WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, April 23rd, I fished with returning guests, father and son Matt and Mitch Laakso. This was a birthday trip for Matt, scheduled a full year ago as we concluded his birthday trip in 2018. We actually had to leave the fish biting at 11:35a this morning so Matt could make his 2:30p business flight for North Carolina out of Austin-Bergstrom airport!
PHOTO CAPTION: Mitch Laakso (left) and his dad, Matt Laakso, with a late morning pair of hybrid taken just after the glassy-calm surface got rippled by a light easterly breeze. The fishing closely tracked with wind velocity today, allowing these two anglers a total of 17 legal hybrid, all taken on barbless circle hooks and all released in excellent condition.
WHAT WE FISHED FOR: Hybrid striped bass using live shad.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: 23 April 2019, AM
HOW WE FISHED: We fished live shad in pursuit of hybrid stripers for a full 4+ hours this morning. For the 3rd trip in a row (I believe on account of the unseasonably cool water temperature), we typically caught the fish we witnessed on sonar which led us to stop at the areas we fished, but we never got a “chain reaction” going via pulling in fish from around us, thus, we had to move frequently, even if just a few boat-lengths.
Most of our fish came from 43-50 feet of water. Shallower areas had an annoying abundance of small blue catfish on them.
We did best when the ESE wind blew, and noted a lack of action, or at least a lack of enthusiasm in the strikes we got, when the winds were calm.
Our 2nd hour and final hour were best, as that is when we enjoyed the best winds. Unfortunately, we had to leave the fish biting at trip’s end so Matt could make a 2:30p flight out of Austin.
OBSERVATIONS: The fish seemed to have no preference today on bait size. If the wind was blowing, the fish were active and they readily took whatever lively baits we sent down to them. Experimental cutbaits drew blue cat and zero hybrid this morning. Netted shad successfully at SHAD014 as they spawned in shallow water.
TALLY: 37 fish caught and released – 17 legal hybrid, 4 short hybrid, and a 50/50 mix of white bass and blue catfish.
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 11:35a
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F
Elevation: 0.71′ above full pool with a 0.01′ 24-hour rise
Water Surface Temp: ~65.4F
Wind Speed & Direction:
Sky Conditions: 100% thin, grey cloud cover with occasional drizzle
GT = N/A
#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 717
**Area vic 1289
**Area B0037C
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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