Fishing Very Consistent on Belton — 25 Nov. 2011 – Austin Fishing Guide Report






I fished this morning with Charles C. and his two elementary-aged children, Madison and Mason. Charles and his family traveled in from the Houston area to visit his parents and decided to get a little fishing in while the weather is still pleasant.

Madison got her licks in first this morning by boating this pre-dawn hybrid from a small school of hybrid holding at 24 feet over a 31 foot bottom.

Mason and his dad team up to pose with this largemouth which, uncharacteristically, was caught as it suspended over a clean bottom in open water.

Things got off to a slow start this morning due to our extended low-light conditions. We not only had heavy cloud cover above us, but had ground level clouds not quite to the point of mist, as well.

We spent our first hour downrigging and boated 2 fish in the vicinity of Area 966. The downriggers at least kept hooks in the water and gave us a shot at the sparse, occasional schools of hybrid we saw around 12-14 feet deep as we waited for light levels to increase and a better feed to kick in.

Around 8:15, in the vicinity of Area 297/973 (BA:16RBG, 5T) sonar revealed actively feeding fish over a 31 foot bottom. The fish were in the lower 1/2 of the water column. I e-anchored and we began to work jigging spoons through these fish and immediately elicited a response. Over the next 2 hours we stayed in this general area, taking short hops from concentration of fish to concentration of fish. Typically, we used a smoking technique as soon as we arrived, then, when the fish slowed down, we used a jigging technique. Toward the end of the morning feed (around 10:00a), the fish would not respond to anything but an easing tactic. During the “feeding window”, we boated exactly 52 additional fish including a mix of year classes of white bass with an occasional short hybrid thrown in for good measure.

Today’s results were a classic display of the importance light levels play in influencing fish behavior. In the first 1.5 hour of our trip, darkened by clouds and near-fog like conditions, we boated 2 fish. In the last 2.5 hours of our trip, we boated 51 fish, with the first of this action happening as the fog lifted and indirect sunlight bright enough to warrant the use of sunglasses existed for the first time in the morning. On clear days, this level of brightness occurs right at sunrise, thus, the bite typically starts earlier on such days, all else being equal.

If you’re reading this and are contemplating a Christmas holiday fishing trip, please don’t delay in getting that on the books. The week between Christmas and New Year is typically booked solid 2-3 weeks in advance.

I’m at:

Bob Maindelle

Holding the Line Guide Service

Austin Area Fishing Guide

254-368-7411

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com


Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 10:30a

Air Temp: 57F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: 63.8F.

Wind: Winds were S8 at obscured sunrise and stayed fairly constant for the trip’s duration.

Skies: Skies were heavily clouded with no direct sun showing the entire trip.