This morning I met 14 year old Andrew Sonnier of Manvel, TX, at the boatramp on Belton for our second trip together. Each year his family has a tradition of vacationing over the 4th of July weekend at a bed and breakfast near Arrowhead Point on Lake Belton. We first fished together in 2012.
Andrew Sonnier of Manvel, TX, with a nice 4th of July weekend hybrid striped bass taken on live bait at Belton Lake.
As we got going well before sunrise this morning I was hoping to encounter topwater feeding white bass and hybrid stripers. I knew our “window” of opportunity would be short, as the skies were cloudless this morning, and the rays of the direct sun usually kill whatever strong topwater feed is occurring.
We did find about 15 minutes’ worth of action and used Cork Rigs to capitalize on what we found, but, when all was said and done we’d only bagged 13 fish before being forced to change tactics as the sun drove the fish away from the surface.
Over the next 90 minutes we searched for and spotted multiple schools of “popcorn” topwater feeding fish. By “popcorn” I mean white bass and hybrid striper that force bait to the surface for just a few seconds at a time, but do that over and over again in the same general vicinity. Typically, if you see this kind of action and wait a bit once you arrive at the scene, at least a few fish will present themselves close enough to be cast to. We picked up another half dozen fish throwing Cork Rigs at these fish.
Next, we did a bit of downrigging in the same general vicinity of the “popcorn” action, assuming that the fish and bait were still present, even though neither was willing to show themselves under the ever-brightening sun. We picked up another 8 fish on the downriggers using a 3-arm umbrella and a tandem rig, both rigged up with Pet Spoons.
Finally, once a bit of wind developed, I felt the time was right to give live bait fishing for hybrid a try. Wind and hybrid fishing success are very closely tied. Rarely do I have excellent results without some wind blowing. A 13-14 mph wind with cloud cover is just right, but, today we had to settle for 6-7 mph and bright skies. We used sonar to locate suspended hybrid stripers hanging around 29-34 feet over a 45+ foot bottom along a breakline. We used my i-Pilot trolling motor to hover over the fish and present our baits on downlines hanging vertically. The results came quickly, allowing us to boat 10 keeper hybrid, 1 short hybrid, and one 2.25 pound channel catfish all in about a 75 minute window. All of the keeper hybrid went right at 3.50 to 3.75 pounds and looked really healthy.
I really enjoy fishing with young men like Andrew — he is very enthusiastic about the sport, and is also very teachable. He listened more than he spoke and followed directions well which served to increase his success. He was also very hands-on and willing to try things himself so he could do these things himself when not with guide and fishing on his own.
TALLY = 36 Fish
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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 6:05 am
End Time: 10:15 am
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: Rain-cooled 68F from showers the previous night
Water Surface Temp: 83.1F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE 3-6
Sky Conditions: Grey thin cloud bank in the eastern sky at dawn, followed by clear, bright skies, with a thin layer of clouds causing some obscuration of the sun in the last hour on the water.
Other: N/A
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 084 Low light topwater
**Area 972 & 1407 “popcorn” topwater under sunny skies
**Vicinity of Area 1074-509 downrigging for schooled white bass
**Area 1406 hybrid on live bait
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Salado, TX
www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com