Truly Multi-Species — 178 Fish @ Belton

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Friday morning I welcomed back the crew from Pride of Texas Landscape and Irrigation, including Justin Pride, Rob Ramey, and Ricky Guenat.  These fellows have fished at least one springtime trip with me for several years now and I always look forward to having them aboard.  You can tell they just enjoy being with one another, being away from the stressors of work, and being outdoors.

 

Justin Pride of Pride of Texas Landscaping and Irrigation holds our largest fish of the trip, a 6.75 pound largemouth that went for a large, live threadfin shad fished down in timber, and mixed in with hybrid stripers.

Ricky Guenat with the first hybrid of the day, taken just off the main river channel with baits set at 30′ over a deeper bottom.

The whole crew with a few of the better sized white bass we landed today.  Artificial lures accounted for 145 whites in our first 3 hours.  From left: Ricky Guenat, Justin Pride, and Rob Ramey.

 

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday morning, 30 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:   Since the hybrid fishery really hasn’t turned on with great consistency yet, I suggested we make this a multi-species trip, which the fellows were agreeable to.  We spent our first 3 hours using artificials (3/8 oz. white slabs with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks fish with a smoking tactic) which accounted for 150 fish including 2 drum, 3 largemouth, and 145 white bass.  We then hung bait and tried tempting the hybrid for our final 2 hours.  This accounted for 28 more fish, including 10 keeper hybrid, 2 white bass, and 16 largemouth bass, including the trip’s largest fish — a 6.75 pound largemouth taken by Justin on a large, live threadfin shad.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   1) Next to zero bird activity.  Most all fish-finding now based on sonar use.

TALLY: 178 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:20a

End Time: 12:20p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 58F

Water Surface Temp:  65.1 to 65.8F

Wind Speed & Direction:   NE9-12 all morning

Sky Conditions: 0% cloud cover; blue sky

Water Level: 2.19 feet low and slowly rising

GT = 235

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

N/A

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1369 – smoking white bass

**Area B0066c – smoking white bass

**Area vic B0062C – live shad for 1 hybrid , 2 whites

**Area B0065C – live shad for 9 hybrid, 16 largemouth

 

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

Pre-Deployment Daddy-Daughters Trip

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Monday morning I fished with US Army Captain Chris Huggett and his two daughters, just-turned-5-years-old Clara, and 2 1/2-year-old Rosalea.  I would not normally take kids so young at this time of year, preferring instead to fishing in the heat of the summer when sunfish are abundant and offer “instant-gratification” fishing just right for youngsters with short attention spans.  In this case, however, Chris’ wife, Erin, explained that Chris wanted to do something special with the girls before he deploys as an armor company commander overseas for a number of months.  She said they weren’t worried about numbers of fish, nor about the girls lasting for a full 3.5 hours, but just wanted to catch a few fish and have some daddy-daughter time.  As it turned out, both girls landed the first fish of their lives and we all had a good time doing it.

 

US Army Captain Chris Huggett with his girls, Clara and Rosalea, on their big day on the water prior to Chris’ forthcoming deployment.  Here, the girls show two of the white bass we landed while trolling with shad-imitating crankbaits.

 

 WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday morning, 26 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:   Given the girls’ age and the current fishing scenario, I opted to simply use flatline trolling and downrigging to keep the pace of the fish catching steady and minimize the technical aspects of the fishing as best I could.  We landed 8 fish (7 white bass and 1 largemouth) via flatline trolling using the Storm Smash Shad in under 14′.  We also landed 5 fish (all white bass) via downrigging with a 3-armed umbrella rig from out of 40′

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   1) “Leapfrogging” egrets indicated the presence of spawning shad along 3 unique sections of bank this morning.  2) Credible report from a fellow guide on Belton indicated a tough bite on hybrid today on that body of water.

TALLY: 13 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:20a

End Time: 10:50a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Water Surface Temp:  64.1 to 66.8F

Wind Speed & Direction:   S13 all morning

Sky Conditions: 100% grey cloud cover

Water Level: 3.92 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 745 – flatlining cranks

**Area  vic 111 to 114 – flatlining cranks

**Area 1500-1977 – downrigging 3-armed umbrellas for whites both suspended and on bottom

 

 

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

Buds from the Valley — 134 Fish @ Belton

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Saturday morning I fished with long-time buddies from down in south Texas, Lucas Rodriguez and Chris Dyer.  Lucas is the CEO of a medical research company in Dallas, and Chris is in the produce business in the Houston area.  The two met half-way and did an overnight camping trip to Dana Peak Park on the north shore of Stillhouse and then met me at Lake Belton for a half-day of fishing the following morning.  Under ideal conditions we put together a nice catch of 130 white bass in just under three hours, then shifted gears and went on a hunt for hybrid.  That didn’t go nearly so well, yielding just 2 white bass, a largemouth bass and a smallmouth bass, but no hybrid today.

 

Lucas Rodriguez with a nice Lake Belton smallmouth bass that went for one of the six live shad we had presented in a search for hybrid stripers.

 

Lucas Rodriguez (left) and Chris Dyer took 130 white bass in just under 3 hours on a combination of slabs fished vertically and bladebaits fished horizontally and via sightcasting.

 WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday morning, 24 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:   We had near-perfect conditions today — “squinting” light levels through grey clouds, a manageable, southerly wind, and another warm overnight on a string of warm days.  The fish were in high gear this morning with surface action routinely occurring in the first 90 minutes following the obscured sunrise.  We caught white bass for 3 solid hours on slabs and blades, and could have kept right on catching, but decided to shift gears in hopes of getting a few “last hour” hybrid.  That didn’t happen this morning, but Lucas got a nice bonus smallmouth bass on the live shad we suspended for hybrid.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   1) Perfect conditions matched to a strong bite this morning.  2) Late morning hybrid were hard to find.  By the time we quit the white bass and started looking, the clouds had begun clearing and a lot of other boats were starting to run and look for fish.

TALLY: 134 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:20a

End Time: 11:50a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Water Surface Temp:  63.3F

Wind Speed & Direction:   S12-13 all morning

Sky Conditions:100% grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.42 feet low and falling

GT = 70

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 380 for white bass on slabs

**Area  B0063/4C – for white bass sight casting with blades

**Area vic 692 for white bass on slabs

 

 

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

The Archies from Oregon — 54 Fish

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Friday morning I fished with Chancellor Archie, his wife, Karah, and their two daughters, 14-year-old Gabrielle and 9-year-old Katelin.  Chancellor and his family are moving to the Leander area from Oregon.  Most of the family’s recent fishing experiences have centered around trout and salmon in the Pacific Northwest.  Today, we primarily pursued white bass to keep the girls engaged, while leaving just a bit of time near trip’s end to get a hybrid or two.

 

From left: Katelin, Chancellor, Karah, and Gabrielle Archie with a few of the 52 white bass we landed on slabs on a cool, breezy morning on Lake Belton.

Gabrielle had all she could handle when this 3.25 pound, 19″ hybrid grabbed the live shad on the rod she was tending.

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday morning, 23 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:  We experienced a white bass bite of average intensity this morning, allowing us to fish vertically for them with a smoking tactic using 3/8 oz. slabs fitted with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks.  When the fish cooled down, we changed over to downrigging which Chancellor and Katelin really took a liking to.  With the day being a bit damp, cloudy and breezy, and the girls dressed a bit lightly, they got cold pretty easily, so, we curtailed the white bass fishing which would have produced more fish, and changed over to hybrid fishing with live bait for just 10 or 15 minutes.  Fortunately, the hybrid cooperated in a timely fashion, allowing each of the girls to land a hybrid of their own.  We then wrapped it up about 70 minutes early and headed for the warmth of their family car.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   Although we had both a southerly wind and cloud cover, the cloud cover was thick enough to keep one from having to squint; the fishing was a good bit slower than last Saturday when we had similar conditions, but with more brightness coming through the clouds.

TALLY: 54 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:50a

End Time: 10:20a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Water Surface Temp:  62.4F

Wind Speed & Direction:   S13 all morning

Sky Conditions:100% grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.41 feet low and falling

GT = 70

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 380 for white bass on slabs and blades

**Area  B0062C – live shad & cutbait for 15 hybrid

 

 

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

SONAR-READIN’ MOHAIR MAN – 39 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Thursday morning I fished with Mr. Bill Blackwell of Goldthwaite, TX.  Bill, like his father, retired from the mohair business in which he sold the hair of angora goats to manufacturers in the United Kingdom.  In his retirement, Bill bought a pontoon boat for fishing, which he keeps a Lake Livingston.  He put a Lowrance Carbon sonar unit on that boat.  Today’s trip was partly to catch fish, and partly to help Bill see the practical use of his sonar as he viewed me in action using my Lowrance Carbon.  We caught 24 white bass and 15 legal hybrid stripers.

