CLOUDS MOVED IN, FISH WENT CRAZY – 160 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Thursday evening I fished with returning guests Luis and Tonya Garcia and their kids, Juliana and William Neel.  This was the seventh Spring Break 2018 trip I conducted.  This would also be the only day of the 9-day run in which the afternoon’s fishing outperformed the morning’s effort.  This was due to increased cloud cover and higher winds.  We went from cool and clear, with light winds in the morning, to balmy and overcast grey skies with winds around 18-20 in the afternoon.

 

After catching a boatload of white bass (147 to be exact) in our first 2.5 hours, we devoted the remainder of our trip up until sunset to the pursuit of hybrid stripers. Here, Juliana poses with her largest.

Everyone got a chance to feel the powerful pull of several 18-20″ hybrid taken on live shad.  This is Tonya with a nice “palmetto bass”.

Although William was big on catching hybrid, he was far from enthused about sticking his thumb in one’s mouth, thus giving Juliana an opportunity to do a little sisterly mocking!

Like a good dad, Luis made sure wife and kids all had a chance to catch a big one, then it was his turn!.

 

The white bass fishing was on fire, as it often is under grey skies and windy conditions — we landed 100 fish in our first 75 minutes on the water, and then 47 more in the next 75 minutes.

 

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass with our final hour spent in pursuit of hybrid for variety’s sake

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday evening, 15 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:   White bass fishing was 100% smoking with 3/8 oz. slabs & stinger hooks for very aggressively feeding fish which were patrolling the entire lower 2/3 of the water column, and did so for a full 2.5 hours in the 27 feet of water we found them in.  The bite was really strong, allowing us a catch of 100 fish in our first 75 minutes, followed by another 47 fish in the next 75 minutes. When the bite at the one and only stop we made up to this point started to get soft, I offered that we could move and continue catching white bass in the 1, 2, and 3 year class as we had been doing, or that we could “leave fish to find fish” in hopes of putting a few hybrid in the boat.  Luis gave me the thumbs-up for hybrid, so, off we went.  Our first spot was a bust, but our second stop proved much better, giving up 13 keeper hybrid on live shad through sunset.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  Slowly increasing water temperatures, grey cloud cover, and a stiff breeze was a “perfect storm” for line-sides today.  Awesome fishing!

TALLY: 160 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:30p

End Time: 7:35p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 52F

Water Surface Temp:  60.3F

Wind Speed & Direction:   SSW 18-20

Sky Conditions:   100% light grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.49 feet low and falling

GT = 60

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 709/1024 – 147 white bass

**Area vic 365/1942/1945 – 13 hybrid striped 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

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