As the Late April Cold Front Rolled In – 80 Fish
CLIENTS: This morning, Wednesday, 29 April, I fished with returning guest Jack Swingler, a member of the Austin Woods and Waters Club, accompanied by his friend and my first time guest, Jay Barnes.
We were targeting white bass on Lake Belton today.
TODAY’S DATE: 29 April 2026 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING: 02 June 2026 (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jack Swingler and Jay Barnes toughed it out in a driving drizzle as a late April cold front reached down into Texas this morning. After the blustery lead edge of the front passed, skies lightened, and the fish turned on.
PHOTO CAPTION: Jack and Jay landed most of the species which eat shad in Lake Belton this morning – whites, hybrid, blue cat, and drum — all on the shad-imitating Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in 3/4 oz. white.
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
The weatherman indicated a low chance of rain with little, if any, accumulation as a damp cold front moved in this morning. Indeed, as we met up at the boat ramp right around 7 AM, the winds had already shifted from the north and the skies were gray and dreary with very dark cloud cover.
These conditions would plague us most of the morning, but, around 9:45 AM, just after the heaviest of the drizzle we would encounter this morning stopped, the winds picked up to their peak velocity at around N12 to 13 mph. As this occurred, the skies got quickly brighter and visibility increased to well over a mile. It was at this time we found the greatest concentration of fish I had located all morning. I estimated there were 400 fish in this particular school which sprawled over quite an area. Individual fish within the school were well up off the bottom – – something we had not seen among the other fish we located up to this point.
We had fish for 2.5 hours to put 23 fish in the boat up to this point. Between 9:45 and 11:30, we would put an additional 57 fish in the boat, more than double the catch rate of our first 2+ hours.
Every fish landed this morning came on the white, three-quarter ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slab worked with a smoking tactic in conjunction with both the splasher (which created commotion to draw fish in), and my metronome (which helped my two clients keep their lure moving upwards from the bottom at just the right speed). Garmin LiveScope sealed the deal as it let Jack and Jay know when to keep reeling (as fish pursued) or when to drop back to bottom.
Our 80 fish catch included 73 white bass, 1 largemouth bass, 2 drum, 2 blue catfish, and 2 hybrid striped bass.
Fishing began to slow down right at 11 AM. I made one final move about 200 yards from the school we had done so well on to put our final few fish in the boat before calling it a morning as more drizzle moved in and the winds began to calm down.
RESULTS: 80 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SLOW SMOKE” A BLADED HAZY EYE SLAB VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial
OBSERVATIONS:
-The lakeside dewberries are now past peak
-A late April wet cold front hit today and is due to drop rain and temps over the next 3 days, into early May.
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: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 76F (and falling)
Elevation: Belton is 0.18 high with a +0.05′ change in the last 24 hours. USACE is releasing 61 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 74.3F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: NNW2-4 for the first hour, then N6-10 for 2nd & 3rd hour, then N11-13 for rest of trip
Sky Condition: Very thick, dark clouds with drizzle accompanying cold front’s passage, then brightening slightly, albeit through still fully clouded skies around 9:45A.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 96% illumination
GT = 85
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area 2442- 5 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. white)
Area vic 2345- 4 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. white)
Area 2344- 9 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. white)
Area 081- 5 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. white)
Area 2443 – 53 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. white)
Area 2444 – 4 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/4 oz. white)
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