WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, November 18, I fished with the three sons of Kyle Simank – Barrett Simank, age 11, Ryder Simank, age 9, and Ryland Winston, age 10.
I originally got to know Kyle through one of my clients in Georgetown — Mr. Dwight Stone. Dwight, Kyle, and I all share an interest in firearms, and Kyle owns Guns Plus in Georgetown, where I take all of my guns whenever gunsmithing is required.
Kyle and his dad, Stephen, have both fished with me before, but, this morning, Kyle stepped back and just helped me help the kids be successful on this “Kids Fish, Too!” trip.
Here is how the fishing went…
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Next available dates are Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving morning), 27, and 28
PHOTO CAPTION: From front left: Ryland Winston, Barrett Simank, and Ryder Simank, with the boys’ dad, Kyle Simank in the back. These boys landed 130 fish in 3.5 hours this morning.
Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 18 November 2023
HOW WE FISHED:
We had great weather conditions this morning. Northerly winds continued to blow following the passage of a mild, dry cold front which came in right around sunset last night. Hence, this morning‘s light was the first well-lighted conditions the fish experienced following the cold front’s passage.
In addition, we had nice, light gray skies. The temperature was 59F when we got started and only rose to 64F by the time we wrapped up 3.5 hours later. This was a “Kids Fish, Too!“ trip, hence, only the kids did the fishing. As such, we were truly blessed to have consistent action from start to finish this morning – – a full 3.5 hours of catching.
The fishing started a bit slow around 7:25, then built to a peak, complete with bird activity, which included about 60 ring-billed gulls, then, right at 9:35 AM, the fish let up on their heavy feed, and we rode the downward slope of that bell-shaped feeding curve until it plateaued at next to zero activity by about 10:40 AM.
We fished a total of just four areas this morning, all in 27-30′.
Using white, 5/8 ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs, these three boys landed a total of 130 fish which included 2 hybrid striped bass, 5 freshwater drum, 1 largemouth bass, and 122 white bass. Of those 122 white bass, only 7 fish were short.
The boys were very willing to listen to coaching if that meant they would be successful. The technique I coached them on was the smoking tactic involving retrieving the Hazy Eye Slabs upwards from the bottom. The details of how that is accomplished are covered in this video…
Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ
I don’t really enjoy having other anglers fish nearby, but, on weekends, that is often unavoidable. One thing it does is gives me an opportunity to see what other tactics produce or fail to produce. As I observed things this morning, it was abundantly clear that the fruits of working a slab with a snap-jigging tactic (much more appropriate for the late winter) paled in comparison to the results of smoking a slab in this still-warm mid-60 degree water.
TALLY: 130 fish caught and released.
OBSERVATIONS: ~60 birds helped us stay on the fish this morning from 8:00 thru 9:35. The water temperature profile measured on 15 Nov., was:
0 feet, 64.9F
5 feet, 65.6F
10 feet, 66.0F
15 feet, 66.0F
20 feet, 65.9F
25 feet, 65.6F
30 feet, 65.6F
35 feet, 65.6F
40 feet, 65.5F
45 feet, 65.5F
50 feet, 65.5F
55 feet, 64.5F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:10A
End Time: 10:40A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F
Elevation: 15.24 feet low, 47 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 64.9F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: NNW9-10 all morning
Sky Condition: 100% light grey cloud cover all morning
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 28% illumination.
GT = N/A
Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Areas:
098 – 6 fish smoking Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs
1152 (4 hops) – 103 fish smoking Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs
953 – 9 fish smoking Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs
B0107G – 12 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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