SWEATIN’ BY ELEVEN — 50 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, June 6, I fished with first-time guests Reid Funderburk and Jim Wilson.

The two have known each other for decades and first met when Jim (now retired) sold Xerox office equipment to Reid. The two are now neighbors and fishing buddies, to boot.   Reid runs his own small business focused on parking lot surface maintenance and paint striping, called Straight Arrow Striping (see https://straightarrowstriping.com/)

Fishing was tough today under bright skies with calm winds.

Here’s 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 July 5, 10, 11 (all AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Reid Funderburk and Jim Wilson with a few of the white bass we really had to work for as the bright, calm conditions we faced made fishing pretty tough today.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 06 June 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

When you get right down to the brass tacks, the fishing today was not much different than it has been in the very productive days of late however, there were just fewer fish interested in feeding and, when they did feed, they did it for shorter periods of time then under the better, breezier, cloudier conditions we have enjoyed up until this morning.

We started out looking for persistent topwater action with white bass pushing young of the year shad to the surface and then driving them long distances across the surface as has been the case for the past few days. Instead, this morning, in the same areas, and at the same times, we found fish, but they only popped up for a few seconds at a time, fed lightly and briefly, and then sounded.

This scenario played out all morning up until around 9:30 when even that light action disappeared for good as the winds went completely calm. Our best window this morning was from 8:30 to around 9:20. This coincided with the only steady breeze we would have all morning. That breeze, which was around 5 mph, came out of the northwest with enough strength to ripple the lake’s entire surface.

During this time, the fish came up and stayed up and aggressively drove and pursued shad as they fed heavily upon them. As soon as the wind began to falter, the fish activity followed suit.

By the time this peak activity ended, we had boated 38 fish. Over the next hour and 10 minutes, we would add just another dozen fish, which came as singles and one double on downriggers equipped with #12 silver Pet Spoons with white feather tails.

We finished up the morning with exactly 50 fish landed, including four largemouth bass, one crappie, two short hybrid, and the balance white bass, most of which were on the smallish side.

TALLY: 50 fish caught and released

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

OBSERVATIONS:  Being prepared (i.e. with lures already selected and tied on) to imitate both juvenile shad and adult shad was key once again today.  ~70% of our fish came on the smaller MAL Mini, imitating young-of-the-year shad.  This was the first day this season where I really noticed/felt the heat at trip’s end thanks to the brilliant sun and limited cloud cover.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:15A

End Time: 10:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 12.69 feet low, 24 CFS flow, a 0.06′ drop over the past 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: ~78.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Light and variable all morning, save for a short NW5 breeze from 8:30 to 9:20.

Sky Condition: 70% white cloud cover on a blue sky at trip’s start, decreasing to ~10% by trip’s end.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 92% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area B0230G – a handful of whites at low-light as they rippled the surface after YOY shad

Area vic 483 – – a handful of whites at low-light as they rippled the surface after YOY shad

B0079G to B0080G to B0051G – pest action this AM from 8:30 to 9:20 as NW wind kicked in

Areas 1404 and 1411 – downrigging for a final 12 fish under bright, calm conditions

 

 

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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