WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, March 3rd, I fished with returning guests Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen of Temple, TX.
Sylvia retired from the USDA and Tommy worked for many years for Exide Battery.
The two are very outdoorsy, and (something which contributed to our success today), have both fished with me at this time of year in years past using the same tactics we used today in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope, so, there was essentially no learning curve for them — we got right down to catching this morning.
PHOTO CAPTION: Steady action from our pre-dawn start to our pre-lunch stop was in store for Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen this morning on Lake Belton. They landed 96 fish.
PHOTO CAPTION: Our catch included a whiskered bonus for Tommy from out of 56 feet of water.
WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake
WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 03 March 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
We got going at 6:45AM thanks to a cloudless forecast, and, we caught fish right off the bat this morning.
The first 10 fish we landed were small (last year’s crop) of white bass in what would be the shallowest water (28 feet) we found fish in all morning. All other areas were deeper and produced consistently larger fish.
Today was really a guide’s delight. Pretty weather, pleasant, experienced clients, light boat traffic, and a steady bite from start to finish.
We found it necessary to fish only 4 areas this morning, making 2 “short hops” at each in order to maintain contact with the fish once the bite dropped off.
Fishing was identical at each area. We’d find fish either on down-imaging or side-imaging, Spot-Lock atop them, use the thumper to keep them under the boat and draw in additional fish, and then use a slow-smoking tactic with my smallest slab, the white, 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slab with stinger attached to close the deal.
Perhaps 90% of our fish taken before the wind began around 10:15AM were taken off bottom. Once the SSE wind began, it steadily increased and the fishing activity definitely spiked. From that point on, we took more (~60%) of our fish from suspended schools and the balance from off bottom.
By 11:15AM the action was waning and by 11:30AM the fish had shut down. We never went more than a few minutes without catching a fish all morning, and wound up with exactly 96 fish including 7 freshwater drum, 1 largemouth bass, 1 blue catfish, and 87 white bass.
Hazy Eye Slabs, MAL Lures, and Stinger Hooks are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 96 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: No helpful bird activity despite the presence of roosted gulls and even a few white pelicans on the water.
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 6:45A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 35F
Elevation: 0.72′ low with a 0.01’ 24-hour fall and 26 CFS flow thru the dam.
Water Surface Temp: 49.5F
Wind Speed & Direction: Calm thru 10:15A, then a SSE breeze began and slowly tapered up to SSE8 by trip’s end
Sky Condition: Cloudless, fair skies
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 78% illum.
GT = 25
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**B0194C/677 – early, low light whites in 28′, 2 short hops for 10 fish
**1209/B0069G – steady bite under calm winds in 55+ feet for 14 fish
**vic 1555 – steady bite under calm winds in 55+ feet for 26 fish
**B0073G – most aggressive bite with first wind of the AM in over 60 feet for 46 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
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