WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, December 28th, 2019, I fished with three generations of the Oliver family who drove in from Marble Falls, TX, for a 7:35AM launch time to do some serious white bass fishing under ideal conditions.
Grandpa Jack Oliver had two of his sons, Isaac and Eli, and his daughter Emily’s two boys, Jack (age 9) and Roy (age 6), all joining him for today’s productive, albeit slightly damp, fishing trip. Jack and Roy Martin are in visiting from Kalispell, Montana.
This trip came together kind of “last minute” when I posted on Facebook that I had a late cancellation yesterday afternoon. Jack hopped right on the opportunity (literally, about 2.5 minutes after I posted the opening!) and it turned out to be a win-win. I was a bit concerned about having a 6 year old out at this time of year when your presentation needs to be spot-on and there is not much variety for me to offer, but, that turned out to be a non-issue, both boys did very well.
PHOTO CAPTION: Back row, from left: Grandpa Jack Oliver, Isaac Oliver, Eli Oliver. Front row, from left: Roy Martin and Jack Martin
PHOTO CAPTION: Jack Martin took “big fish” honors this morning with this 4.75 pound Lake Belton largemouth bass with fell for a 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slab with stinger hook affixed and in the white color.
WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 28 December 2019, AM
HOW WE FISHED: If I could custom-order weather for white bass fishing in the winter season, this morning’s weather is what I would order. We had warm temperatures overnight, warm, humid conditions this morning with grey cloud cover and just a touch of precipitation from time to time — barely a mist. The winds were from the SW around 10-12 and, perhaps most important, we had a cold front coming in, which would hit around 2:45P. Every single place we checked had at least a few fish present, and a few places had hundreds of fish present and actively feeding up off bottom where they were easily detected with sonar.
Every single one of the 161 fish we landed was caught from off bottom as we used a slow, steady “easing” tactic to tempt these fish in the 55.2F water. Our deepest area fished was 28′, and we caught our earliest fish (while sky conditions were dimmest) in only 17′.
All fish were landed on the 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slab with stinger hook affixed and in the white color. My standard setup for these includes a roughly 24″ Sufix fluorocarbon leader and 20 pound Sufix 832 braided line.
Jack’s in-laws were due in to Marble Falls for a steak cookout at 1PM, so he gave me a “back to the dock” time of 11AM to catch our fish. We hit 100 fish at 10:05AM, then added icing to the cake for the next 35 minutes, putting a final 61 fish in the boat during that short time span.
TALLY: 161 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: No bird activity this morning. I found fish as shallow as 8′ deep in the 55.3F water.
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:45A
End Time: 12:40A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F
Elevation: 2.98′ low, 0.00′ 24-hour change, 34 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 55.3F
Wind Speed & Direction: Calm and foggy conditions which were very localized. The entire area was not foggy, only the lake’s surface due to the temperature disparity between the cold air and the warmer water.
Sky Conditions: Sun obscured all morning by fog through around 9:30A, then slowly clearing to mostly cloudy with white cloud cover, followed by heavier coverage of grey clouds
GT = 45
#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area B0013C to B0002G – 3 short hops
**Area vic B0112C
**Area vic 171/1024
**Area vic B0066C
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