WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning I fished with father-and-son team Michael and Ben Crabtree from The Woodlands, TX, near Houston. They came down to visit grandparents and show off Ben’s newborn brother.
We postponed this trip to this morning after our originally chosen date (this past Saturday) turned out to be a 4-hour rain event during which I fished instead with a hearty all-adult crew to avoid the wet, damp conditions for Michael and Ben.
This turned out well for them, as we had dry, bearable conditions this morning after a cool start around 46F.
PHOTO CAPTION: Michael Crabtree and his 10-year-old son, Ben, enjoyed a “personal best” day of fishing this morning, landing 50 fish in just a tad under 4 hours.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Monday (AM), 15 March 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
Last week’s warm rains, warm temperatures, and high, steady winds significantly warmed Lake Belton. We now sit at 57F from the surface down to ~20 feet deep. This has fish and bait up in the water column (not necessarily over shallow bottoms, but up high in the water column).
We spent our first hour or so chasing birds which were chasing bait begin chased by gamefish. These fish showed themselves in about three distinct locations, but, in all three scenarios were moving pretty quickly, so pinning them down long enough to catch more than a few was not all that likely.
I took a few swats at these, landed a few, but then decided we’d look for larger, less mobile schools using sonar. I believe this worked to our benefit as we were able to “camp out” on three groups of fish and enjoy consistent fishing.
The first group of fish we found held the greatest number of fish and these fish were of the best average size, but, these fish were also the most lethargic. We worked our tails off with 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs for these fish when they first presented on bottom, then with MAL Lures when they began to suspend, all for just 17 fish landed. Granted, Michael and Ben were still working through a learning curve here on hook-setting and fish-landing, but we missed just a few others – these fish were just not really turned on.
The second area gave up mostly small fish and the fishing lasted only 20 minutes or so before the fish turned off. This was in ~34′
Our last area was the best producer numbers-wise, and gave up a mixed bag on quality. It was also the deepest area we probed this morning, at about 50′ (again, we caught fish up off bottom).
Hazy Eye Slabs, MAL Lures, and Stinger Hooks are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 50 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: Temperature profile:
0 feet 57.5F
5 feet 57.5F
10 feet 57.5F
15 feet 57.4F
20 feet 56.9F
25 feet 55.4F
30 feet 54.5F
35 feet 53.9F
45 feet 53.7F
45feet 53.2F
50 feet 52F
55feet 51.6F
60 feet 50.2F
65 feet 48.3F
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:40A (Daylight Saving Time began yesterday)
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 46F
Elevation: 0.77′ low with a 0.00’ 24-hour change and 26 CFS flow thru the dam.
Water Surface Temp: 57.5 F
Wind Speed & Direction: Winds were SSE7-11 the entire trip.
Sky Condition: Murky grey skies with light to moderate rainfall 100% of the trip.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent at 4% illum. (2 days past new moon)
GT = 40
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1859 (under birds)
**Area V B0111C
**Area 737
**Area B0150C/B0037C
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
#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide
#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing
#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport
#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday
#Fitec