WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Monday, April 29th, I fished with returning guest Brian House, accompanied by two first-time guests, Jason Moon and Nick Szyman. The three men got to know one another working out at the same gym. Brian is a U.S. Navy vet, Jason is a U.S. Army vet, and Nick is a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant still on active duty.
PHOTO CAPTION: Brian hooked up first and often today. He had great technique on the reel, waiting for a sustained pull until he methodically turned the reel’s handle slowly allowing the circle hooks we used to cam around and latch onto the fish.
PHOTO CAPTION: Jason, originally from Georgia, is now using his G.I. Bill to pursue a degree as he operates his own taxidermy business.
PHOTO CAPTION: U.S. Army SSG Nick Szyman with a nice 4-pound class Lake Belton hybrid striped bass taken on live shad.
WHAT WE FISHED FOR: Hybrid striped bass using live shad.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: 29 April 2019, AM
HOW WE FISHED: We fished strictly live bait in pursuit of hybrid striped bass this morning. The stiff SSE breeze and grey cloud cover were very welcome after the bright sunny skies of this past weekend.
The shad spawn was heavy this morning and the hybrid put on their best show to date. Of the 50 fish we landed today, 29 were legal hybrid. We landed no undersized hybrid. The remainder of our fish consisted mainly of blue cat and white bass, with a single largemouth bass thrown in the the mix.
We fished only two areas extensively today. The first area produced from 7:30 to 9:30am. During this time we landed 35 fish, including 22 legal hybrid.
We then had a hour’s lag as I searched numerous areas without success.
Then, from 10:38 to 12:30, we enjoyed another 2 full hours of slower, but still productive fishing. This second run produced another 15 fish, including 7 more legal hybrid stripers.
OBSERVATIONS: Large shad produced best early; then medium-sized shad and cutbait produced best at the end of the morning. “One and done” shad situation at SHAD014 although no motion could be seen for the wind blowing pre-sunrise.
TALLY: 50 fish caught and released – including 29 legal hybrid
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:00a
End Time: 12:30p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F
Elevation: 2.30′ above full pool with a 0.06′ 24-hour fall and a 1672 cfs flow
Water Surface Temp: ~67.4F
Wind Speed & Direction: S12-15
Sky Conditions: Grey skies with “squinting light” penetrating all morning
GT = 65
#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 717/B0148C – 35 fish, including 22 legal hybrid
**Area B0149C – 15 fish, including 7 more legal hybrid
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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Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle