WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Thursday morning I fished the sixth Spring Break 2018 trip of the week with three elementary-aged students — Claudia House (age 9), her younger brother, David (age 7), and their friend, Bethany Stursma (age 8) who came down for a visit all the way from Pella, Iowa.  Accompanying the kids was Mr. Brian House.  Young David had me a bit worried at first as he told me he only intended to watch as the girls fished because he didn’t like fishing.  Well, like many youngsters, David may not like fishing, but he definitely liked catching, so we tried our best to keep all three kids catching for the 3.5 hours this “Kids Fish, Too!” package trip just for kids would last.  When all was said and done, we’d landed 70 fish as the white bass cooperated for a majority of our time on the water, despite nearly cloudless skies.

From left: Claudia House, Bethany Stursma, and David House, each with a white bass caught using slabs fished vertically at the level fish were seen holding at on sonar.

David landed two fish on one lure at the same time — one on the treble hook and one on the Hazy Eye Stinger hook affixed to the line tie.

 

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday morning, 15 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:   Nearly 100% smoking with 3/8 oz. slabs & stinger hooks.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  N/A

TALLY: 70 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30am

End Time: 11:00am

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 52F

Water Surface Temp:  59F

Wind Speed & Direction:   SSW 9-11

Sky Conditions:   <30% white, wispy cloud cover

Water Level: 2.49 feet low and falling

GT = 10

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 378/380 – 54 white bass

**Area  vic B0054C – 16 white bass

 

 

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

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Wednesday evening I conducted the fifth Spring Break 2018 trip of the week.  Joining me were father and daughter Brent and Grace Pacha of Bartlett, TX.  Brent is a plumber by trade and Grace is a middle school student on Spring Break.

Brent and Grace Pacha of Bartlett, TX, with a nice hybrid striper which took a live shad suspended off bottom just before sunset.

 

After snap-jigging unsuccessfully, we changed to a horizontal presentation by downrigging and scored again and again on large, quality white bass using a 3-armed umbrella rig equipped with Pet Spoons.

 

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip during which we caught a mix of white bass and hybrid stripers

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday evening, 14 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:  The after effects of the cold front that came in Monday played out this afternoon as winds went from the NE in the morning, through the E, then calmed this afternoon.  That, combined with bright skies, made the fishing tough.  We took a few fish via snap-jigging, but saw a lot of bottom-hugging white bass that just were not buying what we were offering.  We changed our plan, tried presenting downrigged bait run horizontally over top of the same fish which would not respond to jigging, and wound up find the key to getting these fish to bite.  After a long run of successful downrigging, we spent the last 40 minutes or so fishing with live shad for hybrid.  

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  1) Snap-jigging is beginning to lose its appeal, with downrigging or horizontally worked blade baits now producing well when aggressive feeding ends and fish spread horizontally on bottom. 2) Hybrid fishing is still spotty.

TALLY: 49 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:30p

End Time: 7:55p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F

Water Surface Temp:  58.5F

Wind Speed & Direction:   SE at less than 5-6 all afternoon

Sky Conditions:   <15% white, wispy cloud cover

Water Level: 2.48 feet low and falling

GT = 20

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  1126 – B0040C

**Area  vic B0052C

 

 

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

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Wednesday morning I conducted the fourth Spring Break 2018 trip of the week with three generations of the Boyd family.  Bryan and John own and operate Centex Flooring in the north Austin area, specializing in ceramic tile.  The impacts of the cold front that caused me to postpone Monday’s fishing could still be felt with bright skies and low temperatures, but, even though the winds were northeasterly, they were at least moving the water enough to get the fish going.  We enjoyed 2 solid hours of fishing under birds for aggressive white bass, then a third, slow hour spent searching for more fish as the winds died down.  In our final hour we found a pocket of hybrid striper which had corralled shad into a cove where we caught 13 keeper hybrid , 1 short hybrid, and 2 largemouth bass on live shad.

 

From left: Bryan, Drew, and John Boyd, each with solid, 3-year class white bass taken in the first two hours of fishing under birds.  Slabs did the trick when worked vertically through the water column at the level these fish were holding at.

 

We cashed in on some hybrid and largemouth action in our last hour on the water.  Both species had herded shad into a small pocket and were feeding in the upper half of the water column with fish occasionally breaking the surface.  Live shad did the trick fished between 12-17 feet over a deeper bottom.

 

 

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip during which we caught a mix of white bass and hybrid stripers

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday morning, 14 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED:   Fishing for white bass under birds was best with a moderate smoking tactic using 3/8 oz. slabs with the Hazy Eye Stinger attached.  Fishing is still spotty and inconsistent for hybrid, with fish taking shad of all sizes, as well as chunk baits; a lot of “sniffs” are still being observed as hybrid race upward to a bait, examine it, then turn away.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  1) Snap-jigging is beginning to lose its appeal, with downrigging or horizontally worked blade baits now producing well when aggressive feeding ends and fish spread horizontally on bottom.

TALLY: 157 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30a

End Time: 11:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 38F

Water Surface Temp:  58.5F

Wind Speed & Direction:  NE6 in the first two hours, then slowing to E at just a ripple for the last two hours

Sky Conditions:  <10% wispy, white cloud cover

Water Level: 2.48 feet low and falling

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  692/381  – white bass on slabs under birds

**Area vic 380    – white bass on slabs under birds

**Area  B0053C – suspended, small “packs” of hybrid stripers and largemouth took live shad (medium threadfin) set at 12-17 on tightlines

**Area vic 1371

 

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