WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, April 3, I fished with returning guests, Kelvin Gladden Sr., and his two adult sons, Kelvin Jr., and Tevin. Kelvin Sr. is a retired U.S. Army veteran, Kelvin works for Walmart, and Tevin signed on with a tech company based in Temple back in 2020. 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 27 April (PM), May 15 (AM), and June 01, 05-08 (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Kelvin Gladden Sr., and his sons Tevin and Kelvin Jr. landed 126 fish working MAL Heavy Lures with chartreuse tails using a vertical smoking tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 03 April 2023 (AM)
HOW WE FISHED:
We got off to a slightly later than intended start, with lines in the water around 8:25, but thanks to calm winds and dark gray skies, the fishing was still pretty slow even then. As soon as the clouds begin to thin, the bite picked up, and the bite improved even more after we got some wind moving and the brightening of the skies continued.
The lengthy warming trend we have enjoyed made what I feel is the most significant improvement in the fishing so far this spring over this past weekend. Every group of fish we found, although their energy level certainly differed from school to school, was energized enough to aggressively pursue a quickly retrieved MAL Heavy Lure used with a smoking (not slow-smoking) tactic. Additionally, each school readily pulled up off the bottom, whereas less aggressive schools right up until late last week would often stayed glued to the bottom, no matter what.
Fishing was pretty straightforward after we figure it out what these aggressive fish were willing to do. I found the fish, put us on Spot Lock over top of them, made sure that my crew knew how to get the MAL Lures’ blades spinning early in the retrieve, and the rest was gravy. The Gladden family put 126 fish in the boat this morning including 3 hybrid stripers, 1 yellow cat, 1 freshwater drum, 1 smallmouth buffalo, and 120 white bass.
TALLY: 126 fish caught and released
Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/
OBSERVATIONS: The first whiporwills showed up in the cedar breaks this weekend and the first of the spawning threadfin shad were spotted running along the bank this morning.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 8:15A
End Time: 12:30P
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F
Elevation: 14.28 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .04′ fall over the last 24 hrs. thanks to passage of a violent, albeit brief, thunderstorm right at sunset last night.
Water Surface Temp: 62.9F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SE3 at trip’s start, rising to SE 9 by mid-morning, then dropping off again toward noon.
Sky Condition: Slowly decreasing cloud cover going from 100% grey to 30% white by noon.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 93% illumination.
GT = 55
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area B0051C- 22 fish
Area B0020C – 16 fish
Area B0172C – 15 fish
Area 437 – 15 fish
Area 165 – 9 fish (very shallow)
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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