Between the Storms, 61 Fish, Belton, Memorial Day 2014

This morning I welcomed 3 brothers-in-law aboard including Phil Moore of Killeen, Texas, David Norwood of Colorado, and Garvon Golden from the Dakotas.  These three fellows married “the Watkins sisters” from east Texas and had a bit of a reunion over this long weekend.

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Phil took big fish honors today with this nice 5.75 pound specimen which came out of 39 feet of water on a large threadfin shad.

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Garvon hadn’t fished much before, but made up for lost time once he got the basics of using circle hooks under his belt.

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David came on strong at the end when his rod got hot in the closing 30 minutes of the trip as the bite intensified with the approaching storm.

 

We originally had this trip scheduled for Tuesday, May 27th, but the NOAA weather forecast as of Sunday showed a “window of opportunity” for Monday morning in what was otherwise to be a very wet 3-4 days to follow.  So, the fellows scrambled and got their licenses on Sunday evening and we made it happen on Monday instead.

The rain was actually a blessing as 1) we needed the rain badly, and 2) it kept the fair-weather fishermen, boaters, skiers, etc. home, making for uncrowded conditions on what is normally a very high traffic weekend.  We only had two boats come within shouting distance this morning.
For the fourth trip in a row, the first hour on the water proved to be the most productive and give up the best quality fish.  We boated 24 of our 61 fish in the first hour, and caught more keeper hybrid during that window than during the entire remainder of the trip.
The fishing was fairly straightforward — we found ’em with sonar and fished ’em with shad, catching white bass, hybrid striper from 11″ up to 5.75 pounds, and a few blue catfish thrown in.  The wind and cloud cover of the passing overnight storms aided our early bite; the fishing was tough as the skies cleared and the winds calmed in the middle two hours of the trip, and then we ended with a bang as the bite got hot again in the last hour.
It is a great help to have the various weather forecasting and weather radar “apps” now available on today’s “smart phones”.  The prudent guide doesn’t get surprised by weather nor jeopardize safety when using these tools to his advantage.  I checked radar every few minutes so we could avoid any high winds or lightning.  As we brought our lines in in advance of the approaching storm, the winds were just ramping up to 13+, and the temperature was dropping.  After getting everyone safely back to shore, the first rain drops fell and the first peals of thunder could be heard overhead before I left the boat ramp area after getting the boat, etc. squared away for travel and for my next trip.  We threaded the eye of needle today with a full 4 hours on the water between the storms.

 TALLY = 61 FISH, all caught and released

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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

 

Start Time: 6:35a

End Time: 10:45a

Air Temp.: 68F
Water Surface Temp.: 73-74F
Wind: SW5-6 during first hour, calm during middle two hours, W11-12 last hour
Skies: Fully greyed over first and last hour; sunny skies with 40% clouds during middle two hours
Other Notes: GT0
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
** Shad activity moderate at Area 502
** Vicinity of Area 835 produced well early for legal hybrid in first hour with winds and cloud cover and before calm, bright conditions set in
** Vicinity of Area 717 / 1204 gave up a mix of short & legal hybrid and white bass in last hour with storms approaching from the west

 

Bob Maindelle
Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411
www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Salado, Texas

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