WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday evening I fished with Diego Rubio and his 5 1/2 hear old son, Henry.  Big sister was supposed to make it, too, but wasn’t feeling well after too much turkey and time spent with cousins over the holiday, so, this was a “guy trip”.

Although not our “target species”, largemouth and smallmouth very much become part of the catch all winter long as they school up and inhabit deep water where white bass and hybrid are typically found.

We encountered active white bass and hybrid striped bass all afternoon, but only in short spurts.  Once a “spurt” came and went, we’d have to motor to another small concentration of light bird activity, then use sonar to stay on fish.

 

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass and hybrid striped bass

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday evening, 25 November 2017

HOW WE FISHED: The undesirable light winds and bright, clear skies remained this afternoon as we began a 4-hour trip at 1:45p.  By 2:15 gulls began to work over open water atop bait being driven by gamefish.  These fish and birds worked all afternoon, but not for any length of time at a given area.  So, we had to look for birds, get to them quickly, catch a few while the birds were still helpful in indicating the presence of fish, then hope to catch a few more in the minutes after the bird action ended.  Then, we had to repeat this process multiple time at multiple areas to string together a full afternoon.  Henry did very well for his age, staying engaged the entire time despite the lack of variety in angling tactics this time of year.  He caught numerous fish on his own, as well as a few via “assist” from dad and me.  Everything we caught was on smoked 3/8 oz or 3/4 oz slabs.  Although I put live baits out this afternoon, they did not perform well.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   1) Fish continue to present in a fairly scattered fashion with multiple small pods of fish fanning out over large areas of bottom. 2) Fish fed throughout the afternoon, right up until just after sunset, but only in short “spurts” of 15-20 minutes each.  Once a “spurt” was over, another would occur elsewhere, again, pointing to the scattered nature of the fish.

TALLY: 67 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time:  1:45p

End Time:  5:45p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  74F

Water Surface Temp:  63.7F

Wind Speed & Direction:  Light & variable winds

Sky Conditions:  Clear, bright skies

Water Level: 2.54 feet low

GT = 20

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1544 – Smoking for white bass and hybrid under birds; fish remained active for a few minutes longer after birds settled

**Area 1296- Smoking for white bass and hybrid under birds; fish remained active for a few minutes longer after birds settled

**Area 973- Smoking for white bass and hybrid under birds; fish remained active for a few minutes longer after birds settled

**Area 1929- Smoking for white bass and hybrid under birds; fish remained active for a few minutes longer after birds settled

 

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

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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