WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday afternoon, April 1st, I fished with first-time guests Bennie Goddard, his daughter, Ashley Goddard, and his father-in-law, David Barkemeyer.
This trip was Bennie’s Christmas gift to David and came at a perfect time in the season.
David has retired (multiple times) and lives in Cameron; Bennie just retired from Dow Chemical on the Texas coast and now lives in Morgan’s Point, and Ashley works as a mobile physical therapist, also living in Morgan’s Point.
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Bennie Goddard, Ashley Goddard, and David Barkemeyer with white bass we took from out of 26 to 52 feet today as the ENE winds blew.
WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake
WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (PM), 01 April 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
Today was one of those days where our afternoon results were actually stronger than our morning results (which is atypical). This was thanks to a lack of wind in the morning and due to sufficient winds for most of the afternoon.
Given the light winds, and cloudless skies, I began our search for fish this afternoon in deep (52′) water. We found an abundance of fish tight to the bottom on a gently sloping bottom and began working my 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs in their midst with immediate, strong results. As the fish began to lose interest in the slab, we fired them back up with the MAL Lure, once my three guests had already gone through most of the vertical fishing learning curve while using the slabs in combination with Garmin LiveScope.
We boated 84 fish in our first 90 minutes on the water, through ~5P. At this time, the ENE breeze we’d enjoyed went slack. I searched unsuccessfully for the next 50 minutes under calm conditions and found nothing to fish for.
Around 6P, the ENE winds returned at about 6-7 mph, which was enough to ripple the surface. I found fish in ~32 feet of water, and we took our tally up to 145 fish caught and released through 6:50P. All of these fish aggressively pursued the chartreuse MAL Lure.
From 6:50P through to sunset at around 7:35P, we landed a final 45 additional white bass in ~26′. Unlike the previous two groups of fish we located, this group was suspended and patrolling in the lower half of the water column. These, too, were taken on the MAL Lure worked at a moderate cadence and vertically.
David made it a point to tell me at the trip’s conclusion that what he experienced exceeded his expectations … he thought we’d get into one good group of fish and enjoy the lion’s share of our success from that find, so, he was pleasantly surprised when were were able to spread the wealth over the full 4 hours of the trip by fishing for the 3 distinct groups of fish we located. I really appreciated him sharing that with me.
Hazy Eye Slabs, MAL Lures, and Stinger Hooks are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 190 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: No bird activity this afternoon. The fish quit as the sun dropped below the horizon.
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 3:30P
End Time: 7:40P
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F
Elevation: 0.79 feet low, .02 foot 24-hour drop, 26 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 61.7 F
Wind Speed & Direction: Light ENE winds around 6-8mph, save for the period from ~5-6P (our toughest window)
Sky Condition: Cloudless skies the entire trip.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous at 81% illum.
GT = 55
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area B0077G – 84 fish in 90 minutes out of 52′ primarily on 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs
**Area 817 – 61 fish in about an hour on MAL Lures
**Area B0187C- 45 fish in about an hour on MAL Lures
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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