WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning I fished with Mr. Mike McLaughlin of Georgetown, TX, his son-in-law, Keith Duncan, and Keith’s 13-year-old son, Alex. Alex has been out with me every year in the autumn, with the exception of last year during the massive flooding, since he was just 6 years old.
Mike is retired from law enforcement, Keith is in the tech industry, and Alex is working his way through homeschooling at the eighth grade level.
PHOTO CAPTION #1: From left: Mike McLaughlin, Keith Duncan, and Alex Duncan with part of our catch of 128 fish, all taken from ~33 feet of water this morning.
WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake
WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 30 November 2019, AM
HOW WE FISHED: Fishing took place in two distinct spurts this morning, all driven by the weather. It all began last night around 7PM when a warm front moved into Central Texas, taking the temperature quickly from 53F, up to 71F in a matter of a few hours. This warming caused the lingering fog of the daytime hours to dissipate, but the atmosphere remained humid. This morning, I had light mist on my windshield driving to the lake, but our fishing hours were all dry. As we launched, there was a 13 mph SW wind and thick grey cloud cover. Once it got light enough to illuminate the depths, the fish began to bite under clouds and wind. Soon, that wind died to calm and we caught zero fish during that entire span (nearly 2 hours). Finally, around 10AM, the lightest ripple began from the SW and quickly shifted W, then NW a a mild, clearing Pacific cold front moved in. We took our fish count from 28 to 128 in the 1.75 hour span between 10AM and 11:45AM. All of the fish came on an easing tactic using only 3/8 oz. white Hazy Eye Slabs with stinger hooks attached.
TALLY: 128 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: No helpful bird action this morning.
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:10AM
End Time: 11:50AM
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 71F
Elevation: 2.67 feet low, 0.01′ 24-hour fall, 34 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 61.0
Wind Speed & Direction: SW12 @ obscured sunrise, followed by a 2 hour period of calm, murky, warm conditions, followed by clearing, drying conditions with the arrival of a minor Pacific cold front.
Sky Conditions: Grey skies and warm, humid conditions through 10AM, then clearing and drying with the arrival of a Pacific cool front
GT = 5
#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area B0199C / 1292 — fished this area twice, once as the wind blew before the calm and again after the wind started again after the calm; caught 28 the first time and 60 the second
**Area vic B0012C — 40 fish
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
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle
Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle