WHO I FISHED WITH: Yesterday morning, Monday, March 22nd, I fished with members of the Killeen-based Salas Team Realtors, including Luis Salas, his 15-year-old son, Michael, Dex Manguerra who coordinated the trip, Michael Green, and Mallory Benham.
Dex brought his daughters out with me a few weeks back, did quite well, and booked another date with his co-workers on the spot.
The weather, although not overly comfortable, was made-to-order for fishing — grey cloud cover and a steady wind with a southerly component.
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Dex Manguerra, Luis Salas, Mallory Benham, Michael Green, and Michael Salas with a sampling of the 121 fish they caught and released this past Monday on Lake Belton.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Monday (AM), 22 March 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
As spring slowly progresses and the day length increases, the fishing just keeps on improving.
This morning we experienced feeding fish keeping us steadily catching from 7:30 through 11:10 when things shut down pretty quickly.
We fished only three areas and with only a single tactic using a single bait. We found fish in 32-38 feet of water, we used a slow-smoking retrieve in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope, and closed the deal with the white, 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slab with stinger hook. This bait choice was confirmed as the right one many times over as the fish we landed regurgitated freshly swallowed shad exactly the size of this shad-imitating bait.
Everyone was coachable, did well coming out of the chute, and then followed my suggestions on small technique improvements thereafter, and this positively impacted their results.
With the water firmly in the mid-50’s now, fish movement is faster, the chases longer, and the bites and fights harder than just a week ago.
Hazy Eye Slabs, MAL Lures, and Stinger Hooks are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 121 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: On several occasions in the first 2 hours following sunrise (obscured) I observed white bass feeding for prolonged period of time at the surface as the forced shad upward in the water column and into the wind. Due to a fairly rough surface, birds, although present, did not capitalize on this action. Temperature profile was as follows:
0 feet 56.6
5 feet 56.5
10 feet 56.5
15 feet 56.5
20 feet 56.3
25 feet 56.3
30 feet 56.3
35 feet 56.1
40 feet 56.0
45 feet 55.5
50 feet 53.7
55 feet 53.9
60 feet 53.1
65 feet 51.6
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:30A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 55F
Elevation: 0.78′ low with a 0.01’ 24-hour change and 26 CFS flow thru the dam.
Water Surface Temp: 56.5F
Wind Speed & Direction: Winds were SSE13-15 all morning
Sky Condition: Moderately heavy grey cloud cover all morning; no precipitation.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent at 59% illum.
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area B0198C
**Area 593/097
**Area 1336 – B0145C
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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