WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Tuesday morning I fished with Rachel and Aaron Cherry of Nolanville on the 25th SKIFF program trip of the 2017 season. SKIFF, which stands for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun, exists to provide fishing trips at no charge to the children of military men and women separated from their kids due to their military duty. The Cherry kids’ dad is currently serving in South Korea.
ABOVE: Rachel Cherry with our largest fish of the trip, a nice 19″ hybrid striped bass.
ABOVE: Aaron Cherry with a nice freshwater drum (nicknamed “gaspergou”) we caught on the same slabs we were using for white bass and hybrid stripers.
WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday morning, 28 November 2017
HOW WE FISHED: This fishing trip divided evenly into two distinct halves. The first half was spent in the more shallow, turbid waters of one of Belton Lake’s tributaries fishing for white bass under birds. The second half was spent in deeper, clearer water nearer the dam fishing for white bass and hybrid stripers, also under birds. All of our fish were caught on slabs fished via a smoking tactic.
OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 1) When under active birds, the hybrid were much more likely to suspend and move horizontally whereas the white bass stayed glued to bottom. The movement and feeding of the hybrid was the primary factor for the presence of birds.
TALLY: 50 FISH, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:00a
End Time: 11:00a
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 53F
Water Surface Temp: 63.7F
Wind Speed & Direction: S11-13 for the entire trip
Sky Conditions: 30% broken white cloud cover
Water Level: 2.62 feet low
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS (MORNING):
**Area 2058-708 under birds (primarily terns) over several acres — fish were in tight, distinct “clumps” and were pretty stubborn
**Area 836-1142 under birds (primarily gulls) over several acres — whites were on bottom; hybrid suspended; fish were not as tough as at 2058-708, but were still not overly aggressive.
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
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle
Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle