Back in late May I was contacted by Mrs. Rowena Miller of Belton. She wanted to get a Father’s Day gift certificate for her husband, Bill, and her 13-year-old daughter, Lily. This past Saturday, June 18, Bill and Lily redeemed that certificate for a great morning of fishing on Belton Lake.
Mr. Bill Miller of Belton, TX, displays his record-breaking catch-and-release category hybrid striper. This fish measured 25.625 inches, just barely eclipsing the former 25.50 inch record set by Lacey Sparkman in May of 2011. Both record fish were caught on large live shad.
Mrs. Rowena Miller sent her husband, Bill, and 13-year-old daughter, Lily, on a fishing excursion for Fathers’ Day.
We met at 6:15 AM, prayed for the day ahead, went over some basics about what we would be doing and why and how we would be doing it, and then began our pursuit of fish.
Fortunately, because our weather has begun to become stable, today’s fishing was very much like my two previous trips with the fish doing essentially the same thing in the same places at the same times. The fish we caught today were within hundred yards of where they have been over the past several days.
Despite the fish being in the same locations, they reacted a bit differently to our presentations. A case in point: the day before, we picked up 17 fish on downrigged Pet Spoons in the first 75 minutes after sunrise when very active fish showed to be in a suspended and feeding posture from bottom up to mid- depth. Today, the fish were in a much more reserved posture, closer to bottom, unwilling to chase moving lures very far, and all but disinterested in the downriggered baits. So, we transitioned to fishing with live bait from a fixed position much earlier this morning then during yesterday’s trip.
Long story short, we “camped out” on top of one area for a full three hours, steadily putting together a catch of 42 fish which consisted of roughly 1/3 short hybrids under 18 inches, and 2/3 keeper hybrids of 18 inches or greater.
The highlight of the trip was having Bill, a 78-year-old Belton native who has lived in this area since before Belton Lake even existed, catch a new lake record in the catch and release category. Bill’s outsized fish struck a 6 inch long gizzard shad fish within 3 feet of bottom. The fish pulled several yards of line against the drag multiple times before we got it to boatside and landed it. This came on the heels of a 25.25″ fish landed yesterday by Greg Hughes III of Copperas Cove in the Junior Angler catch & release category.
Although not a very chunky fish, this fish was very long, taping at 25.75 inches, beating out the previous catch and release record of 25.50 inches by just one quarter of an inch. Catch and release category records are determined by length, not by weight, so as to minimize the handling required for fish that are going to be released.
After a solid three hours of fishing, the bite really begin to taper off hard, and so we decided to call it a great day while a bit of cloud cover and a nice 8 mile-per-hour south breeze allowed being outdoors to remain comfortable on what would be a very hot and uncomfortable day by early afternoon.
Happy Father’s Day, Bill! Congratulations on the new lake record.
TALLY = 42 fish, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 6:15a
End Time: 9:35a
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 77F
Water Surface Temp: 83.1F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE8 entire time
Sky Conditions: Variable clouds from 30-50% on a fair sky all morning.
Water Level: ~22 feet above full pool with a release of 5,744 cfs ongoing. Lake is falling ~0.2 to 0.3 feet per day
GT = 0
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1764/011 – live shad fished near bottom for 42 fish, a majority of which were legal hybrid
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle