WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, 01 October, I fished Lake Belton with father and son team Glenn and Ryan Morrison. Glenn’s mom, long-time Killeen resident Bobbie Morrison, got the fellows a gift certificate back in May. Ryan poured over my blog entries from years past to see when my good fishing results overlapped with his options for taking some time off, and this morning was the morning.
Glenn retired from working for the City of Killeen and now builds custom homes and Ryan works for a heavy equipment company called DTAC up in Midlothian, TX.
At one point during the two most productive middle hours of our trip, we were catching them so predictably that Ryan, referring to hunting inside a high-fenced area, called what we were doing ‘high fence fishing’. We all kind of chuckled at that one!
This one’s for you Granny Bobbie!! Mrs. Bobbie Morrison’s grandson, Ryan, and his dad, Glenn, boated 60 fish on this overcast early October morning on Lake Belton.
TRIPLE!! Although singles and doubles were pretty common this morning, Glenn landed our one and only triple of the trip as the action peaked between 8 and 10am.
WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass. We also landed 3 hybrid and 1 largemouth.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Monday morning, October 1, 2018
HOW WE FISHED: Due to the murky, dark skies and the posture of the fish as seen on sonar this morning, we stuck with the downriggers to find fish and then, only when we observed bottom-oriented schools, did we stop over top of them to vertical jig. When we first began to jig, slabs did well, but, when the fish turned off to the slabs, we reenergized the bite using tailspinners. Ospreys were helpful in pinpointing fish, but no sustained topwater action occurred this morning on the whites and hybrid.
OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: The fishing at Belton was remarkably similar to the fishing at Stillhouse under these damp, grey morning skies we’ve been experiencing of late. The first hour and the last hour tend to be slow, with all of the fish catching taking place from ~8a to 10a. The water temperature is slowly trending downward with cooler days and extended bouts of cloud cover. Fish that bit were primarily found in the uppermost part of the lower third of the water column. Bottom dwelling fish tended to be turned off.
Thermocline observations:
0 feet 79.4
5 feet 79.4
10 feet 79.4
15 feet 79.4
20 feet 79.4
25 feet 79.4
30 feet 79.4
35 feet 79.4
40 feet 79.1
45 feet 72.5
50 feet 66.6
55 feet 63.8
60 feet 62.3
TALLY: 60 fish, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:00 am
End Time: 11:00 am
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F
Water Surface Temp: 79.2F
Wind Speed & Direction: SE4 at first light, peaking at SE6 for the middle two hours, then falling off to SE2 or less in the last hour
Sky Conditions: Damp, grey, overcast skies all morning with a light drizzle falling on occasion
Water Level: 4.83 feet low and falling
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 903-794 under low light
**Area 1273-1143-2094 strong bite from 7:50 to 9:50
**Area vic 904 scraped up a few small fish from out of a large school of turned off white bass after the bite died hard at 9:50
Bob Maindelle, Belton Lake Fishing Guide
Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service
Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingelleTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle
Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle