WE WAITED ON THE WIND — 64 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, 22 May, I fished with first-time guests David and Pam Byer from the Little River – Academy community just outside Temple, TX.

David and Pam have run a lawn cutting and landscaping business for over 20 years and raised 5 kids doing it.  Those kids, now adults, are spread from Texas to South Carolina to Florida, and have blessed David and Pam with 10 grandchildren.

Here is how the fishing went…
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Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are June 28, & July 5, 6, 10 (all AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  David and Pam waited out the wind and, once it started to blow, cashed in on the enhanced fishing it brought with it.  They used MAL Heavy lures to take 55 of the 64 fish they boated this morning.  That long white bass in Pam’s right hand went over 15″ — a “magnum” white bass!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 22 May 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

We’ve been plagued by more than our fair share of calm days so far this May, and this morning was one of them.  A good wind and a good white bass bite often go hand-in-hand.

We caught a few fish under low-light conditions just after we got underway this morning, but then struggled while the surface was slick, catching just a few fish here and there.

During this calm period, we could routinely see nomadic schools of white bass slurping young-of-the-year shad at the surface.   A fast, well placed cast MIGHT goad one into striking, but these fish were pretty locked onto that tiny forage size.

Finally, around 9:50A, a decent 6-7 mph ESE wind kicked in and stayed blowing through about 11:30A.

During this time, we took our fish count which was only at 15, up to 57 as we found an active school of fish over a 40′ bottom.  These fish were suspended from bottom up to the 20′ mark, with the most active fish being those nearest the surface.

Since David and Pam had plenty of “practice” under their belt from using the smoking tactic all morning up to this point, they were primed and ready to catch these fish with their technique which was spot-on.

We used the MAL Heavy with chartreuse tail as a near exact match for the spawning adult threadfin shad these white bass were consuming.

Once the winds began to die back after about 70 minutes of catching, we “mopped up” with a single downrigger running a 3-armed umbrella rig outfitted with #13 Pet Spoons.  This produced a triple, a double, and 2 singles, adding a final 7 fish to our tally, and bringing the Byers’ total catch up to 64 fish on the morning.

This catch included 1 largemouth bass, 1 freshwater drum, and 62 white bass, of which 6 were short.

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: 64 fish caught and released

Find the entire family of MAL Lures  here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: “Offshore” schools of nomadic white bass feeding on the tiny young-of-the-year shad continues to increase in frequency and abundance.  Here was the water temperature profile:

0 feet, 76.3F
5 feet, 77.1F
10 feet, 77.4F
15 feet, 77.4F
20 feet, 76.6F
25 feet, 73.8F
30 feet, 71.2F
35 feet, 68.4F
40 feet, 66.4F
45 feet, 65.0F
50 feet, 63.9F
55 feet, 62.4F
60 feet, 61.7F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:30A

End Time: 11:350A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F

Elevation: 12.94 feet low, 24 CFS flow, a 0.40′ change over the last 72 hours

Water Surface Temp: ~76.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm at sunrise thru 10:50, with an ESE wind picking up to 6 for ~70 minutes thereafter

Sky Condition: Bright blue skies with ~20% white cloud cover increasing to ~50% by trip’s end

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 8% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area B0096C – 7 fish on smoked MAL Heavies

Area B0084CG – 8 fish on on smoked MAL Heavies

Area B0090G/B0088G – 42 fish on on smoked MAL Heavies, then 7 final fish downrigged from the same area

 

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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