WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday morning I fished with father-and-son team Randall and Levi Bracewell from the Destin, Florida, area.
Randall set out to have a custom boat built primarily for freshwater fishing and wanted to equip it with well-suited sonar. As he was doing his “due diligence” he came across a few of my YouTube videos and contacted me (back in early January), seeking advice on what he should consider, and why.
Long story short, Randall and Levi wound up hopping on a 660-mile flight from Destin, FL, to Austin, renting a car, and booking a hotel, all so we could both fish together (AM) and do a sonar training session together (PM). Saturday, Feb. 26th was the day … rain or shine!
Here is how the fishing went …
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My next few openings will be on March 1st, 2nd and 22nd. Weekday mornings are always best.
PHOTO CAPTION: Although we took other photos, I felt like this one captured the day best … it was cloudy, it was wet, it was dark, it was cold, and the fishing required much effort for the results we enjoyed, but, we did enjoy it, nonetheless!!
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday (AM), 26 February 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
Whenever possible, I try to hand-pick the best weather scenarios for my clients. For folks like the Bracewells with a tight window of opportunity, that is sometimes not possible.
We scheduled our day together many weeks in advance and simply had to make the best of what we had. We faced a cold, damp morning with a pre-dawn low of 34F, rising only to 36F by the time we came off the water at 12:30P. North winds blew the entire time, as they had since late Tuesday.
We got going around 8A as the early morning bite has not been very strong in most of the recent 7:00 to 7:15A starts I’ve had. Add to that the very low light level caused by the heavy cloud cover, and a later start seemed warranted.
Since Randall was keen to understand the bigger picture of finding fish with sonar, I did a lot of “thinking out loud”, verbalizing what I was seeing (or not seeing) and explaining why I made small adjustments to sonar as we searched for fish.
Although the fish were deep, cold, and sluggish, we found them at four distinct locations, all in about 40 feet of water, and put together a decent catch of 71 fish by the time the day was over.
The fellows took 100% of their fish on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab used with a “slow-smoking” tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.
We caught 71 fish, including 2 largemouth bass, 5 freshwater drum, 3 short hybrid stripers, and 61 white bass.
Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 71 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: No helpful bird activity all day.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 8:00A
End Time: 12:30P
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 34F
Elevation: 3.00 feet low, 0.00 change in last 24 hours, 8 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 49.7F
Wind Speed & Direction: N10 all day
Sky Condition: 100% thick, grey cloud cover all day with light rain falling from 11A to 12:30P
Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 22% illumination.
GT = 25
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area B0005C, Area vic 1286, Area 1269-B0058G (4 hops), Area 473
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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