Hook-and-Ladder Hooky – 58 Fish
CLIENTS: This morning, Monday, May 4, I fish with first time guests Kyle and Sawyer Melton of Salado. Kyle is a firefighter who had the day off, and Sawyer just got to play hooky to spend some father and son time on the water.
I was a little unsure about having a seven year-old out for a full, four hour trip since the fishing is still pretty one dimensional and technical, but, Sawyer hung in there just fine from start to finish.
We were targeting white bass on Lake Belton today.
TODAY’S DATE: 04 May 2026 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING: 08 June 2026 (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Kyle and Sawyer Melton put in some father-and-son time on Lake Belton this morning and put together a 58-fish, all white bass catch using vertical tactics in open water.
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
The shad spawn is still going full tilt bringing game fish up into shallow water early, then seeing them transition back out once the sun strikes the water at sunrise, or shortly after sunrise on days where the sun is obscured. This was the first time in a long time we actually had direct sun at sunrise, and, for that reason, the earlier part of the morning actually fished pretty decently for the first time in a long while.
Under low light conditions, I started both fellows off with a white, three-quarter ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab, and then switched over to nickel-plated by 8:30 AM or so. We fished only using the vertical, smoking tactic today in several areas ranging from 25 to 50 feet. The later and brighter it got, the deeper we were able to find our fish.
At one location, between 8:30 and 9, just as the winds ramped up noticeably, there was an uptick in white bass action. For the only time all morning, the fish came up off bottom and stayed both suspended and moving parallel to the bottom. During this roughly 25 minute span, I put MAL Lures on and the fish definitely showed a willingness to chase those further than they were willing to chase the slabs. Things started falling off by around 10 and had slowed to a close by the time we quit right at 11 AM.
Our grand total today was 58 fish, 100% of which were white bass.
RESULTS: 58 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SLOW SMOKE” A BLADED HAZY EYE SLAB VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial
OBSERVATIONS:
-The shad spawn continues.
-A late April wet cold front hit last Wednesday, followed by a cool, rainy spell, which then gave way to drier, cooler conditions. Lake Belton rose with these rains and is now 0.36 feet high.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Taken on Lake Belton on 29 April 2026, approx. 6:45AM…
0 feet 74.3F
5 feet 74.2F
10 feet 74.0F
15 feet 74.0F
20 feet 73.0F
25 feet 71.5F
30 feet 69.1F
35 feet 68.6F
40 feet 68.1F
45 feet 65.9F
50 feet 63.1F
55 feet 60.1F
60 feet 59.4F
Taken on Lake Belton on 23 April 2026, approx. 6:50AM…
0 feet 68.6F
5 feet 68.6F
10 feet 68.6F
15 feet 68.5F
20 feet 68.5F
25 feet 68.5F
30 feet 68.5F
35 feet 68.5F
40 feet 65.6F
45 feet 63.8F
50 feet 61.7F
55 feet 60.4F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:00A
End Time: 11:05A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F
Elevation: Belton is 0.36 high – a 0.18′ increase since last Wednesday’s cold front moved through. USACE is releasing 61 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 71.1F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: S8-10 for the first 90 minutes, then spiking up to S14-15 for rest of trip
Sky Condition: An unobscured sunrise turned into a blue sky with ~25% white cloud cover
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 92% illumination
GT = 30
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area 1188- 12 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. white)
Area vic 2345- 23 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. nickel) & MAL Dense Lures
Area 714- 5 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. nickel)
Area BG0026- 4 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. nickel)
Area 2445 – 8 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. nickel)
Area vic B0310G – 6 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. nickel)
Bob Maindelle
Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service
Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide
(254) 368 7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle