Kentucky Spring Fish Runs: White Bass

On the Dix, Salt and Big South Fork Cumberland rivers, in spring; across their range, white bass spawn February through May. That timing comes from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The day each year follows the water: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says white bass spawn once it reaches about 57.2°F.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives 57.2°F for white bass, the figure each Kentucky verdict reads the water against. A single figure is a mark: water at or above it means the spawn can be on.

A USGS gauge on the Salt River reports the water temperature through the day. Each run card sets the latest reading against the spawning temperature: more than 5°F below the spawning temperature is Not yet, within 5°F is Getting close, inside the range is On, and above it late in the run is Winding down. The other runs follow their usual months.

No. The months are the usual window, and the water sets the day: a cold spring holds a run back, and a warm one brings it forward. In Kentucky, the gauge readings on the run cards show where the water stands now.

White bass run from lakes and reservoirs up the rivers that feed them.

Water temperature is the main signal: each species waits for its own range. Longer days bring fish toward the rivers, and a warm rain that raises and warms the water often starts a push upstream. Walleye go first in cold water; white bass, herring and shad follow as rivers warm.