March | 2023 | Fishing Report

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

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1 MAN, 2 LIMITS, 3 HOURS — 50 FISH @ BELTON

March 23rd, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, March 23^rd, I fished with first-time guest Spencer Brown Jr. of Waco.

Spencer is self-employed with his kids all through college and working now, and he just decided to take a break from the daily routine to come out and wet a line and enjoy the early spring weather.

He wasn’t out to break any records or land any trophies, so, he requested a start time of 9AM to make the drive to Lake Belton a bit more leisurely. So, we had from our 9AM start to about noon (when the fish have been shutting down following the morning feed) to catch what we were going to catch.

Here is how the fishing went…

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are April 13 (PM), 26 (AM), and 27 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Spencer Brown Jr. of Waco came out with me solo this morning. We fished at a leisurely pace for just 3 hours (9 to noon) and landed 50 fish on both the MAL Lure and the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 23 March 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Our weather today was pretty decent – we had grey cloud cover and a stiff SSE breeze at 16-17. There was, once again, a definite “peak bite” this morning around 10-11A. During this time the fishing was easy as the fish positioned up off the bottom by several feet and aggressively chased both the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab and the MAL Heavy with chartreuse tail. This was my very first attempt at the use of the MAL vertically so far this calendar year since the water chilled to below 60F back in December.

Outside of this peak time, the fishing was more demanding, and the use of a smooth, continuous retrieve was critical. At first, Spencer was having a hard time getting his retrieve smoothed out enough to keep his bait from surging and slowing repeatedly on its way up off the bottom. I just sat and watched him do what he was doing for several iterations and identified the problem. Not only was he turning the reel’s handle with his left hand, he was also moving the rod slightly forward and backward with his right hand as he reeled. This combination caused the rod tip to bob up and down and his presentation to go largely ignored. As soon as we identified and corrected that, his catch rate increased immediately.

There was some bird action, but in each case I found very sparse (but very aggressive) fish under the birds pushing bait to the surface. The number of fish under the birds was generally not sufficient to stop for with expectations of catching quite a number of fish beneath them.

We wrapped up right at noon with exactly 50 fish, including 2 freshwater drum, 1 hybrid striped bass (short), and 47 white bass.

TALLY: 50 fish caught and released

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

OBSERVATIONS: Water temperature profile:

0 feet, 64.1F
5 feet, 62.6F
10 feet, 61.1F
15 feet, 60.3F
20 feet, 60.1F
25 feet, 60F
30 feet, 59.4F
35 feet,59.2F
40 feet, 58.9F
45 feet, 58.7F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 9A

End Time: 12 Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 14.24 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .01′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 64.1F on the surface thanks to warmth and mixing by wind overnight

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE10 at trip’s start, increasing steadily to SSE16-17 with higher gusts by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: 100% heavy grey cloud cover with “squinting” level of light coming thru the clouds

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 4% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0121C – 6 fish

Area B0056G – 7 fish

Area B0009C – 2 fish

Area B0208G – 20 fish

Area B0064G – 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

ACOUSTIC GUYS GIVE FISH A “SOUND” WHOOPING — 106 FISH @ BELTON

March 22nd, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, 22 March, I fished with brothers-in-law, Ronnie Everett and Terry Shumate. The two are also partners in the same small business – – Everett’s Acoustics LLC, which specializes in acoustical ceilings, commercial doors, bathroom partitions, interior demo, metal stud framing, and drywall.

I happened to meet Ronnie at the Harker Heights Neighborhood Walmart Market while fueling up my boat. We struck up a fishing conversation and, as a result, he came out fishing for white bass with me today, and now plans to bring his grandkids out, as well.

Here is how the fishing went…

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are April 13 (PM), 26 (AM), and 27 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Brothers-in-law and business partners Ronnie Everett (left) and Terry Shumate boated 106 fish on Lake Belton under classic spring weather conditions this morning.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday, 22 March 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Our weather situation was much improved this morning, in that we still had gray skies, but with ample light coming through the cloud cover, and we had a continuing south-southeast wind, which eventually got up to 16 mph with stronger gusts.

That is a very good weather set up for spring time white bass. We found and caught fish steadily over the entire four hours on the water, but that span from 9:45 through 10:45 was a definite peak with a higher catch rate.

