WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Wednesday, April 28th, I fished with the Cannady family of Morgan’s Point, TX.
Adrian Cannady, his wife, Melissa, and their kids, Dylan, Tristan, and Cortland accompanied me on a multi-species trip on Lake Belton after bidding on a fishing trip at a Ralph Wilson Youth Club fundraiser back in 2019.
Adrian leads the Temple Economic Development Corporation and is a fellow West Pointer, so we had plenty in common to talk about during our trip.
PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Dylan, Tristan, Adrian, Melissa, and Cortland (in foreground), with a portion of their 177 fish catch made on MAL Lures.
PHOTO CAPTION: Tristan Cannady poses with his dad, Adrian, after landing this 6.25 pound Lake Belton hybrid striped bass on a chartreuse MAL Lure.
WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake
WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 28 April 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
Easy fishing for high numbers of aggressive white bass was just right for a boatful of fairly inexperienced anglers. None of the kids had caught fish before, and Adrian had primarily saltwater experience previously, so, working through the learning curve required a bit of doing at first, but, after a while of ‘trial by fire’ everyone got the hang of the intricacies of using the MAL Lure correctly and, from that point on, it was catching, not fishing.
The weather remained ideal, with wind and grey cloud cover, although by mid-morning, the winds got so high (18+mph with higher gusts) that I had to go looking for fish in more protected areas. Fortunately, these areas also held fish and so we were able to keep right on catching until 11 a.m. when we called it a good morning and headed in to the dock.
For me, there were two remarkable highlights. The first was listening to the kids, especially 7-year-old Cortland, as eacj hooked and landed their first fish. There was disbelief, screaming, excitement, and celebration all rolled into one 15-second package. The second highlight was when Tristan hooked and brought to net a 6.25-pound hybrid while working his chartreuse MAL Lure through some white bass holding tight to the bottom. After growing accustomed to the smaller white bass we were landing, the strength of the pull and the duration of the fight from this hybrid was a whole new experience for this young man.
We worked MAL Lures vertically in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope all morning — like they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is a deadly combination!
MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
Tutorial on how to fish MAL Lures is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TALLY: 177 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: High winds dictated we move to areas I’d not recently fished (see last two areas shown below), but, we managed to find fish anyway.
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:15A
End Time: 11:00A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F
Elevation: 0.92 feet low, no 24-hour change, 26 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 65.9F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE12 at trip’s start, steadily increasing to SSE18 with higher gusts
Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover all morning
Moon Phase: One day past full moon
GT = 20
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area vic 691; MAL Lures
**Area vic 1369 with 3 short hops; MAL Lures
**Area 381; MAL Lures
**Area B0028C; MAL Lures
**Area B0080C; 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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