WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday morning I fished with Mr. Al Trevino of San Antonio, TX. Al graduated from Holy Cross High School back in the day and has remained close friends with a number of his classmates, including David G. who resides in Nolanville. Dave was kind enough to put Al up for the night and feed him so he didn’t have to make a long, early morning drive for our 7:15a trip start. Al has been in the sprinkler installation and repair business for 38 years, and now at nearly 60 years old, wants to downshift a bit, hence the getaway from the job for a little R&R on Lake Belton.
Al Trevino of San Antonio took his already solid “bite detection skills” which he’s developed using ultralight tackle in fishing for crappie and adapted well to the tactics we employed for white bass. This led to a much better than average “hook to land ratio” for Al.
WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday morning, 14 December, 2017
HOW WE FISHED: Our trip broke down into two distinct parts. From trip’s start and until 9:30a, we jigged slowly for white bass which were congregated in moderate-sized schools in ~36′ on bottom. These fish were pretty reluctant to charge a bait, so, we fished with an “easing” tactic and enjoyed a steady pick of 49 fish before the bite shut down in this segment of the lake. From 9:30a and until the fishing shut down altogether for the morning around 11:15a, we initially contacted a very large group of fish (several hundred individuals in the school) in 43′ on bottom. The location of these fish was revealed to us as we watched for bird activity, and, although the birds action over these fish was slight and short-lived, it was enough of a clue to get us where we wanted to be. We stayed in one “Spot-Lock” setting using the Ulterra for nearly 2 straight hours and put another 84 fish in the boat including white bass, short hybrid, largemouth bass, and freshwater drum. These fish were much more aggressive and were duped by a smoking tactic.
OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 1) The bird activity on the main lake has fallen to near nil since this last cold front dropped the water surface temperatures into the high 50’s for the first time this fall.
TALLY: 133 FISH, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 11:30a
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 46F
Water Surface Temp: 59.1F
Wind Speed & Direction: NW10, shifting to NNW13-14 around 10a
Sky Conditions: High, thin, grey cloud cover at 100% in the eastern half of the sky, slowly creeping westward at a rate sufficient to keep the direct sun from shining on the water at any time during this morning’s trip.
Water Level: 2.84 feet low
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 960/1007 – easing for reluctant white bass on bottom through 9:30 for 49 fish
**Area 2059/1945 – smoking for aggressive mix of species in lower12′ of the water column thru 11:15a for an add’l 84 fish
Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle
Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle