Labor Day Fishing Forecast — 36 Fish, 28 Aug. 2014

Labor Day marks the end of summer for many, with kids back to school, vacation time completely spent, and football and hunting seasons just getting going.  If you are headed out on our area lakes this weekend I suggest going early to beat the heat and to take advantage of the low-light topwater action that typically erupts this time of year.

Beware: Labor Day, 01 September, falls in the new license year for hunting and fishing licenses, and, in an effort to combat “Boating While Intoxicated”, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Wardens and Corps of Engineer Park Rangers are typically on patrol on holiday weekends like this one.

I fished Belton Lake this morning on a scouting trip and encountered some very enjoyable, albeit short-lived, topwater action.  I found fish feeding on small baitfish in three distinct locations between 6:30am and 8:15am.  It was very important to scale down the size of my artificial lure.  At one point I had several other boats around me and while I caught a fish on one in every two to three casts, the other boats using large topwater plugs, large slabs, and crankbaits rarely caught fish at all.

I’ve included a photo to illustrate this, below.  Pictured is a 19″ hybrid striped bass, and placed on the deck of my boat just in front of its mouth are 6 baitfish located beneath a nickle for perspective.  The 2 fish in the column I arranged on the left are silversides, and the 4 fish in the column I arranged on the right are threadfin shad.  This is the size of the forage these fish are eating right now and anglers will do well to imitate this or results will lag.  These baitfish were all regurgitated by the white bass and hybrid stripers I caught this morning.

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This 19″ hybrid fell for a Pet Spoon approximately 1.25″ in length which imitated the small forage it was feeding on.  Note the 6 small baitfish near the fish’s mouth.

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The two skinnier fish on the left are silversides, and the four sway-bellied fish on the right are threadfin shad.  All of these fish were regurgitated on my boat deck this morning by the fish I caught.

As always when fishing for topwater fish, try to keep your distance so as not to spook the fish off the surface.  Maneuver in with your trolling motor, NOT your outboard, and keep your retrieve speed high so the fish don’t get a good look at your presentation.

Be courteous, watch your wake, and keep your distance.  Have a safe Labor Day!

 

TALLY = 36 FISH

 

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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:30am

End Time:  8:15am

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  76F

Water Surface Temp:  84.7F

Wind Speed & Direction:  Calm to E3

Sky Conditions:  Fair skies with no cloud cover.

Other: GT=0

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1304 to 793 topwater from 6:30 to 7:30a

**Area 082 to 178 topwater from 7:30 to 8:15a

 

Bob Maindelle

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Salado, TX

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

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