Conditions:

Start Time: 6:45a

End Time: 1:45p

Air Temp: 69F at trip’s start, and 88 for the day’s high

Water Temp: 82.3F

Wind: Stiff N breeze at 12-14 before sunrise, slowly tapering down, but staying northerly all day.

Skies: Clear blue and brilliant with much reflected light from the sun on the lake’s surface.

Fished a half day morning trip today from 6:45am to 1:45pm. I fished only 5 areas and found solid fishing at 4 of them.

Prior to sunrise, I hit Area 73 beginning out over 26 feet of water and casting shoreward with a Carolina Rig. Not until I had slowly moved in over 19 feet did I start getting hits while the presentation was working from about 14 feet down to 19 feet. I had four strikes in this range, missing 2 and landing 2 – one went 16.25 inches, the other 17.75 (3.75 lbs).

Once the sun rose, topwater action was lacking in this area, so I moved east looking into the sun for signs of topwater activity. There was a steady N breeze at 12-13, so the surface was quite choppy. I first checked Area 63 without sighting or hearing any fish, but then observed topwater feeding schools of mixed largemouth and white bass at Area 241 .

I headed over there and immediately got into solid surface activity, albeit fairly short-lived (about 30 minutes). I attribute that to the clear, cloudless conditions and brilliant sun. I caught a total of 29 fish on topwater, including mainly barely keeper largemouth and barely keeper white bass. The best fish on top was a 20 inch, 3.75 pound smallmouth – a very pretty, very dark fish.

As I was chasing fish with the trolling motor while they were still on top, I noted fairly regular, heavy brush/timber existed from bottom and to within about 12 feet of the surface.

Once the topwater action died down, I vertical jigged in the open spaces along the bottom between the trees. Much better fish came off bottom in 25-27 feet of water. I landed 5 largemouth in the 3 to 3.75 pound range going 17-18.5 inches, and just as many in the 14-16 inch range, all of which were chunky fish. I also managed a few whites to 12 inches off bottom, as well as a few drum. I left this area at around 11:00am with 54 fish caught

With the N. wind beginning to taper off, and the surface calming down, I began looking for fish in deeper water. I located fish along the breakline at Area 242 in about 34 feet of water. There was a mix of small largemouth, nice white bass, and 1 to 1.5 pound drum here. I caught a total of 12 fish here, all on a jigged or smoked silver slab, before the action waned.

I made one final stop at Area 243, after idling in a serpentine pattern over this breakline from E to W for nearly 100 yards. I found a good concentration of baitfish here on and near bottom in 28-31 feet, right on the shoulder of the break. The fish were very aggressive, occasionally rising up off the bottom to meet my spoon as it fell. Most fish were taken on a smoking retrieve. I got a total of 15 fish here, of which 12 were white bass, and 3 were largemouth (1 short, 2 just-keepers).

TALLY = 83 FISH, all caught and released

Bob Maindelle, Owner Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing