This past Wednesday afternoon, December 21st, I fished with John and Elaine Wyckoff of Belton, and their three grandchildren, Dacia, Malia, and Gabriel Rodriguez.
From left: Maila, Gabriel, and Dacia Rodriguez of Belton were treated to a Christmas break fishing trip by their grandparents, John and Elaine Wyckoff, also of Belton. The party of 5 put exactly 138 fish in the boat in right at 4 hours this past Wednesday afternoon.
When weather forced a cancellation of our Saturday, 03 December, trip John was minded to push the trip back to spring break, but added that he and Elaine would like to fish and not merely serve as chaperones. Hearing this, I suggested that we do a winter trip instead when the go-to technique is vertical jigging, which lends itself well to having multiple anglers fishing simultaneously.
We compared notes and I looked at the weather forecast and saw this day’s southerly winds between cold fronts and felt this would be an opportune time to catch fish and not expose the kids to extreme cold as we did it.
This hunch turned out to be correct as we were able to land at least a few fish at every single stop we made today, with some spots giving up 15, 20, 30, or more fish.
Today, all of the fish we encountered demanded the same presentation – – an easing tactic using small slabs equipped with stinger hooks. I have mentioned a number of times through the years how effective this stinger hook is. From mid-December through early March, 50% or greater of the fish caught on slabs are caught on the stinger hook in the mouth first, with the treble hooks simply latching on after-the-fact somewhere outside the mouth.
We caught a variety of species today including two short hybrid stripers, about six largemouth bass, about a dozen drum, with the balance being made up of white bass.
Although we did see birds on the water and in the air today, none of them were helpful in locating fish, which is pretty typical for afternoon fishing.
When all was said and done my crew of five had landed 138 fish in right at four hours’ time.
TALLY = 138 fish, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 1:00p
End Time: 5:10p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F
Water Surface Temp: 56.8F
Wind Speed & Direction: S12, tapering to S4 in 30 minutes
Sky Conditions: 50% high, thin wispy white clouds on a fair sky
Water Level: 0.33 feet above full pool
GT = 50
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 192 – 15 fish by easing
**Area 327/1815 – a few fish by easing
**Area 1827 – a few fish by easing
**Area 1635/1820 – 15 fish by easing
**Area 1187/1285 – 38 fish by easing
**Area 1272-1802 – balance of the catch at this last area; all caught by easing
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
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