This morning I fished with Robert and Sherri Goss of Katy, TX, on Belton Lake.
Fishing was tough today on Belton – cold water and clearing skies made for a difficult time on the water.
Robert and Sherri took a little break from his routine in the oil and gas industry and from her routine as a Katy Independent School District bus driver to do a little RV camping at Cedar Ridge Park on the Leon River arm of Belton Lake.
I have not been fishing Belton at all based on poor reports from fellow guides, but this couple was limited on their ability to travel locally, as their RV was the primary means of transportation, so, we fished Belton, and I actually picked them of from the marina in Cedar Creek.
I covered water from above the Moffatt sand flats to the Cowhouse out from BLORA and found no helpful bird activity whatsoever.
We persisted, however, and finally did find a few suspended fish amidst some suspended bait in the vicinity of Area 619/1369 in our final hour on the water. I chose the Excalibur Swimmin’ Image crankbait to pull behind my downriggers at ~12-14 feet down. Running a pair of these, we got 3 strikes and landed 2 fish, both hybrid stripers, and so we were saved from being “skunked”, but just barely.
Both Robert and Sherri and fellow Christ-followers, so we had a lot in common and our conversations over the course of the trip tended in that direction. Robert is also an American history buff, so, that “military art” coursework that was forced upon me at West Point got placed on “active duty” for the morning, as well.
To avoid another disappointment, we compared notes at the end of the trip concerning when to expect solid fishing, and when the transitional times of year occur when fishing can be soft.
GUIDE’S WEBSITE: http://holdingthelineguideservice.com/
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:30a
End Time: 12:45p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 47F
Water Surface Temp: 51.3F
Wind Speed & Direction: NW8-11
Sky Conditions: Starting at 60% clouded and clearing to 20% clouded
Other: GT = 30
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 619/1369
Bob Maindelle
Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide
Belton Lake Fishing Guide
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)