Belton Produces 2nd White Bass record in 5 days — 29 Oct. 2016, 68 Fish

This past Saturday evening I fished a multi species trip on Lake Belton. Joining me were Jack Kovach, Bob James, and Brittany Santoro. The three friends fish together regularly on Lake Belton but freely admitted that they did a lot more fishing than catching and wanted to come out with me not so much to catch fish, but to learn some better approaches at finding fish to catch.

angler-with-fish

From left: Bob James, Brittany Santoro, and Jack Kovach with Brittany’s new lake record white bass.  This fish measured 16.75″, thus eclipsing Garvon Golden’s 16.375″ fish caught the previous Tuesday.  Both fish exceeded the length of Lake Belton’s previous catch & release category white bass which stood at 15.75 inches since 2010.

Given the unseasonably warm air and water temperature, and the fact that we had a nearly cloudless sky, we spent the majority of our time probing deeper water haunts with a vertical approach using slabs to attempt schooled white bass congregated near bottom.

We never really “slayed ‘em” at any one area, but rather put together a decent catch by moving frequently and staying focused on our techniques. I reserved some time between vertical jigging and throwing bladebaits for fish up shallow just before dark to introduce the trio to the technique of downrigging.

As luck would have it, on our very first pass at fish holding tight to bottom in about 22 feet of water, Brittany came up with a triple on her three-armed umbrella rag. We went on to catch additional singles and doubles in this same area until everyone had had several turns using this tactic.

As the sun set, and right up until the fish quit biting around 7:20, we threw bladebaits in under 13 feet of water for white bass patrolling the shallows hunting shad in wolf packs. As I was assisting Jack with a white bass he had hooked on his bladebait, Bob James and I turned our attention to Brittany who was needing some assistance on the starboard side. After I left her to go assist Jack, she hooked what would be the second lake record white bass taken on my boat in less than a week’s time.

We immediately put Brittany’s jumbo white on the measuring board and I saw that it eclipsed 16.375 inches, stretching a full 16.75 inches. Photography was difficult because of the failing light, but we all pitched in with cell phone flashlights and got decent, clear photos of Brittany with her fish, as well as photos of the fish on the measuring board.

What an awesome way to end the trip. Our total for the night stood at 68 fish, including hybrid striped bass, white bass, largemouth bass, and a single crappie. All fish were taken on artificial bait.

TALLY = 55 fish, all caught and released

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:00p

End Time:  7:20p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 81F

Water Surface Temp:  76.7F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSE8

Sky Conditions: Fair skies with 20% white cloud cover

Water Level: ~0.01 feet high with only evaporative losses

GT = 45

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Areas vic 1819, 1667-993 — all deep vertical jigging for white bass with slabs

**Areas 328-1681 — downrigging

**Areas 1664-1665 — low light shallow bite on bladebaits

 

 

Bob Maindelle

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

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