WHO I FISHED WITH: Yesterday morning, Thursday, March 24th, I fished with long-time clients Joe, Jack, Jamie, and Asa Oliver.
Joe, Jamie, and Jack are all brothers. Joe is a retired coach and school district superintendent, Jack runs an electrical business and dabbles in Hill Country real estate, Jamie is a retired psychiatrist, and Asa (Jack’s son) is a firefighter who also, along with his wife, organizes the Vintage Market Days held at the HEB Center in Cedar Park each year (as well as in other locations).
As we used Garmin LiveScope to track our presentations, and the fishes’ response to them, Jamie commented how watching fish engulf our slabs was akin to watching “Pac Man” gobble the dots on that 90’s video game.
Here is how the fishing went …
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My next few openings will be on April 4th, 5th, and 25th. Weekday mornings are always best.
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Joe, Jamie, Asa, and Jack Oliver with a sampling of our white bass catch on a pretty tough, clear, cold morning undertaken as the northerly winds took their sweet time developing enough velocity to aid our cause.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (AM), 24 March 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
The fishing got off to a tough, slow start this morning as we were hindered by lighter-than-forecast winds. The light winds, from the NW, barely rippled the surface until around 10:15 when the NW winds began “puffing”, alternating between 6 and 11 mph.
Although the fish never went “ballistic”, they definitely began feeding better with the increase in wind, and, with much attention paid to maintaining good technique, everyone began catching fish routinely from that point forward.
Asa was both the least talkative and the most focused on his presentation, keeping his retrieve speed on our “slow-smoking” tactic nearly perfect for the entire trip, and he wound up catching more than his fair share of fish.
All of our fish were taken on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab fished using a vertical, slow-smoking tactic
When all was said and done, we caught and released 96 fish, including 4 short hybrid striped bass, 89 white bass, and 3 freshwater drum.
Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 96 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: With this morning’s clear, bright, cool conditions with very light winds for 2.75 hours, the fish we found were positioned out deeper than has been the case on recent, more windy days. All of our fish were taken right around the 40’ mark this morning.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:45A
End Time: 11:45A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 42F
Elevation: 3.30 feet low, 0.03′ fall in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 53.9
Wind Speed & Direction: NW2-3 at trip’s start with a barely blowing breeze through ~10:15; the wind then began to “puff” from the NW, alternating between ~6 and 11 mph.
Sky Condition: Unclouded, light blue skies.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 59% illumination.
GT = 60
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Areas fished successfully today: B0010C with 2 short hops is where we caught the majority of our fish, once the wind finally came up beginning around 10:15A
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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