WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, October 2, after a bit of a hiatus to do some traveling, see friends and family, and get some projects around the house knocked out, I returned to the water to host Marcus Mitchell and his buddy, Mike Owens. Marcus has been coming out with me now for many years and Michael was a first timer aboard my boat this morning.
Here is how the fishing went…
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PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Mike Owens and Marcus Mitchell with a few of the 130 fish they landed primarily via topwater sight-casting. Their catch included white bass, hybrid striped bass, and largemouth bass.
PHOTO CAPTION: This is how I construct the Cork Rig which worked so well today. The key is selecting a bait which closely matches the size of the forage the fish are feeding upon.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 02 October 2023
HOW WE FISHED:
We met up at 6:45 AM and began looking for fish by around 7 AM as the pre-dawn light level became sufficient for topwater action to present itself.
As we idled along, keeping a close eye on the surface for telltale signs of fish, bait, and nervous water, a helpful blue heron flew out over open water and signaled the presence of nearby white bass forcing shad to the top.
Keying on this, I equipped Marcus and Mike with the Cork Rigs which I had introduced them to and had them practice with before we began looking for fish. They began sight-casting to surface feeding fish and connecting routinely. We would hit a total of three areas over the next 2.5 hours. The first area yielded 10 fish, the next yielded 15 fish, and the third area yielded exactly 90 fish.
This topwater action tapered to a stop by 9:30 AM after letting up substantially around 9 AM as the sun got higher in the sky, got more intense, and as the light breeze around 4-5 mph stopped and went nearly calm.
My “mantra” when coaching clients fishing the Cork Rig (and the guidance I supply on the technical data sheets I supply with the Cork Rigs I sell) is: “You want more speed than pop.”
By this I mean it is more important to move the Cork Rig at an appropriate speed than to make it pop. In truth, the popping cork is there mainly to provide enough heft to cast the light streamers long distances. The cupped face of the cork will cause a “gurgle” if just reeled in straight; it will produce a bit of a pop if the rod’s tip is wiggled back and forth during the retrieve — which is desirable. Forcibly tugging the rod to get the cork to chug and throw up a wave of water is totally counterproductive.
For the next 90 minutes I used sonar to find fish holding in draws in 18 to 20 feet of water. Once I located them, I Spot-Locked atop them, got them to consolidate using a splasher, and then had Mike and Marcus work MAL Heavies with white tails through these fish while observing Garmin LiveScope. We added 15 fish to our count utilizing this approach before the fish quit altogether around 10:45.
We found fish at one final area, fished them for 10-12 minutes without a result, and then called it a good morning
Of the 130 fish landed today, five were short hybrid, two were largemouth bass, and the remaining 123 were all legal sized white bass with the largest right around the 13-inch mark.
TALLY: 130 fish caught and released.
Find the Cork Rig & MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/
OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile shown below was taken on 02 Oct.
0 feet, 81.5F
5 feet, 82.6F
10 feet, 82.9F
15 feet, 82.9F
20 feet, 82.6F
25 feet, 81.7F
30 feet, 81.1F
35 feet, 78.8F
40 feet, 71.6F
45 feet, 66.8F
50 feet, 64.9F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:45A
End Time: 10:55A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 71F
Elevation: 18.5 feet low, 47 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 85.1F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE1-6 all morning
Sky Condition: 30% white cloud cover on a blue sky.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 87% illumination.
GT = 65
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area vic 1740 – 10 fish on topwater on the Cork Rig
Area vic 1171 – 15 fish on topwater on the Cork Rig
Area vic BDH010 to BHYD07 – 90 fish on topwater on the Cork Rig
Area B0184G – 9 fish on smoked MAL Heavies
Area BG0022CH – 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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