2 DAYS, 6 KIDS, 334 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Monday and Tuesday this week I fished with 3 generations of the Oliver clan. The common denominator each day was Papa Joe Oliver who treated both kids and grandkids to a morning of fishing on Lake Belton.

On Monday, Joe’s daughter, Amber, accompanied by her three kids, Ben (age 13), Beau (age 6), and Addie (age 5) came aboard, as did the kids’ uncle, Thomas (Joe’s son/Amber’s brother).

On Tuesday, Joe’s son, Corey, and Joe’s daughter-in-law, Britt, accompanied by their three kids, Cullen and Presley (10 year old twins), and Harper (age 8) joined me as part of their visit from Oregon.

PHOTO CAPTION: Back row – Amber, Thomas, Ben, and Joe; front row – Addie and Beau

PHOTO CAPTION: Back row – Joe and Britt; front row – Cullen, Harper, Presley, and Corey.

HOW WE FISHED: As I thought through what we might anticipate over the course of these two days, I came equipped to fish with downriggers, to fish vertically with MAL lures, to fish on top with MAL lures and/or Gang Banger Spoons, and to fish up shallow for sunfish.

DAY 1: On day 1 we were fortunate to stay in the white bass from before sunrise until 10 A.M., save for a short lag just as the sun hit the water, and for about 20 minutes thereafter. Prior to sunrise, we took singles and doubles on newly modified Pet Spoons fished on the downriggers, taking a total of 24 fish before the action waned as the sun rose.

About 25 minutes after sunrise, we found white bass feeding aggressively over open water and very willing to hit MAL lures as they fed on shad from 1 to 3.5 inches. About 60% of the fish we caught from this topwater action regurgitated multiple shad.

DAY 2: An early east wind sure put a damper on the low-light bite this morning. We landed only a half-dozen fish in our first 75 minutes on the water. As the clouds cleared, the skies brightened, and the wind faded and shifted SE, the bite came on strong with a repeat of yesterday’s long, intense, open-water feed with multiple, large schools of white bass working the surface and staying there, gorging on shad from young-of-the-year, up to 3.5 inches in length. The action was best from 8AM to 9:15AM, then faded to nil by 9:35AM. By this time, we’d landed 111 white bass and 1 hybrid striper. These were all taken on the MAL lure.

We put in a final 25 minutes focused on sunfish, catching bluegill, longears, and greens in shallow water using bait, and adding a final 40 fish to the count for a day 2 total of 152

WHEN WE FISHED: 20 & 21 July, 2020, AM

TALLY DAY 1: 182 fish caught and released

TALLY DAY 2: 152 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: When fish were apparent on the surface, we sight cast to them; when they could not be seen on the surface but could still be seen on sonar, we allowed our MAL lures to drop to a 10-count to get bit.

CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:30A both days

End Time: 10:00A both days

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 75F on day 1, 77F on day 2

Elevation: 0.9′ low, 0.05′ 24-hour fall, 34 CFS flow on day 1

Elevation: 0.94′ low, 0.04′ 24-hour fall, 34 CFS flow on day 2

Water Surface Temp: 84.7F

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE 8 at sunrise and for about 75 minutes, then dropping and shifting to SE4-5 and clearing slightly

Moon Phase: New moon on Day 1; Waxing cresent (new +1) on Day 2

GT = 60 & 80

Wx SNAPSHOT:

DAY 1: