This past Tuesday morning, April 4th, I fished with Mr. Will Almond of Kempner, TX, and Mr. David Ross of Salado, TX.
David Ross holds our longest fish of the morning, a 22.5″, 5.00 pound hybrid striped bass caught with baits suspended over a 42′ bottom.
Although this fish measured 21.5″ — an inch shorter than our longest fish, it was a deeper-bodied fish and wide across the back — very healthy looking with good color. Wish they were all like this one!
Will has a 5-year-old son who loves to see dad’s fish pictures. Will asked me to text the unedited photos I’d taken before we left the boat ramp at the end of the trip knowing he was going to be asked for pictures when he walked in the door.
Both fellows are avid outdoorsmen who enjoy fishing, hunting, and shooting. Both make their livings as pharmacists for H-E-B – – Will at the store in Burnet, and David at the store in Belton.
We enjoyed mild weather and winds today which, when combined with the low humidity, made for a very enjoyable morning to be in the outdoors.
We got going around 7:10 and, given the bright conditions, I chose to head to deep, clear water to fish specifically for hybrid striped bass using freshly caught live shad.
I have found that this deeper, clearer water seems to hold fewer white bass currently, thus, when specifically pursuing hybrid, I have not encountered near the number of killed, or stolen baits as compared to fishing in areas where white bass tend to be more prolific.
We fished four areas this morning and the first three produced primarily legal- sized hybrid striped bass up to 22.5 inches and 5.00 pounds. We stuck with this effort for 3.75 hours and put a total of 69 fish in the boat. At around 11 AM, the winds began to increase sharply and the area we had been fishing began to slack off. We moved to our fourth and final area. No sooner did we get baits down, then a massive school of white bass moved in on our baits. The number of individuals in this school was several hundred. Knowing that putting bait down would be an inefficient means of catching these, at best, I suggested we transition to the light spinning rods I always keep on board just for such situations.
In 45 minutes’ time, we put an additional 39 fish in the boat, all consisting of one and two year class white bass. We wrapped up our trip right around noon with exactly 108 fish boated, of which approximately 30 were keeper hybrid striped bass.
All of our live shad fishing was done with what is essentially a Carolina rig – – I use a three-quarter ounce egg sinker powder-coated white for visibility, below that is a ball bearing swivel to which a 2.5 foot leader made of fluorocarbon has been attached. At the end of the leader I used a snell knot to attach a #1 circle hook, complete with a “tag” of mono which is very helpful in preventing the point of the hook from sticking back into the bait and preventing a solid hook up.
TALLY = 108 FISH, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 12:00 noon
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F
Water Surface Temp: 67.2F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE7 at sunrise, shifting and increasing to S16-17 by trip’s end
Sky Conditions: Clear and bright
Water Level: 1.41 feet above full pool
GT = 85
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1377 – hybrid on live shad in 40-45′; keeper hybrid upon arrival with smaller fish filtering in after we’d fish for a while
**Area – 1294 – hybrid on live shad in 40-45′; keeper hybrid upon arrival with smaller fish filtering in after we’d fish for a while
**Area 152 – hybrid on live shad in 40-45′; keeper hybrid upon arrival with smaller fish filtering in after we’d fish for a while
**Area 787/682 – white bass on slab with Hazy Eye Stinger hook
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
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