Tracie Turns 70 – Happy Hybrid Birthday

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday morning I fished with returning guests Tom and Tracie Byrd and Tom’s sister, Patty Williams. This was in celebration of Tracie’s 70th birthday. Tom, a former USAF fighter pilot, and Tracie live “in the country” on the outskirts of Austin where they keep up with their own horses and board others’ horses, as well. Patty’s background is in the banking business. The Byrd’s have been out with me for a number of years, often in celebration of Tracie’s birthday.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Sisters-in-law Patty Williams and Tracie Byrd, the birthday girl. The ladies landed these hybrid simultaneously which offered a ‘one photo, two fish’ opportunity.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tom landed our largest hybrid of the trip, this 5.75 pounder.

PHOTO CAPTION: Patty landed our longest hybrid which stretched 23″.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: Hybrid Striped Bass

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 30 May 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: This morning’s action all came off of one spot, although we checked four areas and fished three of them. We found our best fishing from 8:30 to 10:20 in exactly 48 feet of water. Smaller shad seemed to get all of the attention this morning, with large shad going either unnoticed or getting knocked around but not swallowed.

We fished our vertical tightlines anywhere from 2 to 4 cranks off bottom as the fish activity level dictated. In addition to the legal hybrid we pursued, we also landed short hybrid which are very energetic fish to have on the line, as well as mature, 3-year class white bass and a few (annoying) blue catfish.

At exactly 10:21am we quickly got all the gear in the boat and sped off the lake in advance of an approaching thunderstorm which would dump about 1/2 inch or rain on the area in a short span of time. We felt the temperature drop suddenly as storm clouds built to the NW of us and weather radar revealed the stormy mass was moving toward us. We lost about 25 minutes’ of fishing, but the bite was on its way out by then, anyway, just as it was on Wednesday’s trip.

OBSERVATIONS: No shad spawning en masse this morning on calm winds.

TALLY: 54 fish caught and released, with 14 legal hybrid in this mix of hybrid, short hybrid, white bass, and blue cat

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:45a

End Time: 10:21a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F

Elevation: 7.66 feet high with a 24-hour fall of 0.48 feet on a flow of 4627 cfs

Water Surface Temp: 77.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: NNE at trip’s start, slowly swinging through N, then NW, then suddenly ramping up and shifting W in advance of an approaching storm cell at 10:21am.

Sky Conditions: Partly sunny skies until 8:15 am, then grey skies the remainder of the morning

GT = 75

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

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