This Saturday morning, 05 March, I was joined by Hank McKnelly, his daughter, Brenna, and his brother, Stew, from Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Proud papa Hank McKnelly with his 8-year-old daughter, Brenna, displaying the 5.00 pound largemouth bass she caught out of 25 feet of water on a horizontally worked bladebait.
From left: The McKnelly crew: Hank, Brenna, and Stew with 14″ class white bass culled from among the 109 fish they boated this morning.
Hank pinned on his full-bird colonel wings this past week and so the trip was a celebration of sorts, and a way for Hank and his brother, who recently retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, to spend some time together.
Our trip actually played out better than I anticipated it was going to, thanks to some unexpectedly thick and long-lasting grey cloud cover. The forecast showed light winds and light cloud cover, which is always a tough combination.
As has been the case for weeks now, the gulls fed hard right at first light, pointing the way for us as to where to begin our trip. After the low-light feed ended, fewer birds continued feeding over mid-depths (20-30 feet), so we followed them.
Once the birds quit, we used sonar to search out a handful of areas where the white bass have been consistently gathering as they make their way into the Lampasas River to spawn.
We used bladebaits a majority of the time today, with some vertical jigging thrown in for about 30 minutes at mid-morning when the sun was at its brightest and the wind was at its slowest.
We had a real treat watching 8-year-old Brenna tussle with a 5.00 pound largemouth which struck her bladebait out in 25 feet of water. The fish was very pale, indicating it has lived out in that deep water for quite some time.
With about an hour remaining, our fish count stood at 68 fish. Stew wondered aloud if a 100 fish day might be possible. I was a bit doubtful, given how strong the bite was so far along in the morning. I suspected the “window” would shut at any time. As it turned out, the S. wind kept puffing and enough thin clouds kept passing over to sustain the bite, thus allowing us to boat a grand total of 109 fish, including 107 white bass and 2 largemouth.
As I policed up the boat and cranked the outboard to head back to the dock, Brenna stated, “I’m very satisfied.” Dad and Uncle Stew just shook their heads … 8-years-old going on 28!
TALLY = 109 FISH, all caught and released
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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 6:40a
End Time: 11:00a
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 54F
Water Surface Temp: 59.6F
Wind Speed & Direction: Light S. breeze under 4mph all morning
Sky Conditions: Fully grey skies at trip’s start, clearing to 40% white clouds on a blue sky as the front rolled in.
Water Level: 622.12 with 622.0 being full pool. 0.01 feet of water was released in the last 24 hours.
Other: GT= 0
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 531/1701 – Casting blades for shallow whites under birds at first light.
**Area vic 1159 – Casting blades for mid-depth whites under birds.
**Area 1358-1160 – Vertical jigging @ 33′
**Area 092 – Sustained late morning action on bladebaits along slope.
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
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