WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 20th, I was joined by long time client Steve Niemeier, accompanied by his granddaughter, Macy Fowler, who is a veteran of many trips with me, as well.
Steve and I put this trip on the books when he knew he’d be able to take his grandkids out fishing during their Christmas break from school, but, neither of us had a crystal ball for weather when we did so. As it turned out, the weather was just so-so — a day stuck in the middle between fronts and one on which the fish were neither truly fired up nor completely turned off.
My next weekday opening is on 02 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.
Here is how the fishing went …
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PHOTO CAPTION: Steve Niemeier and his 14-year-old granddaughter, Macy Fowler, with a few of the white bass they worked for on this cool, grey day in between fronts.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 20 December 2022 (PM)
HOW WE FISHED:
The bird activity today (the 21st consecutive fishing trip during which I’ve enjoyed helpful bird activity) mimicked the fish activity — both came in brief spurts spread across the afternoon with one final, hard feed right before dark.
Our approach was to take advantage of the bird action when it existed, not so much to fish under the birds, but to use them as an indicator as to the general location of fish and bait. Once the birds got us close, we closed the deal with sonar, relying mainly upon side-imaging looking for large groups of bottom-oriented fish instead of the aggressive, suspended fish up near the surface which the birds were focused on.
When the birds quit, we relied exclusively upon sonar. Things were tough when the birds were not flying, as the reason those birds quit feeding was because the fish below them quit chasing aggressively. In this regard, the birds were truly a barometer of fish activity.
We fished with white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs all afternoon until we got into fish under a heavy flock of birds right at last light. The birds fed so closely to the boat that I could see with great detail the size of the shad they were plucking from the water. This caused me to bump Steve and Macy’s slabs up to the 3/4 oz. size to more closely match the adult threadfin shad the fish and birds were feeding on.
As it grew darker, the fish up closer to the surface were by far much more likely to strike our presentations than those down lower in the water column. So, using Garmin LiveScope, I encouraged Steve and Macy to try to single out specific fish and to time the rise of their lure to pass right off the tip of these fishes’ noses by observing the direction the fish were swimming, This tactic accounted for multiple fish in our final 30 minutes of fishing.
As the fish quit roughly 10 minutes after the final bird activity of the day faded, Steve and Macy had landed a total of 55 fish, including 4 short white bass, 1 short hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and exactly 49 legal white bass.
TALLY: 55 fish caught and released
Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/
OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 21st consecutive trip with helpful bird activity. 2) Temperature profile to 55′:
0 feet 58.2F
5 feet 58.2F
10 feet 58.2F
15 feet 58.2F
20 feet 58.2F
25 feet 58.2F
30 feet 58.2F
35 feet 58.2F
40 feet 58.2F
45 feet 58.2F
50 feet 58.2F
55 feet 58.2F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 1P
End Time: 5P
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F
Elevation: 13.17 feet low, 0.00′ change in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.
Water Surface Temp: 58.2F
Wind Speed & Direction: NNW12 all afternoon
Sky Condition: Fully greyed skies all afternoon
Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 5% illumination.
GT = 45
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area 1177 – 15 fish
Area 970 – 4 fish
Area 1152- 6 fish
Area 1177 – 13 fish
Area 1270 to 976 – 17 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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