WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Friday, November 10, I conducted the season’s eighth SKIFF trip for Duke Myers, the son of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Maddison Myers, a U.S. Army Air Defense Artilleryman.
Duke’s mom, Kristie, tried to coordinate a trip for her son previously, but weather and schedules prevented back during Duke‘s recent fall break from public school, so, we rescheduled for this Veterans’ Day break by which time Duke‘s dad had returned from his most recent military obligation. Hence, CW2 Myers was able to join his son this morning.
ABOUT SKIFF: This fishing trip, like all SKIFF trips, was provided to this military family at no charge. This program began in May of 2009. It is funded by the donations and fundraising efforts of the Austin Fly Fishers and other organizations they have partnered with, namely The McBride Foundation and Subaru. S.K.I.F.F. provides the children of military personnel separated from their families due to duty commitments with the opportunity to go fishing. SKIFF trips are also provided, free of charge, to Gold Star families who have lost their service member while he or she was on active duty. In mid-2019, SKIFF also began providing trips to dependents whose parents are bona fide disabled veterans. I coordinate and conduct these 3.5 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, just outside the gates of Fort Cavazos in Bell County, TX, year ’round. Call or text 254.368.7411.
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 Nov. 14, 15
PHOTO CAPTION: U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Maddison Myers and his son, Duke, age 9, put up with some raw weather to land 171 fish as this most recent cold front sent the fish into overdrive this morning on Lake Belton.
Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Friday, 10 November 2023
HOW WE FISHED:
As is often the case when an incoming cold front shifts winds from the north, and while that wind velocity is still on the rise, white bass this morning fed long and hard.
Aside from sustained, late summer topwater fishing, this tends to be the most aggressive feeding scenario white bass display. Indeed, these two fellows with no prior white bass fishing experience, put together a 171 fish catch in just 3.5 hours, and took all of these fish off of just two areas, both in right around 30 feet of water.
Surprisingly, there was no bird action accompanying this aggressive feed.
These fish, just like the hundreds of other fish caught from Lake Belton this week alone, all responded very favorably to a white, 5/8-ounce Hazy Eye Slab fished using a smoking tactic. That tactic is explained in this tutorial video…
Duke was a real trooper. Our morning started off at 53° and, never rose above 54F thanks to a thick blanket of clouds and a stiff north wind. I know Duke got chilly because his hands were quite red when he took his gloves off to take a final father-and-son photo as we closed out the trip. Despite all that, this nine-year-old young man’s enthusiasm never waned.
Our 171 fish catch consisted of exactly 170 white bass and 1 largemouth bass. I was quite surprised that we had no drum or hybrid stripers in the mix this morning.
TALLY: 171 fish caught and released.
OBSERVATIONS: No bird action this morning for the third morning in a row, despite the presence of ~150 birds roosted along the shoreline at sunrise. Here was the water temperature profile down to 60′ taken Tuesday, 07 Nov.:
0 feet, 67.4F
5 feet, 67.4F
10 feet, 67.4F
15 feet, 67.4F
20 feet, 67.4F
25 feet, 67.4F
30 feet, 67.1F
35 feet, 66.8F
40 feet, 66.4F
45 feet, 65.9F
50 feet, 64.4F
55 feet, 62.9F
60 feet, 62.0F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:10A
End Time: 10:40A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 53F
Elevation: 15.09 feet low, 47 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 65.7F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: NW9 at trip’s start increasing to NW15 by trip’s end
Sky Condition: 100% moderate grey cloud cover all morning with a fine mist falling all morning.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 8% illumination.
GT = N/A
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Areas:
Area vic 150 – 150 fish smoking Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs
Area vic B0042C – 21 fish smoking Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs
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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