 

Bill Blackwell landed the heaviest hybrid taken aboard my boat thus far in the 2018 season.  This fish measured 22.125 inches and weighed 6.25 pounds on a certified scale.

 

 

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday morning, 22 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:  We experienced a white bass bite of average intensity this morning, allowing us to fish vertically for them with a smoking tactic using 3/8 oz. slabs fitted with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks.  When the fish cooled down, we fancast with bladebaits for “mop up duty”.  When the bite at the one and only area we searched for white bass died, we changed immediately over to fishing live shad and cutbait for hybrid.  In two hours’ time we landed 15 keeper hybrid.  This offered a nice backdrop to the sonar instruction I was able to provide between pulldowns.  Bill landed the largest hybrid to come over the gunwales so far this season — a beefy 6.25 pound fish which was only 22.125 inches long.  It took a cutbait.  In fact, cutbait was preferred 4 to 1 over livies this morning.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   Hybrids preferred cutbait 4:1 over live shad this morning.  Only 4 of our 15 hybrid took live shad; the rest came on cutbait.

TALLY: 39 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:20a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 54F

Water Surface Temp:  62.4F

Wind Speed & Direction:   Tapering up from 10-14mph over the course of the morning

Sky Conditions:   <10% white cloud cover

Water Level: 2.41 feet low and falling

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 380 for white bass on slabs and blades

**Area  B0062C – live shad & cutbait for 15 hybrid

 

 

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

That Little Bait Shop on the San Clemente Pier — 29 Fish

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Wednesday morning I fished with returning guests Rick Snelgrooes and his teenage son, Sean.  Rick also brought his former next door neighbor from California, Scott Shipley.  Scott recently bid for, and was awarded, the contract to run a small bait shop near the end of the 1,300-foot long San Clemente Pier nestled between Dana Point and the San Onofre nuclear power plant right in Orange County, CA.  Scott asked a lot of great questions as he tried to compare and contrast our freshwater fishing efforts with the saltwater pier fishing he is accustomed to, and as he tried to understand the sonar images we saw over the course of the morning.

 

From left: Rick Snelgrooes, Sean Snelgrooes, and Scott Shipley, each with a hybrid striped bass caught seconds apart as a “wolfpack” of these fish came under the boat and attacked our baits.  Note the body shape of Sean’s fish — it is one of the “pygmy” hybrid which TPWD looked into last year after quite a few were caught on Lake Belton with their unusually shaped, short, stocky bodies.

 

Rick Snelgrooes came up with an 11-pound bonus this morning while we were fishing slabs in deep water for white bass.  This smallmouth buffalo vacuumed in his slab and the fight was on!

 

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday morning, 21 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: We had “inbetween weather” today — the slow change from post-frontal conditions to lower pressure, more humid and more cloudy conditions with lighter winds.  The bright skies and light breeze which persisted through 10am certainly didn’t do us any favors.  We caught fish, including some really nice hybrid striped bass, but it was a slow, steady pick of fish.  Rick and Sean have been with me a number of times now, and each time in the past we’ve targeted high numbers of white bass.  Although the hybrid fishing is not yet what I anticipate it will be come April and May, the fishing is getting more predictable and the results are slowly trending better.  For this reason, I came prepared to fish for both hybrid and white bass, spending more time targeting quality hybrid than gunning for quantities of white bass.  When all was said and done, we put multiple 5-fish limits of hybrid in the boat with our morning take of 29 fish.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  1. Hybrid showed as much or more interest in chunk bait as they did live shad this morning. 2. Just a few small flocks of gulls and terns now remain on Lake Belton and their activity has become sporadic, at best.