Birds were present, and in some cases, helpful, although you really needed to study their behavior to help you get on fish, as many of these birds are distracted by shad now rising up near the surface as they begin to prepare for spawning.

All but a handful of our fish were taken on the white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab for fish in 25 to 30 feet of water. These fish were tightly schooled together and fairly obvious on well-tuned side-imaging sonar.

Once we found them, I used the i-Pilot Link interface with my trolling motor to park on top of the fish. We then proceeded to fish for them vertically using Garmin LiveScope to track fish response to our presentations.

We did a good bit of moving around today, finding that the fish would only stay interested for perhaps 10-15 minutes at a clip. Even though fish would still be present after this span of time, they only half-heartedly followed the lure upwards, if that. Moving frequently helped us stay on fresh, aggressive fish.

When all was said and done, Terry and Ronnie landed exactly 106 fish, including 6 freshwater drum, 2 largemouth bass, and 98 white bass. Our 100th fish came aboard at exactly 11:57, and the fellows managed the last six fish as I was prepping the boat to head in.

TALLY: 106 fish caught and released

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

OBSERVATIONS: We took as many fish this morning in 4 hours as we did in 5 hours the day before, thanks to brighter and breezier conditions today. We had to move frequently — as soon as the fish indicated a loss of interest in chasing our baits.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8A

End Time: 12 Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 14.23 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .01′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 58.3F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE8 at trip’s start, increasing steadily to SSE16 with higher gusts by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: 100% heavy grey cloud cover with “squinting” level of light coming thru the clouds

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 1% illumination.

GT =65

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1000 – 8 fish

Area B0064G – 9 fish

Area 1917 – 7 fish

Area 1934 – 7 fish

Area 2027 – 2 fish

Area B0009C – 44 fish

Area vic B0199C – 5 fish

Area 0147 – 7 fish

Area vic B0187C – 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

CONTINUING EDUCATION – 100 FISH @ BELTON

March 21st, 2023March 22nd, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, 21 March, I fished with long-time Lake Belton anglers, Sam Simon and Ron Clark.

Although both men own their own boats and are very capable white bass fisherman, they, like me, try to remain intentionally open to coaching and improvement.

For me, that involves taking time away from my own fishing schedule twice a year to go fishing with other guides in other fisheries for other species in order to ask a lot of questions, pick their brain on equipment, observe them in their element, and hopefully catch a few fish while I’m at it.

For Ron and Sam, they wanted to compare my own approach to white bass fishing with their typical approach in order to glean what they could and become better white bass anglers as a result.

I shared with them right up front about my concerns about them being 1) older men and 2) experienced anglers. It has been my experience as a guide that those fitting such a description typically do NOT do well because they fish their way instead of using the time-tested, species-specific approaches I try to introduce my clients to. Both men acknowledged my concerns and assured me they were coachable … and they were!!!

Here is how the fishing went…

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are March 23 (AM) and April 6 (PM), 13 (PM), and 26 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Long-time Lake Belton anglers and U.S Army veterans Ron Clark (left) and Sam Simon came out with me today to sharpen their own white bass fishing skills

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 21 March 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

I knew we were in for a tough time this morning, and shared this openly with Ron and Sam. The reason for my concern was the foggy conditions which persisted all morning, and the initial lack of wind we experienced in our first hour on the water.

We kept waiting and waiting on the drizzle to stop and the fog to lift while experiencing a slow bite by lethargic fish as we did.

Three hours into the trip, we had only landed 29 fish, but, persistence paid off.

Around 11 AM, the wind had picked up to around 9 mph (nowhere near the 16 to 17 mph wind that was forecast all morning), and the skies, although still drizzly and foggy, had definitely brightened some.

As we observed our surroundings, we could see increasing bird activity, and, as we studied sonar, we could see fish no longer glued to bottom, but rather spreading out in horizontal coverage, and lifting up off bottom vertically. All of these things bode well for us.

I extended the trip for one hour, and in our final two hours we caught three times as many fish as we did in our first three hours. By 12:57 PM our 100th fish came over the gunwale, and we decided to call it a good trip right then and there.

