RYAN WASN’T HORSING AROUND!! – 82 FISH, Spring Break 2022, Trip #3

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Wednesday, March 16th, I fished with first-time guests James and Angie Connolly and their two kids, 13-year-old Ryan and 8-year-old Chloe.

The Connolly’s drove in from Copperas Cove, TX, where the kids are on a weeklong spring break.

James is a U.S. Army veteran, and Angie works at a clinic in Copperas Cove.  The family’s favorite pastime centers around horses – they have several which they train and ride, along with a few other farm animals.

Angie booked this trip back around Christmas, but weather and COVID prevented us from getting out on at least three previous attempts.  Looking back, none of those dates had weather as nice as today’s was.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on March 30th and April 4th thru 7th.  Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Angie, Chloe, James, and Ryan Connolly with a part of their 88 fish catch.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 16 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

Yesterday’s mild, dry cold front blew through and then blew itself out by sunset yesterday.  The post-frontal period with bright skies, calm winds, and cool temperatures began to breakdown around 9A this morning as a light SW ripple began to disturb the lake’s surface.

We caught just a handful of fish right at first light under low-light conditions, then things got tough until that light breeze began to blow.

Once the fish began to bite, the action built to a peak and plateaued for about 75 minutes through around 11A, then began to drop off pretty quickly.  By about 11:35 the fish had quit feeding.

With water temperatures still in the low 50s, the fish are still pretty deep and slow.  Every place the Connolly’s caught fish I experimented with a faster presentation using an MAL Lure, and the interest just isn’t there quite yet to chase very fast or very far.

Every last one of our fish was taken on a white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab fished with a slow-smoking tactic used in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.

With young kids aboard, I took the time before we found fish to go over the proper technique for using the slab so we could maximize our potential once we found fish.

When all was said and done, we caught and released 82 fish, including 3 freshwater drum, 2 largemouth bass, 4 short hybrid striped bass, and 73 white bass.

Although Chloe caught our largest fish (a freshwater drum running ~3 pounds), Ryan was our best producer.  He was totally focused from start to finish, he was disciplined about keeping his retrieve just right, he kept his eyes glued to the sonar, and his results reflected his intensity and intentionality.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 82 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:  Post-frontal conditions at the start of the morning got us off to a slow start, but, once the SW breeze began to ripple the surface and the high pressure began to break down, the fish began to feed.  Here is the temperature profile I took this morning:

0 feet 54.0F
5 feet 54.2F
10 feet 54.2F
15 feet 54.3F
20 feet 53.5F
25 feet 53.2F
30 feet 53.1F
35 feet 52.9F
40 feet 52.3F
45 feet 51.9F
50 feet 51.9F
55 feet 51.9F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 45F

Elevation: 3.25 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 54.0F

Wind Speed & Direction:  Calm until 9A, then a light SW ripple began and built to SSW13 by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: Blue bird

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 96% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas vic B0011C, 0409, 308, and 376

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

Leave a Reply