‘Twas a Bit Chilly — 64 Fish @ Belton

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Monday morning I fished for a fifth time with Mr. Rodrick Rhoads, this time accompanied by 2 of his 5 children, 14-year-old April and 12-year-old Oliver.  The Rhoads have chosen to home-school their kids, thus they have the flexibility to do things together and at times other than on the ever-crowded weekend, and such was this morning’s trip with all of Lake Belton to ourselves.  Although our efforts were hindered a bit by a short-lived cold front which drove the temperature at dawn down to 49F with very little warming the entire morning, the water has warmed into the mid-60’s, so fish were still feeding, albeit not overly-aggressively.

 

A short-lived, damp cold front pushed morning temperatures to 49F, but the warm water kept fish biting this morning under grey skies and light NE winds.  Rodrick Rhoads took this hybrid on a live threadfin shad.

April Rhoads, age 14, caught white bass early and hybrid stripers in the latter half of the trip.

 

Oliver Rhoads with the last fish of the day — a blue cat that moved in after we’d stayed in one place for a while, thus letting the scent of our livebait and chum draw this species into our livebait spread.

Oliver got a bit of a surprise with the “two-fer”.  The smaller white bass is hooked on the lure’s treble, and the larger fish was hooked on the Hazy Eye Stinger Hook I equip all of my slabs with for enhanced hookup percentages.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip.

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday morning, 02 April 2018

HOW WE FISHED:  We targeted white bass in shallow water (under 26′) during the low-light time from 7:20 to around 8:30a using 3/8 oz. white slabs with Hazy Eye Stinger Hooks attached.   We landed exactly 30 fish during this time and then decided to pursue fewer, but larger, fish using live bait.  Using freshly netted, live threadfin shad, we landed hybrid striped bass, white bass, largemouth bass, and a single blue catfish.  Fish were found from 24-33 feet deep at each of the 2 areas we fished.  In all, we put an additional 35 fish in the boat.  Our final hour on the water was the slowest (as it often is in the morning), thanks not to light level, but to a quirk in the weather.  During this time the air felt the most raw and cold at any point during the morning, and a light blanket of fog developed right over the water’s surface.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:   1) First spawning shad sighted allowing for “one & done” netting.

TALLY: 65 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED 

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:25a

End Time: 12:20p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 49F

Water Surface Temp:  65.3F

Wind Speed & Direction:   NW7-10

Sky Conditions: 100% grey cloud cover as a mild cold front moved in briefly.

Water Level: 2.15 feet low

GT = 35

 

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

 

**Area 1024 – smoking for white bass — 31 fish in 90 minutes

**Area  692 – – mixed bag on live bait; mainly keeper hybrid

**Area vic 1882/1819/2027 – mixed bag on live bait; mainly keeper hybrid

 

 

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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