WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, April 25, I fished the third trip of the spring of 2023 with a contingent of the Oliver family. Joining me this morning were brothers Joe, Jack, Jamie, and Jeff.
Joe originally scheduled this trip almost a year ago, hoping his dad who was in his 90s, might make this trip in celebration of his birthday. “Pa“ went to be with the Lord just a few weeks ago, but the brothers decided to use the opportunity for a mini-reunion and a chance to see their mom.
Here’s how the fishing went…
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Next available dates are June 7 and 21 (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: Jeff Oliver from Sugarland, TX, took our largest fish of the trip. This 5.50-pound hybrid striper took his MAL Heavy Lure worked vertically with a “smoking tactic” under gulls in the 10 o’clock hour.
PHOTO CAPTION: The Oliver brothers: Jack, Joe, Jamie, and Jeff, with a shot of some of the better whites they took both vertically and horizontally before all were released to spawn and bite again.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 25 April 2023 (AM)
HOW WE FISHED:
Today stood in pretty stark contrast with the morning-long, very aggressive bite I experienced with my foursome from yesterday. Everything seemed more subdued this morning. The wind was lighter, the air temperature was balmier, the shad spawn was weaker, the bird activity was more scant, and the fish were largely reluctant all morning.
We had no problem finding fish, and most all of the schools of fish we found included individual fish which responded, but they did not respond aggressively, they did not respond in strong numbers, nor for very long spans of time.
The best run of the morning came from about 9:45 through 10:30 when a large flock of Franklin’s gulls began to feed on shad being driven to the surface in about 28 feet of water. Even so, the fish pushing them were individual fish or fish in small pods of two or three. During this run, although we did get results fishing vertically using the “smoking” method, our most productive presentation was with the MAL Dense Lure with white body and chartreuse tail fished with the sawtooth tactic for fish observed out to the side of the boat via side-imaging using the sawtooth method.
After this activity died down and the birds began to rest on the water, the fishing got very tough right up through our 11:30 quitting time. We went back to vertical presentations for fish which were tightly grouped, and bottom-oriented. We hopped around to three or four different areas, each producing just four or five fish in the first few drops of the lures, then they grew quickly disinterested.
Our final count was 83 fish which included two legal hybrid stripers, 10 short hybrid, and 71 white bass up to 13.75 inches.
Here is a video I put together on the Smoking Tactic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
And, here is a video I put together on the Sawtooth Method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ
TALLY: 83 fish caught and released
Find the entire family of MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/
OBSERVATIONS: The word for the day was “subdued”. Everything in nature just seemed to be functioning at about half of the energy level one would expect in late April, especially given that the weather was at least cooperative.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:00A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F
Elevation: 14.36 feet low, 24 CFS flow, 0.03′ fall over the last 24 hrs.
Water Surface Temp: 64.4F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: ESE6 all morning.
Sky Condition: 100% grey skies all morning
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 28% illumination.
GT = 55
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area 0363 and 358 20 fish on MAL Heavies counted down over whites on spawning shad in shallow water
Area 1482 – 7 fish on smoked MAL Heavies (all small)
Area 355 – 6 fish on smoked MAL Heavies under tentative gulls
Area 952 (multiple hops) – 36 fish on smoked MAL Heavies & sawtooth MAL Dense Lures under gulls
Area 1489 ( 2 hops) – 7 fish on smoked MAL Heavies
Area 1552 – 6 fish on smoked MAL Heavies
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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