This past Wednesday afternoon I fished a multi-species trip on Lake Belton with father and daughter pair Mike Cox and Hallie Cox of Austin.
Above: Texas author Mike Cox with a nice 18.5″ Lake Belton hybrid striped bass. This was only the second hybrid Mike has ever landed. The first, a 12-incher, came just moments before this one struck Mike’s slab.
Hallie and Mike Cox display a sampling of the larger white bass that fell for our 3/8 oz. slabs equipped with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks in mid-afternoon over 32′ of water.
Back in September, I was invited by Mr. John Jefferson to speak at the Austin Woods and Waters hunting and fishing club and Mike was in the audience. My topic was a addressing a typical year of fishing through all of the seasons on both Belton and Stillhouse Hollow. While Hallie was home from the University of Texas on winter break, Mike decided to see for himself if the fishing was as good as I had advertised.
Mike started his career as a reporter, with much of his early work done for the Austin American Statesman. Later, he began writing books and has authored over 20 works, mainly about Texas, including Time of the Rangers: The Texas Rangers, 1900 to Present, as well as The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900, and Texas Disasters, True Stories of Tragedy and Survival.
Our conditions this afternoon were very good. We found ourselves at the tail end of a warming trend with mostly cloudy skies and a breeze just west of the south.
We were able to get on deep fish in clear water right away this afternoon thanks to some loons diving down on shad and indicating the presence of fish. In our first 90 minutes on the water put over 70 fish in the boat. There was then a bit of a lull in the action as the skies brightened and the wind slacked off a bit for about 45 minutes. Around 3:30 or so, some low grey clouds obscured the sun, the south southwest breeze begin to blow a bit stronger, and the fish responded well to this change. Over the next 75 minutes we were able to take our tally up to 115 fish before the fish discontinued their feed in the 32 foot water we were fishing, the sending us hunting for active fish once again.
Surprisingly, no gulls or terns fed this evening, so all of the fish we found we found with sonar. Around 4:45 I pulled up on the same area that lit up with fish just prior to sunset last evening, and just like clockwork, the fish moved in, perked up, and bit well right up until dark. We put a final 53 fish in the boat at this area including the very first hybrid striped bass Mike had ever landed. He replaced that 12 inch long personal best just moments later with a nice 18 inch hybrid striper that weighed in right at 3 1/8 pounds.
As the sun set, our grand total stood at 168 fish.
TALLY = 168 FISH, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 1:00p
End Time: 5:20p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F
Water Surface Temp: 58.7F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSW6-9
Sky Conditions: 50% cloud cover on a fair sky
Water Level: 0.50 feet above full pool
GT = 30
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1023/678 – large, deep school of smaller white bass in 42′ giving up 70 fish in 2 hours
**Area 1871 – school of mixed class of 1, 2, & 3 year fish in 32′ giving up 45 fish
**Area 1001 – excited school of fish in low-light feeding conditions in 25′ giving up 53 fish
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
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-LGrD-sm7Bo6tDPIv0z4jg
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/holdingtheline/