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

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…

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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 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)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

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