catfish bait. Of course the bait that wasn't used was turned loose in the lake. That's how we got the white perch in South Corolina. Sad story, but apparently true.

Thumper was that not illegal to do? Bringing bait from 1 state to another? Then what's the story for Lake Murray having so many? Thanks

I don't know if it was illegal back then, I think it is now. From Santee, they could run all the way to Columbia in the spring spawn. I'm sure folks caught them and used them for bait in all of the state lakes. At the time Don Drose actually called them Virginia Perch.

We lived on Wateree from early 80s to 2002. We caught tons of white bass in spring time right off our dock. Mid 90s is when the perch really started to show up. As they moved in the white bass went away. Thumper1 has as good a reason as any. No one else seems to know where they came from. Wish we still had the white bass. But then what fun would a good old perch jerk be ?