This morning I fished with the Oliver clan – Grandpa Joe, Jamie, Jack, and Joe, in pursuit of hybrid striper on Belton Lake. Grandpa is retired and resides in Temple, Jamie is a psychotherapist from Cedar Park, Jack is an electrician and realtor living near Marble Falls, and Joe is the Athletic Director at Central Texas Christian School in Belton.
From left: Jamie and Pa Oliver.
Above: Jack Oliver
Above: Joe Oliver
At 4:30am I awoke to a worst-case scenario; after gathering enough shad for this morning’s trip back on Tuesday and babysitting them for 2 days, I found every last one of them dead thanks to a failed battery charger. So, by 5:05am I was out the door speeding to the lake to blind cast in the dark for a minimum of 120 shad to make sure the trip went right.
It is no coincidence that in my church Small Group this past Monday we looked at the life of Joseph of the Old Testament and how God saw him through a crisis. I got reassurance from this and refused to be rattled. I just kept throwing the net and every throw brought in a few shad such that by 7:30 I had enough to see us through.
On my last trip with this foursome, one of the brothers was late. When he arrived and walked down to meet us at the end of the boat ramp, one of the punctual brothers remarked, “It’s like a dollar waitin’ on a dime.” I always remembered that saying and couldn’t help but wonder who the “dime” was today as I arrived a bit tardy.
As we met up, I told the fellows what happened and then spoke out loud to the Lord, asking Him to help me settle down and get my mind on doing a good job finding fish for them.
In right at 4 hours of fishing, we put 81 fish in the boat, with the majority of them coming off of just two areas. Chumming was critical in getting a bite started.
TALLY = 81 FISH, all caught and released
GUIDE’S WEBSITE: http://holdingthelineguideservice.com/
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 8:00a
End Time: 12:00p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F
Water Surface Temp: 62F @ lower lake, 67-68 @ upper lake
Wind Speed & Direction: S9-10
Sky Conditions: 100% overcast the entire trip
Other: GT = 50
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1540
**Area 1270
** Area 967
Bob Maindelle
Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide
Belton Lake Fishing Guide
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)