WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, December 6th, I fished with first-time guests Rusty Nicholls and his friends Bill and Sandy Sager.
Rusty is a retired nurse, and Bill and Sandy, though retired, are still involved in ministry. Bill was both a military chaplain and then served in a local church, as well.
Although everyone certainly wanted to catch fish, Rusty was keen on learning the approach I am taking to finding and catching winter white bass.
My next weekday opening is on 12 Dec. My next weekend opening is Sat., 31 Dec. (New Year’s Eve)
Here is how the fishing went …
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PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Rusty Nicholls and Sandy and Bill Sager with a sampling of the white bass which fell for their Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs this morning on Lake Belton.
PHOTO CAPTION: If we’d have been in a bass tournament, we’d have fared pretty well today. Our by-catch included 8 “keeper” largemouth like this chunky one. All these gamefish eat shad, and the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab is just a dead-on imitation of a threadfin.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 06 December 2022 (AM)
HOW WE FISHED:
Since Rusty booked the trip and expressed his interest in learning upfront, I tried to give detailed explanations of how and why we were doing what we were doing this morning, especially when it came to the use of sonar and the trolling motor.
Although fairly light and limited in duration today, the birds (both gulls and a few terns) worked in such a manner as to aid me in finding fish for the 15th consecutive trip.
This kind of “ho-hum” bird action is typical when we are in a weather lull between fronts.
We enjoyed bird action right at the start of the trip, around 7:30 to 8:00 and then then popped up again for another 40 minutes or so beginning around 8:40.
As will likely continue to be the case until the water temperature drops below 50F or so (if it even does so), we used Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hooks (white, 5/8 oz.) all morning using a “slow-smoking tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.
The biggest key to this is to keep right on reeling without breaking cadence when
Since I’ve have a number of folks ask about what gear I use while fishing these lures in this manner, I’ve put together the details here for you:
Reel: Florida Fishing Products Osprey CE 2500 Ultralight Saltwater Spinning Reel with 5.2:1 gear ratio
Link: FFP Osprey Reel
Rod: 8′ Russ Bailey Signature Series Spinning Rod by B ‘n’ M Poles, Model CWRB82 (2-piece)
Link: 8-foot Rod
Braid: 15 pound test Sufix 832 Advanced Superline in Coastal Camo color (alternating blue and white coloration)
Link: 15 Pound Sufix Braid
Swivel: 25 pound test Invisaswivel tied to main line and leader with improved clinch knots
Link: Invisaswivel Fluorocarbon Swivel
Leader: 25 pound test Sufix Invisaline fluorocarbon leader
Link: Sufix Fluorocarbon Leader
Terminal Connection: Tactical Anglers Micro Power Clip in 25 pound test secured with Palomar knot
Link: Micro Power Clip
Lures: Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook in 3/8 oz., 5/8 oz., and 3/4 oz.
Link: Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs
When all was said and done, we landed 103 fish including 3 short hybrid striped bass, 3 freshwater drum, 8 largemouth bass, and 89 white bass, of which 8 were “short” white bass.
TALLY: 103 fish caught and released
Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/
OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 15th consecutive trip with helpful bird activity.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:20A
End Time: 11:40A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F
Elevation: 12.99 feet low, 0.00 change in last 24 hours, 41 CFS flow.
Water Surface Temp: 59.7F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE6 at sunrise, increasing to SSE10 by trip’s end
Sky Condition: 60% white cloud cover on blue sky until 9A, then gully greyed sky thereafter.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 97% illumination.
GT = 30
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area 181 – 5 fish
Area B0196C – 16 fish
Area 086 – 14 fish
Area 098 – 14 fish
Area 1152 – 9 fish
Area vic 1483 – 30 fish
Area B0063G – 15 fish
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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