My 13-year-old son Zach and I were fishing with our friend Brad Weigmann, a fishing guide on Arkansas' Beaver Lake. The weatherman had forecast sunny skies and warm weather for our visit, but when we launched Brad's boat, the temperature was barely above freezing and clouds hid the sun. Brad graciously shared some warm clothes, but Zach and I still shivered in the cold.

On a day like that, I think there's only one thing that will get an angler really warm again, and that's a hard-fighting fish on your line. Fortunately for us, that was about to happen. As we motored into a big cove, we saw a swirl on the surface, and a geyser of shad erupted from the water as some unseen predator began feeding in the calm water. Then there was another swirl. And then another. And another.

Brad and Zach grabbed rods and started casting jigging spoons while I watched from a seat in the rear of the boat. Brad was coaching Zach.

"You just want to give the spoon a little lift-and-drop action," Brad said. "When the spoon starts falling, it flutters down like a dead shad and -- "

Wham! Brad's rod did a nose dive as a fish hit the spoon hard. Then, again: wham! Zach's rod bowed up too.

If my son has ever had a bigger smile on his face, I've never seen it. The white bass he fought gave him a run for his money, but the fish never had a chance against a teenager who'd been patient far too long. Zach swung it into the boat just as Brad did the same with his. Both fish were in the 2-pound class.

Action like this is typical on Beaver Lake and its tributaries each spring. The same is true on several other Natural State waters as well. During their spawning season in March and April, white bass gather in huge numbers in and around streams that feed our major impoundments, and if you're there when it happens, you can expect to enjoy some incredible fishing. Here are several places you should try this season.

BEAVER LAKE
Many anglers consider Beaver Lake near Rogers in northwest Arkansas the No. 1 white bass hotspot in the state. There are good reasons for this. This 28,220-acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impoundment has many large creek and river tributaries where white bass congregate to spawn, and a forage base of shad keeps them healthy and abundant year 'round.

The lake is fed by one fork of the White River that goes back south and east as far as Crosses, Delaney and St. Paul. The West Fork of the White ranges southwest as far away as Winslow, West Fork and Greeland, while the Middle Fork travels northwesterly about halfway between and paralleling Arkansas Highway 16 and U.S. Highway 71. These three forks add up to many miles of prime water where you can always find springtime action.