TALLY: 29 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:20a

End Time: 12:10p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 44F

Water Surface Temp:  62.2F

Wind Speed & Direction:   Calm through 10am, then SSE7-8

Sky Conditions:   <5% white cloud cover

Water Level: 2.41 feet low and falling

GT = 105

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  B0062C – live shad for 21 hybrid, 2 blue cat, 3 white bass (fished here early and late)

 

 

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

THE STARS FELL ON MY BOAT — 61 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Tuesday afternoon I fished with two retired U.S. Army generals, Major (two-star) General George Harmeyer of Harker Heights, TX, and Lieutenant (3-star) General John Sylvester of College Station, TX.  The two are avid fishermen, and regularly fish in both freshwater and salt, and with both conventional tackle and fly gear.  This evening they opted to take a multi-species approach, so, we fished for both hybrid striper and white bass on Lake Belton.  Both are also involved with the “Warriors Afield Legacy Foundation” with sponsors several outdoor events each year for wounded military personnel.

 

George Harmeyer with our largest hybrid of the trip, a 5.75 pound fish that took a large, live threadfin shad set at 18′ over deeper water.

 

John Sylvester with a 5.25 pound fish we found holding around 22′ in 41 feet of water.  It took a cutbait.

 

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday evening, 20 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: The last northwesterly breezes from a mild, dry cold front moved through this afternoon with mild temperatures, clear skies, and winds under 11mph.  We fished live bait for the first 2.5 hours, then, as the shadows lengthened and the light decreased, we looked up shallower for white bass and had our search aided by some light bird activity.  We fished live shad and chunk baits on downlines for the hybrid, and we used an easing tactic and a smoking tactic for the white bass.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  Just a few small flocks of gulls and terns now remain on Lake Belton and their activity has become sporadic, at best.

TALLY: 61 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:45p

End Time: 7:45p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F

Water Surface Temp:  62.2F

Wind Speed & Direction:   WNW 11 and tapering off near dusk

Sky Conditions:   <5% white cloud cover

Water Level: 2.41 feet low and falling

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

N/A

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  B0059C – 8 hybrid striper

**Area  B0060C – 6 hybrid striper

**Area  B0061C to Vic 2032 – 47 white bass

 

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

SPRING BREAK GRAND FINALE — 209 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Saturday morning I fished with 4 generations of Huttos.  Tom and Jeanean Hutto, two of their sons, Don and Frank, Don’s son, Heath, and Heath’s son, Hunter, all made this trip.  This was the tenth and final Spring Break week 2018 trip I conducted.   The conditions for today’s trip were perfect — the warmest water of the spring thus far (62.2F), humid, grey skies, and a manageable southerly breeze with some instability in the weather slowly approaching from the SW.  The fish fed long and hard, thus making this the most productive trip of the spring break week.  209 of the week’s total of 1,102 fish were landed by the Huttos this morning.

 

Four generations of Huttos landed 209 fish in four hours.  From the left, that’s Tom, Don, little Hunter, Heath, Frank, and Jeanean.

We “hung bait” in our last 40 minutes on the water, and put 3 hybrid and several more white bass in the boat.  Heath landed the largest of the 3 hybrid, and the largest hybrid I’ve seen thus far for 2018.  This fish went 23.5″ and 5.75 pounds on a certified scale.  It was a very thick, heavy fish for its length.

Grandma Jeanean landed two fish on the same lure at the same time.  She was full of such tricks this morning!

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday morning, 17 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: Grey, humid, breezy conditions in advance of a change of weather had fish fired up and feeding long and hard this morning.  We had a full 3.5 hour long bite for white bass, then hung bait for a few hybrid for variety’s sake in our last 40 minutes.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  Boats all around us were moving and snap-jigging with next to no success.  Staying in one area and using a smoking tactic really shined this morning.

TALLY: 209 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 67F

Water Surface Temp:  62.2F

Wind Speed & Direction:   SSW 18-20

Sky Conditions:   100% light grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.50 feet low and falling

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  B0058C / B0056C / B0054C / B0055C

 

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

GO HORIZONTAL, YOUNG MAN! — 68 FISH WITH THE WALKERS

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Friday evening I fished with Mr. Todd Walker and his 12-year-old son, Rylee.  This was the ninth Spring Break 2018 trip I conducted.  It was Rylee’s interest in fishing that got his dad back into the sport.  The pair typically pursue largemouth bass from the bank in the north Austin area, often hitting 180-acre Lake Pfluegerville, near their home.  We faced tough, bright, windless conditions this afternoon, with an extra dose of recreational boat traffic as folks got of work and tried to cram in a little Spring Break time on the water.  We struggled, catching only a handful of fish in our first two hours using a variety of tactics at a variety of locations, but, finally, downrigging cracked the code allowing a catch of 68 fish when all was said and done.

