THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM — 105 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Monday morning I fished with returning guests Rick Snelgrooes of Liberty Hill, TX, his 13-year-old son, Sean, Sean’s buddy Damian Gullo (age 16), Rick’s 9-year-old granddaughter, Piper Sutherland, and Piper’s dad, Ian Sutherland from the Los Angeles, CA, area.  This would be the last fishable weather prior to the arrival of a much publicized winter storm which shut most of Texas down on Tuesday, 16 Jan. with the threat of ice and snow and temperatures well below freezing.

Grandpa Rick Snelgrooes led the charge today with our first fish caught and a number of healthy largemouth bass boated.  His prior experience from two previous trips during this cool water period helped flatten his learning curve this morning.

Everyone caught fish all morning long:  from the left — Damian Gullo, Piper Sutherland, Rick Snelgrooes, Sean Snelgrooes, and Ian Sutherland

Ian picked up this nice drum that moved in to vacuum up the mess left behind by the white bass we caught as they regurgitated partially digested shad and defecated due to stress as we reeled them in.

Rick helps Miss Piper, his granddaughter, hoist a freshwater drum (nicknamed gaspergou) of her own.

Rick capped off the trip with yet another nice, deepwater largemouth taken in 48′ in the last 20 minutes of our trip.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass using artificial lures.

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 15 January 2018

HOW WE FISHED:   We enjoyed mild, pre-frontal conditions this morning warming to the low 50’s as we left the lake.  The fish started feeding right at sunrise and stayed moderately active for a full 3 hours.  Right at 10:30a to around 11:15a, coinciding with an increase in the wind, the fish activity picked up noticeably, allowing us to use afaster, more aggressive “easing” tactic versus the low and slow “snap-jigging” we had to use prior to this time.  Proper bait adjustment off bottom was absolutely essential as all of the fish caught via snap-jigging were glued tight to the bottom.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   1) During the time we used the snap-jigging technique, a full 2+ second pause was necessary to get bit consistently.

TALLY: 105 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:20a

End Time:  11:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  42F

Water Surface Temp:  51.2

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSE2-6

Sky Conditions: 80% thin, grey cloud cover

Water Level: 3.12 feet low

GT = 115

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 382 – snap jigging; 2 hops both in ~34-36′

**Area vic B0028C – snap jigging; 3 hops in 30′

**Area vic B0021C – snap jigging and easing; 2 hops in 49-51′

 

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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