WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday morning I fished with Jason Maine and his family, including his wife, Jen, his daughter, Maggie, his son, Andrew, and his step-dad, Bob Sylvia of Connecticut.

 

Mom pulled in the largest fish of the trip when this 3.5 pound hybrid struck her slab in about 27 feet of water.

 

Andrew had his hands full with this freshwater drum which we caught from the same location as mom’s nice hybrid.  This was our second largest fish of the trip.

Right at the 4 hour mark, as the morning bite had really shut down hard, we pulled white bass number 100, 101, and 102 in a team effort to eclipse the 100 fish mark.  Great teamwork today by an entire family willing to be coached to success.

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday morning, 21 December, 2017

HOW WE FISHED:  With the water surface temperature staying in the high 50’s for some time now, we continued to use both smoking and easing tactics with 3/8 oz. and 3/4 oz. slabs with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks attached.   We caught fish in shallower, 25-36 foot water early, then moved out to deeper 43-48 foot water as the skies brightened.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   1) The overall length of this morning’s bite stopped well short of the 11:00 to 11:15 timeframe it has been extending to.  I suspect that because we had clear skies and the bite began at sunrise, that it also ended earlier versus our recent trips fished under cloud cover. 2) I really had to “spot-hop” today, making 12 separate “Spot-Locks” to put our catch together.  Once the bite waned, we could only get 3-5 fish interested in biting as soon as we got to an area.  After catching those, the rest of the school quickly grew disinterested.

TALLY: 102 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time:  11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  43F

Water Surface Temp:  58F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSW7-10

Sky Conditions: Bright with <10% high, white cloud cover

Water Level: 2.78 feet low

GT = 65

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic B0007C (with 3 short hops)

**Area B0008C (with 2 short hops)

**Area  B0004C (with 3 short hops)

**Area vic 2059

 

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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