As for tactics, with the slow bite this morning, we used the Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 ounce, white) to catch 87 of our 100 fish in 22-30 feet of water. The remaining 13 fish were taken on MAL Original Lures as we Spot-Locked in 10 feet of water and cast up toward the shore on a slow tapering, wind blown point, where side imaging had revealed a few scattered white bass around 9:45 AM.

One of the biggest tips Ron and Sam picked up on was the use of my thumper not only as a fish attractor, but as a metronome to keep a steady retrieve consistently. They also picked up on how effective the slow-smoking tactic is versus the typically erratic snap jigging tactics they typically employ.

In all, this was a very enjoyable and productive trip with these two (still-coachable!!!) US Army veterans, husbands, and fathers.

Our tally of 100 fish consisted of 2 freshwater drum, 3 largemouth bass, and 95 white bass.

TALLY: 100 fish caught and released

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

OBSERVATIONS: The grey skies and southerly winds are a wonderfully productive combination for producing white bass. These conditions are forecast to persist all week!!

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8A

End Time: 1P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 54F

Elevation: 14.22 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .02′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 58.0F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm winds at trip’s start slowly creeping up to SSE7-8 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: 100% heavy grey cloud cover, drizzle the entire trip, and a persistent, thin fog.

Moon Phase: New moon at 0% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0064G – 13 fish

Area B0185C – 3 fish

Area B0114C – 13 fish (shallow MAL bite)

Area 211 – 13 fish

Area B0015C/B0178C – 58 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

GREY SKIES, SOUTHERLY BREEZE, GAME ON — 105 FISH @ BELTON

March 20th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, March 20, I fished with returning guests Joe Adcock, a retired U.S. Army veteran, and his 11-year-old son, Dawson. Joe’s wife, Danna, gave him a fishing gift certificate for Fathers’ Day last year and, with Dawson enjoying an extended spring break as Killeen ISD teachers had a workshop today, the two of them cashed that certificate in and enjoyed very solid fishing this morning.

Here is how the fishing went…

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are March 23(AM) & April 4(AM), 6(PM), 13(PM), 24(AM), and 26(AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Joe Adcock and his 11-year-old son bundled up well for this 20 March 39F start and wound up putting 105 fish in the boat in right at 3.5 hours.

PHOTO CAPTION: As we fish near bottom for shad-eating white bass, other shad-eating species are often caught, as well. Today, Dawson landed this 4 3/8-pound blue catfish. The pair also landed hybrid stripers, a largemouth bass, and a freshwater drum.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 20 March 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

The mild cold front, which came in last Thursday with a bit of violent weather on its lead edge, dropped our weekend temperatures substantially. This morning’s predawn ambient air temperature was 39°F.

The winds began to shift back out of the south just before sunset last night, and the southerly wind continued to build this morning from a start around 6 mph up to about 11 mph by trip’s end. The first hour saw a steady increase in activity up to a two hour plateau, beginning around 9A and lasting until around 11A, followed by a dropping off of fish activity in the fourth hour.

Our fishing divided neatly into two segments this morning. As the fish were ramping up and were a bit sluggish and inclined to hug bottom, we used white, 5/8 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with a slow smoking tactic to land our first 50 fish. By 9:30, fish were much more active, moving more quickly, parallel to the bottom, and were positioned much further up off the bottom. Occasional fish could you be seeing popping shad on the surface, and gulls & terns were working routinely.

At this point, I reposition the boat so my two-man crew could cast up shallower, and, for the next hour plus, they worked MAL Heavy Lures with white bodies and chartreuse tails to boat an additional 40 fish using the sawtooth method.

By 11A, the fishing was slowing back down. We moved back out deeper, found a nice cluster of bottom-oriented fish, and worked them until they quit with Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs. We added a final 15 fish to our count for a grand total of 105 fish.

Joe and Dawson landed 2 hybrid striped bass, a 4 3/8 pound blue cat, 1 freshwater drum, and 101 white bass, of which 88 were of legal size.

TALLY: 105 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: The grey skies and southerly winds are a wonderfully productive combination for producing white bass. These conditions are forecast to persist all week!!

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 39F

Elevation: 14.2 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .02′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 58.5F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE6 at trip’s start, slowly building to SSE12 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: 100% moderate grey cloud cover.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 2% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0135C – 8 fish

Area 1000 – 2 fish

Area 2014 – 40 fish

Area B0184C – 40 fish

Area 0149 – 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

TORNADO ON THE WAY!?! — 66 FISH (& THEN WE SCOOTED!)

March 18th, 2023March 18th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Thursday evening, March 16, I fished with first-time guest Mr. Stacy Cloud, accompanied by his grandsons, Merrik and Miles Ambler, ages 13 and 11.

As was the case on this day’s morning trip, weather would impact our efforts.

All was well as we got going — the morning’s misting rain had cleared, the grey clouds had thinned, and it had warmed up a bit. But, all of this was essentially the ‘calm before the storm’.

Here is how the fishing went…

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are 23 March & 4, 24 (PM), and 21 April.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Merrik and Miles Ambler and their grandfather, Stacy Cloud, with a few of the 66 fish they landed before spring storms moved in and we moved out!

PHOTO CAPTION: This was the “danger cone” of a storm, complete with a tornado watch, headed right toward Lake Belton on Thursday evening; it would bring a premature conclusion to our trip.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 16 March 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Since the boys did not have much prior experience with spinning gear, we started with the basics on how to hold the rod and reel, how to work the bail, and then I really emphasized how important it would be for them to reel the lures we’d be using smoothly and continuously.

Finding fish was pretty simple this afternoon, as the approaching storm had the fish up off bottom a bit and feeding; they also came up into under 20 feet of water and, as they often do in shallower water, they began to spread out horizontally. When the white bass lift up off bottom they are infinitely easier to spot on side-imaging, so we were able to get right down to business.

The white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab has continued to produce like a champ, and, I’m a big believer in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, so, we used this super little threadfin shad imitator for the entirety of our time on the water.

Around 6PM my handy KWTX weather app sounded an alarm, so, we left the fish we were catching and moved closer to the launch site so we could bail out if the storm headed right at us.

By 6:15, we could hear thunder and see distant flashes of lightning out over Fort Hood and knew it was time to wrap up.

This crew of three landed 66 fish before we called it quits and headed for safety.

TALLY: 66 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Fewer and fewer fish are lingering in deep water (over 30′) as the water warms and daylength increases. Many caught fish were oozing eggs or milt once again today.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:15P

End Time: 6:15P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F

Elevation: 14.13 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .02′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 59.9F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE14 all afternoon right up until the storm approached, at which time the winds went slack before turning NW with the incoming storm/cold front.

Sky Condition: 85% grey could cover with “squinting” levels of light coming through.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 34% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0085C – 15 fish in two hops

Area 382 – 6 fish

Area 0170 – 11 fish

Area B0040C- 30 fish

Area 2023 – 3 fish

Area 387 – 1 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

BEST TRIP YTD – 200 FISH @ BELTON

March 16th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: Today, Thursday, March 16, I fished with returning guests Doug Streater and his grandkids, Colby Anthony, age 14, and Camryn Anthony, age “almost 11”.

If one were to believe the weatherman, this trip should not have happened, however, with Frog Toggs already donned, my trio joined me just prior to 8 AM for a morning spent in pursuit of white bass.

Here is how the fishing went…

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are 23 March & 4, 24 (PM), and 21 April.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Doug Streater, Colby Anthony, and Camryn Anthony landed exactly 200 fish before heading to What-A-Burger under dreary, pre-frontal conditions.

PHOTO CAPTION: This 6.00-pound largemouth bass was a personal best for Camryn Anthony. She hooked, fought, and brought the fish to net entirely on her own. This fish fell for a 5/8 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 16 March 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

The air temperature this morning was 64F and we had very heavy cloud cover with very fine precipitation falling the entire time we were on the water. This was a classic “pre-frontal warming” meteorological setting.

The fishing followed a normal, bell-shaped curve this morning, ramping up from zero in the first hour, climbing to a plateau and peaking in the middle two hours, then falling off in the final 75 minutes or so. By 12:25, the fish were back to having lockjaw.

We fished one area during that first hour up shallow in 20 feet of water and found mostly small fish behaving very sluggishly, despite being suspended as much as 6 to 8 feet off bottom. We fished those until they quit, then went looking once again.

It was then that encountered some inexplicable trolling motor issues which cost us a few minutes of downtime, but we got right back in the saddle and found a school of, literally, hundreds of white bass, most of which were tied to the bottom, with additional small schools moving just off bottom while chasing shad.

Long story short, we caught a total of 200 fish this morning, of which 184 were caught within a 75 yard radius of one another. As we sat on Spot-Lock catching fish, I observed side-imaging. When the fishing waned, I would just “jog” to the location of a larger group of nearby fish using the i-Pilot Link Spot-Locking function.

100% of our fish were taken using a slow-smoking tactic with white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs tied on to our lightweight spinning outfits.

Our final tally was exactly 200 fish, of which 11 were short hybrid stripers, 1 freshwater drum, 2 largemouth bass, and 186 white bass.

TALLY: 200 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Fewer and fewer fish are lingering in deep water (over 30′) as the water warms and daylength increases. Many caught fish were oozing eggs or milt once again today.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:50A

End Time: 12:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 14.13 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .02′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 59.6F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE16 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% moderate grey cloud cover with a fine mist falling nearly 100% of the time

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 34% illumination.

GT = 130

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 387/2041 – 16 fish

Area B0185C – 184 fish (3 hops)

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

A MESS O’ WHITES WITH A MESS ‘O WHITES — 128 FISH @ BELTON

March 15th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This afternoon, Wednesday, March 15, I fished with Mr. Ronnie White and his three grandsons, Reid (age 15), Braxton (age 12), and Brayton (age 10).

Ronnie is retired and routinely makes use of the Lake Belton RV camping areas. This week he was based at Live Oak Ridge Park, and was enjoying spending spring break with the boys, all of whom attend school in Academy, Texas.

Here’s how the fishing went…

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are 23, 29 & 31 March

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Reid, Ronnie, Braxton, and Brayton — a mess ‘o Whites with a mess o’ white bass.

PHOTO CAPTION: Reid White landed this 8.00 pound blue cat at the final bell.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday, 15 March 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

After a pretty tough morning, the fishing remained challenging into the first 90 minutes of this afternoon’s trip. I explained to my crew of four that it would take persistence, diligence, and attention to detail when it came to technique in order to do well this afternoon.

I could tell by their eagerness that the boys were up for the challenge. We worked white, 5/8 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs 100% of the time this afternoon, using a slow-smoking tactic.

Until approximately 6 PM, all of our fish came from small schools from off the bottom. From 6 PM to 7:30PM, a very definite uptick began to take place as the light began to fail, enhanced by thickening, gray cloud cover.

As this dimming of the light began, the fish began to suspend as much as 7 feet up off the bottom, and they became much more aggressive simultaneously. We fished quite a number of areas prior to 6 PM, but then only moved twice thereafter.

Our catch of 128 fish consisted of one 8-pound blue cat, 10 short hybrid, and 117 white bass.

TALLY: 128 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Fewer and fewer fish are lingering in deep water (over 30′) as the water warms and daylength increases. Many caught fish were oozing eggs or milt today.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:20P

End Time: 7:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 14.1 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .05′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 59.4F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE16-17 all afternoon

Sky Condition: 100% moderate grey cloud cover.

Moon Phase: Last quarter moon at 45% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1544 – 6 fish

Area 1562 – 16 fish

Area B01786 – 11 fish

Area 1909 – 6 fish

Area B0187G – 4 fish

Area 0147 – 32 fish

Area 295 – 18 fish

Area B0011C to B0155G – 35 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

WINDY WEATHER ROLLERCOASTER – 57 FISH @ BELTON

March 15th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, March 15, I fished with returning guest, Dave Knutson, accompanied by two grandsons, J.D., age 14, and his cousin, Anthony, age 11.

Dave, an Austin Police Department retiree, and Anthony reside in the north Austin area, and J.D. came in the day before from San Antonio.

Here’s how the fishing went …

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are 23, 29 & 31 March

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Dave Knutson and his grandsons, Anthony and J.D. with a few of the white bass they caught together during Spring Break 2023.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday, 15 March 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

The fish are really trying to get in gear for the spring warm-up, but unstable weather has hindered a bit of late. We just went through two days of hard north winds only to have the winds shift 180° and come hard out of the south today.

We experienced a moderate bite over the course of our first three hours on the water during which time my crew of three landed 45 fish. We went nearly fishless for a fourth hour between 11 and noon.

Not wanting to end on a slow note, we pressed on and found one more group of fish, which helped add a final dozen to our count. We concluded at 12:25 PM with 57 fish landed.

During the fishless hour, we found fish consistently, but had them outright refuse our presentations. The fish would either not react at all, or would half-heartedly chase 1 to 3 feet off the bottom and then turn back as our slowly-smoked slabs continued on upwards.

The fish we caught today were all caught on the white, 5/8 ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slab, and all of our fish were taken using the slow-smoking tactic. I did not observe other scenarios where I felt a different presentation could have been used.

Of the 57 fish we landed, 4 were short hybrid striper, and the remaining 53 were white bass.

TALLY: 57 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Fewer and fewer fish are lingering in deep water (over 30′) as the water warms and daylength increases. Many caught fish were oozing eggs or milt today.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8:00A

End Time: 12:25P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 52F

Elevation: 14.1 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .05′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 59.4F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE11 at trip’s start, steadily increasing to ESE15-16 by noon.

Sky Condition: 80% white cloud cover on a blue sky this morning.

Moon Phase: Last quarter moon at 45% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0196C – 4 fish

Area 1552 – 30 fish; 2 hops

Area B0005C – 16 fish

Area B0173G – 11 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

CHICK-FIL-A vs. FISH FILLET – 53 FISH @ BELTON

March 14th, 2023March 14th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This afternoon, Tuesday, March 14, I fished with Steve Niemeier, his grandson, Caleb Fowler, and Caleb‘s girlfriend, Abbi Corder.

Although Steve and Caleb have fished with me since Caleb was just starting elementary school (he’s now an 18-year-old high school senior), this was Abbi‘s first time out with me, and her first time fishing for white bass.

Caleb and Abby first got to know one another through participation in high school band.

Here’s how the fishing went …

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Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are 21, 22, 29 & 31 March

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Caleb Fowler, Abbi Corder, and Steve Niemeier with handfuls of Lake Belton white bass taken over Spring Break 2023.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 14 March 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

This afternoon’s fishing was the toughest of the week thus far, as the north winds from the cold front which came in early Sunday morning, finally began to subside. Additionally, the temperatures stayed in the 50s today making it a little bit tougher on hands and feet for folks not used to being out in the elements.

We fished for right at 3.25 hours before the thought of a Chick-Fil-A took priority over the thought of a fish fillet.

The fish were definitely harder to find and more finicky this evening. Although we found fish all afternoon, they tended to be in small schools, and those schools only stayed interested in our offerings for a few minutes after we first began fishing for them.

Interest in our presentations waned very quickly all afternoon. Regardless, we landed 53 fish, including 2 largemouth bass, 1 freshwater drum, 2 short hybrid, striper, and 48 white bass.

100% of our fish came on the white, 5/8 ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slab, and all of those fish were taken with a slow-smoking tactic. In all but one instance, we caught our fish from off the bottom. In one instance, we found suspended, mobile fish, which we used LiveScope to reel our slabs past the fish, so as to place the lure to the front of the fish, and just above high-level to try to provoke a following strike.

TALLY: 93 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Temperature profile taken mid-day, Monday, 13 March:

0 feet 62.9F
5 feet 62.9F
10 feet 62.8F
15 feet 62.3F
20 feet 62.2F
25 feet 61.9F
30 feet 60F
35 feet 58.2F
40 feet 57.5F
45feet 55.9F
50 feet 54.7F
55 feet 54.3F
60 feet 54.2F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:30P

End Time: 6:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 14.05 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .04′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 59.6F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: NNE11 at trip’s start through ~4:30pm, then backing off to NE6-7

Sky Condition: Moderately grey clouds at 100% coverage all day.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 56% illumination.

GT = 80

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0013C – 9 fish (2 hops)

Area 2038 – 20 fish

Area vic B0202G – 4 fish

Area 1934 – 10 fish

Area 0403 – 10 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com