 

Todd Walker and his 12-year-old son, Rylee, wore out the white bass on downriggers under tough, calm, bright conditions on Spring Break Friday.

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday evening, 16 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:   Our first 2 hours were as slow as they get — only 8 fish taken from 3 areas after stopping and fishing at 6 areas.  Finally, around 5:45p, after going back to the very first area where we’d found (and caught 2) fish, I saw an abundance of fish carpeting the bottom in 26-31 feet along a gentle slope.  We stopped and attempted vertical jigging, using a snap-jigging tactic and got exactly 1 strike, despite the continued presence of fish on sonar.  I had just about decided to leave the segment of the lake we were fishing and go elsewhere, but I thought to give fishing horizontally with downriggers a try before we pulled up stakes altogether.  That horizontal presentation turned out to be the ticket.  Fishing horizontally for inactive fish allows the angler to present the bait over top of a lot of inactive individuals in order to tempt the low percentage that are still willing to make a move toward a bait.  Long story short, we established a pattern of trolling in an ellipse that allowed thorough coverage of the patch of bottom these fish were inhabiting, and we got 1, 2, or 3 fish per angler (x 2 anglers) on just about every pass we made until the fish shut down right at sunset.  In this manner, we put an additional 60 fish in the boat, include a number of “triples” (3 fish on a 3-armed umbrella rig at the same time).

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  The now-stable weather has seen the fish settle into a pattern, doing essentially the same things at the same times and in the same places, thus making fishing very predictable.  Should be solid until our next change in weather.

TALLY: 68 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 67F

Water Surface Temp:  60.7F

Wind Speed & Direction:   SSW 18-20

Sky Conditions:   100% light grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.49 feet low and falling

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  378/380 – white bass via smoking (primarily), blades, and downrigging

**Area  B50056C – white bass on live shad

 

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

Goal-Setting 101 – Chief Ellis & Bryson Catch 113

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Friday morning I fished with Belton police chief Gene Ellis and his 9-year-old grandson, Bryson.  This was the eighth Spring Break 2018 trip I conducted.  As I welcomed these two anglers aboard, I intentionally asked Bryson how many fish he thought we might catch.  He gave this a little though, then said, “Forty”.  Around 8:30am, after landing our 38th fish of the trip, Bryson realized he set his expectations to low.  I jokingly told him that when just two more fish came aboard we call all reel in and go grab some barbecue.  He asked if he could revise his goal.  I told him that would be fine, so, he reset our target at 60 fish.  About 45 minutes later, went fish number 57 came aboard, I told him, “Well, we can finally quit fishing and go get that barbecue now.”  Bryson once again asked to revise his goal, this time raising the bar to 120 fish.  That turned out to be a good goal — one you have to push yourself to attain.  We didn’t quite make 120 on this morning as things slowed down once the wind let up and the skies brightened, but 113 fish on a day when a 9-year-old thought 40 would be “cool” was just fine with grandpa and me.

Belton police chief Gene Ellis and his grandson, Bryson, age 9, landed 113 fish on Lake Belton during Bryson’s Spring Break.

 

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday morning, 16 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:   Although the bite was such that we could have vertically jigged with slabs successfully for the vast majority of today’s trip, because of Bryson’s age, I added in a few tactics to add variety, including fishing bladebaits horizontally and downrigging.  The bladebaits added a few fish to our tally, and, at the very end, we put out a few live baits, again, mainly for variety’s sake, and put a few more white bass in the boat via that tactic.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  The now-stable weather has seen the fish settle into a pattern, doing essentially the same things at the same times and in the same places, thus making fishing very predictable.  Should be solid until our next change in weather.

TALLY: 113 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 67F

Water Surface Temp:  60.7F

Wind Speed & Direction:   SSW 18-20

Sky Conditions:   100% light grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.49 feet low and falling

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  378/380 – white bass via smoking (primarily), blades, and downrigging

**Area  B50056C – white bass on live shad

 

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