White bass fer supper

[TubeDude]

The size on UL WB seems bigger to me this year.  The average we have caught are pushing 11" and there have been several pushing 12".  Hope this trend continues.

Anyone (TubeDude) know why the WB are so small in UL?  Overpopulated?  Lack of sufficient food?  Shorter growing season?  All or none of the above?  Back home in OK, WB average 14-15", but I understand the lakes have more food and the growing season is longer.  Sure would be nice if they could reach that size in UL!

You have pretty much answered your own question.  It's a combination of food, habitat and weather.  I too have caught lots of whities (sand bass or sandies in some areas) in warmer climes.  Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico all have lakes where white bass can regularly exceed 16 to 18 inches and over 2 pounds.  In virtually all the lakes where I have caught larger white bass there has been a healthy population of threadfin shad and/or other small forage species.  And the growing season is usually year round.

In Utah Lake the white bass spawn in May and the young grow quickly on a diet of midge larvae and then on the newly hatched young of all other species in the lake.  They feed especially heavily on their own young as they get bigger.   But by late fall, whitettes are 4" to 5" long and too big for larger white bass to eat.  Ditto for the young of crappies, bluegill and carp.  So there is an upcoming period of several months when they have to rely on a diet of midge larvae, leeches and any other aquatic invertebrates they can find.  The minimal diet keeps them alive but does not contribute much to growth.

The decent sized 10-11 inch fish showing up now are probably about 3 years old.  Those that survive into next year should be some hefty 12 - 13 inchers.  I have caught a lot that size from Utah Lake over the years.  And I have seen a few over 14"...but not many.