WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, December 6, I fished with returning guest Josh Torres, this time accompanied by his family, including his wife, Rebecca, his daughter, Madeline (15), and his son, Oliver (11).

I first got to know Josh through Mr. Tony Bagliore when the two of them were in the Austin concrete business several years ago.  Tony routinely brought both clients and employees out fishing with me.

Here is how the fishing went…

Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are Dec. 13 & 14

PHOTO CAPTION:  As they always do this time of year, quality largemouth bass begin showing up as bycatch out in deep water.  We often catch them incidentally as we work slabs for whites and hybrid, with most being caught on the stinger hook, not on the treble hook.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: That’s Madeline, Josh, Rebecca, and Oliver Torres enjoying a break from work and homeschooling today to spend some family time out in God’s creation.

PHOTO CAPTION: Although it didn’t last long, bird action led the way to a quick catch of six legal hybrid, a few shorts, and additional white bass as we downrigged with Pet Spoons to keep pace with these fast-moving, shad-eating predators.

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday, 06 Dec. 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

Fishing has definitely gotten tougher with the water temperature now below 60° but, solid catches can be had with consistent effort and good technique — and that is exactly what the Torres family supplied this morning.

Everyone stayed enthusiastic, their technique was solid, and everyone watched the Garmin LiveScope monitors closely to know when high percentage opportunities presented themselves.

Except for a ~30 minute span under active birds during which we downrigged with Pet Spoons, the entire trip consisted of working 5/8 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically using a smoking tactic.  Once again in this scenario under birds with hybrid present, if you weren’t downrigging, you were not going to be able to keep up with the speed at which these fish were pursuing shad.

As we fished vertically for bottom-oriented fish, so as to ensure no one was reeling their lures too fast or too slow, I used the dimmer dial on the thumper so as to have it double as a metronome so one handle turn per “beat” would yield an attractive rate of rise for the lures.

All of the fish we encountered (except those under birds which we downrigged for) were very tight to the bottom this morning.

It really made my day when Mrs. Torres, without prompting, let everyone know that she was having as much fun outdoors catching fish with her family as she does when she goes shopping.  That is some high praise right there!!

Big picture-wise, symptoms of cooling water are becoming apparent: fish are generally staying very tight to bottom, fish can be found deeper than just a week ago, a lesser percentage of fish tend to respond to presentations, and I am noticing sporadic spikes in fish feeding times … I am seeing fish feed strong for perhaps 15 minutes, then shut down for 20 or 25 minutes, then turn on for another 10 or 13 minutes, and so on.

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 65 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS:  The water temperature profile measured on 01 Dec., was:

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 11:25A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 43F

Elevation: 15.66 feet low, 40 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 58.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW8 at trip’s start & until 9:50, then calm for 20 minutes, then quickly changing to E12 for the remainder of the morning

Sky Condition: About 20% wispy thin clouds through 8A, then clearing to cloudless and light blue.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 38% illumination.

GT = 105

Wx SNAPSHOT:    

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

354/B0054G – 4 fish smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

1298 – 11 fish smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

BG0018CH -25 fish downrigging #13/14 Pet Spoons

1552/B0165G – 18 fish smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

1489 – 7 fish smoking white, 5/8 oz. 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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec