SEASON’S FIRST SOLID HYBRID ENCOUNTER — 66 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, April 19th, I fished with a contingent of the Oliver clan, including brothers Joe, Jack, and Jamie, as well as Joe’s son, Thomas, and Jack’s son, Isaac.  This was all part of a 30-person reunion to take place over the Easter Weekend, with “Pa” Oliver’s place in Temple being ground zero for the festivities.

PHOTO CAPTION: Brothers Joe Oliver (Temple, TX) and Jack Oliver (Marble Falls, TX) with a nice pair of hybrid taken on live shad just seconds apart.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  Jamie Oliver (Cedar Park, TX) with his nephew (Joe’s son), Thomas Oliver (Temple, TX) with one of the 21 legal hybrid we took under incoming cold front conditions.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Jack Oliver and his son, Isaac Oliver, with our heaviest hybrid of the trip which tipped the scales at 5.25 pounds.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR:   This was a multispecies trip focused on white bass using artificial baits and hybrid striped bass using live shad

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:   19 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED:   Based on recent results and the forecast weather conditions, I was concerned that a morning of solid hybrid fishing might not be in the cards for us, but, thanks to some overnight cloud cover, more heat was retained overnight allowing for a sunrise air temperature of 57F versus 50F called for by the weatherman.  Additionally, there was a brief, but intense, pre-sunrise shad spawn thus confirming to me that the cold front didn’t do the damage it could have.  Additionally, the winds from this cold front were still blowing, so we were not in post-frontal conditions.

We got on a solid hybrid bite for our first 2.5 hours on the water, putting 21 legal hybrid, 2 short hybrid, 1 blue cat, and 1 largemouth in the boat during this time.  The fish were not really fired up.  We caught what I saw on sonar as we Spot Locked, but did not really pull in additional fish from nearby, hence, we had to “short hop” or “jog” a bit to keep getting bit.

Eventually, the forecast winds built to the point where our bait rods were moving vertically too much in the swell, and we headed for more protected waters.

Over our last hour on the water, we put 35 white bass, 1 drum, 1 blue cat, and 4 short hybrid in the boat, all on 3/8 oz. white Hazy Eye Slabs with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks affixed to the line tie.

OBSERVATIONS:  Brief, intense shoreline spawn by threadfin shad at Area from 6:45-6:55a, also noted spawners at Area 1367 and SHAD002; James C. reported 3 hours of spawning at his location the day before from about 30 minutes pre-sunrise and hence.  This was the first trip in this 2019 season with a mix of both quality and quantity concerning hybrid striped bass.

TALLY: 66 fish caught and released – 21 legal hybrid, 6 short hybrid, 2 blue cat, 1 drum, 1 largemouth bass, and 35 white bass.

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 11:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 0.7′ above full pool with a 0.09′ 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: ~65.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: NW14-17

Sky Conditions:  0% cloud cover as a cold front continued to move in on a NW wind

GT = 65

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

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 AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area B0087C, B0091C, and 1374 – live shad for hybrid

**Area 966 to 1543 (on rise) – live shad for hybrid

**Area B0066C to 378 – slow smoking for white bass on slabs/stingers

 

 

Bob Maindelle

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@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

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