This past Tuesday morning I fished with a party of six including Chuck and Tracey Eddy, Leon and Carleen Carroll, and Dallas and Melissa Everett. All but Carleen had joined me, all together, on a winter trip on Stillhouse targeting white bass on artificials. For a change of pace, our target species this morning was hybrid striped bass.

Dallas and Tracey landed these nice hybrid just seconds apart as a band of incoming rain spurred a feeding spree.

Chuck landed our largest hybrid of the trip.

Carleen and Melissa doubled up as the rain moved through.

Leon and Carleen with one of Leon’s hybrid.

 

This past Tuesday morning I fished with a party of six including Chuck and Tracy Eddy, Leon and Carleen Carroll, and Dallas and Melissa Everett. All but Carleen had joined me, all together, on a winter trip on Stillhouse targeting white bass on artificials. For a change of pace, our target species this morning was hybrid striped bass.

The morning got off to a slow start under very gray, murky, and nearly calm conditions. We ran into bottom oriented white bass instead of hybrid at the first two areas we tried, then small blue catfish at the third area we tried. Our fourth and final stop bode well for us.

We got six baits down, got the thumper going, got chum down to depth in 41 feet of water, and, slowly but steadily began to pull legal – sized hybrid striper. As we began to catch fish, the commotion those hooked fish created just added to the attraction, and our catch rate steadily increased. The action peaked this morning as a small wrinkle in the weather passed over Lake Belton, dropping a few drops of rain for just a short period of time. During this time, we had multiple hookups going at any given time, very short wait times on biting fish once the baits got replaced and down towards bottom, and the sonar screen became littered with fish from 12 feet off the bottom downward.

Once the weather returned to what it had been prior to the rain, the fishing slacked off once again until, by 11:10, all was quiet once again and we decided to call it done.

Our final tally, which included both white bass and hybrid striper, stood at 59 fish with the largest two fish being a 5.5 pound hybrid which Leon landed, and a 5.75 pound hybrid which Chuck landed.

This was Carlene’s first time ever to catch hybrid striper, and you could just tell she really had a blast being out on the water with friends and feeling the tremendous pull of those hybrid striped bass.

This was just a fun bunch to be with  — all have been friends for a long time and didn’t hold back in poking fun at one another, being a bit competitive, telling “war stories”, and more.

TOTAL =   59 FISH, all caught and released

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time:  7:00a

End Time:  11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  70F

Water Surface Temp:  73.3F

Wind Speed & Direction:  ESE8-10

Sky Conditions: 100% cloudy with a brief shower around 10:15

Water Level: 0.61 feet above full pool and falling; 20cfs release at Belton Dam

GT = 40

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  1935 – found a few hybrid, but mainly whites while searching for hybrid & moved

**Area  vic 081 – found whites while searching for hybrid & moved

**Area  vic 152  – found whites & bluecat while searching for hybrid & moved

**Area vic 1294 – lengthy hybrid bite on live and cut bait

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

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle