WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, August 4th, I fished with first-time guest John Gossard of Morgan’s Point Resort, Texas.
John retired from the U.S. Air Force, then went on to retire from 3M after working at their Austin location.
As we got to comparing notes about places the military and fishing had taken us both, he had especially fond memories of catching blue and striped marlin out of Cabo San Lucas.
PHOTO CAPTION: John Gossard effectively worked an MAL Heavy Lure all morning in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope to put together a solo 60-fish, 4 hour morning. Multiple fish exceeded 14 inches.
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow
WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 04 August 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
I shared with John about this morning’s trip being the only one of the week I was a bit concerned about after studying the wind and weather forecast. We are still in a post-frontal situation following the passage of two cold fronts in rapid succession on Sunday evening and on Monday morning.
Today’s winds were supposed to be light and from the ENE, with less cloud cover than we’ve enjoyed the past several days. Had the forecast had calm winds and clear skies, I would have postponed the trip. As it was, we were due to have a little of both, so I felt we’d be okay.
As I prepared the boat after launching, I was glad to see more wind and cloud cover already in place than the weatherman guesstimated, and we found the fish in fine form this morning.
We downrigged for our first 9 fish, including two sets of triples, a double, and a single all in a matter of 10-15 minutes before the thin cloud cover let enough light through to illuminate the depths and get the white bass patrolling for shad.
Once I saw fish hunting forage, we immediately changed over to MAL Heavy Lures (I used chartreuse, John used white, and we did equally well) in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.
John watched the pre-trip video I sent him describing the “dos and don’ts” of working the MAL Lure, and did well coming out of the blocks. With very little coaching, he was effectively using the lure and catching fish steadily.
We looked at five areas this morning, finding fish at three of them, with the results declining at each as the morning moved on, the skies brightened, and the wind settled.
By 10:10 things ground to a halt, and by 10:30 we were back at the dock.
In all, we landed 60 white bass this morning.
MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 60 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: 1) Very light topwater action by schoolie largemouth was witnessed as the winds went nearly calm around 10am, but the action was so widespread that it was not enough to stop and fish for. 2) USACE is still releasing at 1,589 cfs on Belton.
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 6:30A
End Time: 10:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F
Elevation: 0.74′ high, .06′ fall, and a flow of 201cfs
Water Surface Temp: 84.9
Wind Speed & Direction: ENE6-7 at sunrise, slowly tapering to near calm by 10:30.
Sky Condition: Thin grey cloud cover for the first 2 hours after sunrise, then clearing to a hazy, brighter sky.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 16% illumination
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1424 – downrig w/ transition to vertical MAL Lure work as skies brightened
**Area 910/1102 – MAL Heavy in white & in chartreuse worked vertically for solid results on white bass; 2 short hops
**Area SH0059G9 – MAL Heavy in white and in chartreuse worked vertically for solid results on white bass
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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