Need a Mask to go with that Cape? 66 Fish, Belton, 05 May 2014

This
morning I treated my wife, Rebecca, and mom, Charlotte, to a morning of hybrid striped bass fishing.  We are in the peak of the spring hybrid bite that coincides with the annual threadfin shad spawn, and had an unexpected postponement from some new clients, so, we made it a family day on the water.

Over 70% of our catch of 66 fish consisted of strong, healthy legal-sized (18″+) hybrid striped bass.  We used circle hooks, fought the fish quickly, handled them minimally, and released every single one to grow larger and fight again.

Rebecca (decidedly NOT a fan of any outdoor temperature below 89F) brought a little extra “insurance” against the cold this morning.  

Fishing was easy this morning.  The wind was from due south around 11-12 mph which made for predictable shad netting (140 baits in my first throw — thanks Mr. Bill!) and predictable fish location.

We fished on exactly one area all morning, never moving more than a single boat length and encountered a very aggressive, extended hybrid striped bass bite, sprinkled with a few average white bass and a few blue catfish.

Both Rebecca and Charlotte are pretty good anglers but had never fished with live shad, nor with reels equipped with bait clickers or line counters.  Once we got some basics down, they were cooking with oil and went on to try some “advanced” skills including hooking live shad on the circle hooks and netting one another’s fish. 

It was good to be with family today!

TALLY = 66 FISH, all caught and released


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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 11:50p
Air Temp: 64F at trip’s start.
Water Surface Temp: 68.7F 
Wind:  S12 at sunrise, increasing to S15 by trip’s end.
Skies: Cloudless fair sky
Other Notes: GT0

Areas Fished with success:

**1199 to 511 Spotted abundant shad here after netting what I needed
**1200 Netted shad here in the AM
** 1381 — caught all 66 fish here








Bob Maindelle
Holding the Line Guide Service

254-368-7411

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Salado, Texas