WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, March 30, I fished with returning guests, brothers Steve and Dave Wise.

Dave, who lives near Mankato, MN (home of the Minn Kota trolling motor), makes an annual trek south down to the Georgetown area to live in his RV near his brother and dad during the winter storm season.  Once the spring thaw arrives, he heads back north.

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 April 20 (PM), May 15 (AM), 30 (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Minnesota snowbird Dave Wise took our largest fish of the trip this morning as this 5.75 pound hybrid striper crushed his MAL Heavy (chartreuse tail) as we hovered in ~13 feet of water and cast out toward fish working bait over deeper water.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  Steve Wise of Georgetown took this mature hybrid striped bass on the MAL Heavy, as well.  We watched closely for white bass chasing shad and breaking the surface in the chop to know where to cast and get bit.

PHOTO CAPTION: Whites and hybrid weren’t the only fish on tap this morning.  This smallmouth jumped Dave’s MAL Heavy, as did five largemouth bass.

PHOTO CAPTION: And our target species, the good ol’ white bass.  The largest three of these four measured 14+ inches.  Solid fish with healthy proportions.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 30 March 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

Thanks to excellent conditions for white bass fishing, we enjoyed a solid 3.5 hours of catching this morning.  We had southeasterly winds at ~9-11mph, grey skies, an occasional light drizzle, warm overnight temperatures no lower than the surface temperature of the water, and a warm front moving into the area from the south.

Once we got on fish today, we never had to move more than a total of about an eighth of a mile to keep up with fish, bait, and birds as all three moved around the area, with the fish often making their presence known as they popped adult threadfin shad on the surface.

Before this action broke out, we spent about 20 minutes working white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs for heavily congregated fish holding tight to bottom, catching three.

Once the action broke out, we used the MAL Heavy with chartreuse tail for the remainder of the trip to take 152 additional fish by either sight-casting to them if they were visible, or by casting out and counting this same bait down to a 6-count and then doing a plain-Jane, steady retrieve back to the boat.

Long spinning rods with light line and full spools made for maximum casting distance, thus allowing the fellows to cover a lot of water with each cast.

If the area upwind of the boat stopped producing, we’d observe for other nearby bird and/or fish activity, head to it, Spot-Lock downwind from it, and continue catching.  By 11:15 the pace was slowing, and by the time we wrapped up a few minutes prior to noon, the catching had slowed to a trickle.

Our tally of 155 fish consisted of 5 hybrid striped bass, 5 largemouth bass, 1 smallmouth bass, and 144 white bass with only 6 short fish landed.

TALLY: 155 fish caught and released

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

OBSERVATIONS:  The water temperature profile was as follows:

0 feet, 62.3F
5 feet, 62.3F
10 feet, 62.0F
15 feet, 62.0F
20 feet, 61.9F
25 feet, 61.7F
30 feet, 60.9F
35 feet, 60.0F
40 feet, 59.4F
45 feet, 59.2F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:55A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F

Elevation: 14.32 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .00′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 59.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SE8-9 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% moderate, grey cloud cover with occasional light drizzle

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 63% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area 1371 – 18 fish (3 on slabs, 15 on horizontal MALs)

Area B0051C through B0213G – 137 fish sight casting and counting MAL Heavies down to a 6-count

 

 

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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