WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Wednesday morning, May 2nd, I fished for the second time with “The Chiefs” — including Gene Ellis (Belton Chief of Police), Floyd Mitchell (Temple Chief of Police), and Mitch Randles (Temple Fire Chief). This trip came exactly one year from the last such trip these three fellows took together with me in 2017. As was the case both Monday and Tuesday, the hybrid bite was strong in the first 2.25 hours of the trip, then tailed off sharply after about 9:15am. Our catch of 70 fish included 28 legal hybrid striped bass and the remainder was a mixed bag consisting mainly of white bass with a few largemouth and blue catfish sprinkled in. In our last hour, after finding a large, deep school of white bass in about 55 feet of water, we worked slabs vertically with light spinning tackle to fish specifically for that species.
“The Chiefs” from left, Floyd Mitchell (Temple Police Chief), Gene Ellis, (Belton Police Chief), and Mitch Randles (Temple Fire Chief) with a brace of 3.5 pound, 19 to 20″ hybrid stripers taken within minutes of one another during an early morning feeding spree. These hybrid stripers were taken on live shad set about 6 feet off bottom in about 40 feet of water.
WHAT WE FISHED FOR: During this trip, we focused on fishing for hybrid striped bass using live shad through 10:30 although, in hindsight, the majority of our hybrid came by 9:25am. In our last hour or so we targeted white bass using spinning rod equipped with 3/8 oz. slabs and Hazy Eye Stinger hooks.
WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake
WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday morning, 02 May 2018
HOW WE FISHED: Fishing was pretty straightforward this morning. We used live shad when sonar revealed an abundance of hybrid striped bass on deep breaklines and caught fish well through about 9:25am. The hybrid bite tapered off quickly thereafter and although we searched several areas and found marginal sonar returns, some of which we put baits down for, we had little success for hybrid in the later half of the trip. Having seen this play out the same way on Monday and Tuesday, I came prepared with spinning gear to take advantage of the white bass bite which has remained much more consistent into the late morning. We found two large schools of fish in deep water, about 80 yards apart and took fish steadily until we wrapped up around 11:30a.
OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 1) The grey clouds, balmy overnight temperatures, and southerly winds really activated the fish today for a thirdday in a row. 2) There was disappointingly little in the way of spawning shad this morning.
TALLY: 70 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:00a
End Time: 12:30p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F
Water Surface Temp: 68.3F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE12-15
Sky Conditions: 100% grey clouds with occasional light drizzle
Water Level: 2.30 feet low and slowly falling
GT = 60
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 489/1277 – 28 legal hybrid with a few other smaller fish mixed in as we fished live shad
**Area vic 717 and vic 1469 – deep, heavily congregated white bass taken at a moderate pace on slabs
Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
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