Orange County Fish Fighters — 124 Fish

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Monday morning I fished with Mr. Rick Snelgrooes, his son, Sean, as well as Sean’s buddy, Grant, and Rick’s father-in-law, Charlie.  Grant and Charlie reside in Orange Co., California, where Rick and his immediate family just moved to Liberty Hill, TX, from earlier this year.

 

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Charlie, the Orange County hybrid hunter.

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Grant, the Orange County drum major, with a 5.75 pound drum.

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From left – Sean, Grant, Charlie, and Rick with a few of the 100+ white bass we landed under a blanket of fog this morning.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.  We also landed a number of drum and hybrid striper, as well as one largemouth bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday morning, 18 December, 2017

HOW WE FISHED: Fog was a big factor in today’s efforts.  I delayed the start of our trip by 30 minutes to let the fog thin a little. We launched at 7:45a and began the hunt for fish.  I did not think we’d enjoy any bird action today, but, to my surprise, just shortly after 8:00a, I spotted about 15 terns working over about 2 acres of water with solid fish beneath.  The fog now played in our favor as we could see these birds nearby, but more distant boat traffic could not, so we enjoyed about 2 hours of peaceful fishing as the birds led the way to success.  We put 91 fish in the boat by 9:45a using primarily a smoking tactic in combination with 3/8 oz. slabs with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks attached fishing in 34-36′.  This catch was made up of nearly 100% white bass.  After this action simmered down, we continued looking for fish, still under very foggy conditions.  That fog now hindered our ability to see birds, so, we then relied strictly on sonar.  As I graphed an area I felt had potential, we were blessed to have some brief bird action break out about 80 yards from us.  Once we “read” the birds, we got on the fish beneath them and put another 33 fish in the boat from out of 43′.  Because the potential for hybrid appeared better at this area, we went with 3/4 oz. slabs on slightly heavier rods.  By 10:50, the morning bite was over and the wind laid down for the first time all morning.  We called it a good trip right then and got the two teens (with zero body fat!) back into the van to absorb some heat.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   N/A

TALLY: 133 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:45a

End Time:  11:15a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  49F

Water Surface Temp:  58.3F

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: 2.81 feet low

GT = 110

Wx SNAPSHOT:

18DEC17

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area B0002C & B0003C – 91 fish under birds

**Area vic 1483/355 – 33 fish under birds

 

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

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