WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, 11 March, I fished with guests Dave Knutson and his daughter, Christina Henkel, both from the North Austin area.
Christina is an office manager for a small business in the area. Dave is now retired, but active as a volunteer with the “Forty and Eight Society” called, in French, “La Societe des 40 Hommes et 8 Chevaux”.
During WWI, French boxcars carried American “Doughboy” soldiers to battle. These boxcars held either 40 men or 8 horses and had distinctive “40/8” markings on them. Dave serves as the organization’s publicist.
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 22, 29 & 31 March
PHOTO CAPTION: Dave Knutson and his daughter, Christina Henkel, landed 45 fish on white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs this morning.
PHOTO CAPTION: Dave Knutson took our largest fish of the trip, a just-legal 18″ hybrid striper.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 11 March 2023 (AM)
HOW WE FISHED:
We experienced a moderately-paced, steady bite throughout the morning.
As the weather warms, there seems to be fewer and fewer birds (gulls and terns) present to help point the way to fish; we experienced no helpful bird activity this morning.
The day started off cool and foggy, but quickly cleared, warmed, and got pretty windy.
With nothing drawing me up shallow, we stayed out deep this morning and targeted bottom-oriented fish which were holding together in large schools — perhaps 100-200 fish in each of the several schools we located.
As has been the case most of the winter and now into the spring, the most consistent presentation for me on these fish has been a slow-smoked white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab. The retrieve speed must vary with fish mood.
Although Christina had never used a spinning rod before, she got the hang of the retrieve (the most important part) early, and then got the hang of hooksetting a bit later on with practice.
Father and daughter landed 45 fish this morning. We wrapped up a bit early so Dave and Christina could make a birthday party commitment, but, by the time we left, the fishing was definitely tapering down.
Our 45 fish tally included 1 largemouth bass, 1 short hybrid striped bass, 1 legal hybrid, and 42 white bass, of which 35 were legal (over the 10″ minimum).
TALLY: 45 fish caught and released
Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/
OBSERVATIONS: We surpassed that critical 60F mark on the surface temperature on Thursday, 09 March, so, I anticipate a generally more aggressive bite to turn on and stay turned on this week.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:45A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F
Elevation: 13.99 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .01′ fall over the last 24 hrs.
Water Surface Temp: 60.3F on the surface
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE10 at trip’s start, ramping up to SSE15-17 by trip’s end.
Sky Condition: Light fog at trip’s start, then clearing to 40% white cloud cover on a blue sky thereafter
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 85% illumination.
GT = P
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area 1079 – 13 fish
Area B0165G – 18 fish
Area B0198G – 14 fish (two 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)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle
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