WHO I FISHED WITH: Back this past summer, I got a request to donate a fishing trip for the benefit of Mr. Marion “Perch” Daniels. The nice lady who contacted me was Laurie Fleet, a lifetime resident of Salado, and 4th generation SHS grad. Here’s what she let me know about “Perch”…
Our good friend Perch is fighting the battle of his life and a battle that many other’s have fought. He has been diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma and you can imagine all the struggles that go along with this. There’s never been a nicer guy than Perch and I know all his friends will want to come together and help help help. He and Laura need us right now and I know we will all gladly do so.
Mr. Reed Smith of Flat, TX, bid on the fishing trip I offered to Laurie for that benefit event, and today Reed brought two buddies out for a morning of white bass fishing. He let me know Perch’s cancer is in remission and that he’s slowly regaining his health.
PHOTO CAPTION #1: From left, Reed Smith, Scott Stephens, and Bobby Jenkins landed 156 fish on their 4-hour morning trip on Lake Belton. Their catch included white bass, hybrid striped bass, largemouth bass, and freshwater drum.
WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake
WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 03 December 2019, AM
HOW WE FISHED: We struggled to find fish during the first hour of the trip as the 10-11 mph S. winds which had been forecast had not yet materialized. As soon as the slightest ripple began, the fish turned on and we stayed on fish continuously for the remainder of the trip, having to stop at only 3 distinct locations to stay in the action.
The easing tactic using 3/8 oz. white Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hooks was the only tactic we had to employ this morning. Once the fellows quickly got the fundamentals down, I layered in Garmin LiveScope, and they were off to the races as they observed their presentations and fish responses, both positive and negative, to those presentations.
Reed asked a great question today which was, “What is it about these areas that causes the white bass to be there?” I pulled up the depth highlighting feature on the Humminbird Solix, highlighted in bright green all of the water from 30-36 feet deep (adjusted for the lake being down ~3 feet), and pointed out how slow-sloping areas in that depth range were the common thread.
TALLY: 156 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: No helpful bird activity this morning thanks to calm winds after the winds reversed direction around 8pm the previous night.
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:10A
End Time: 11:15A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 44F
Elevation: 2.73 feet low, 0.01′ 24-hour fall, 34 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 57.2
Wind Speed & Direction: Calm at trip’s start with a light S. breeze beginning around 8AM and building to S13 with gusts to 15 by the end of the trip.
Sky Conditions: Post-frontal bluebird skies
GT =100
#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Areas B0201C and B0202C (2 hops)
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