WILLINGLY COACHED — 117 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH:

On Thursday, December 28, I fished with a crew of six. Mr. Clint Murphy had fished with me several times previously, and this time he brought with him Maureen, Ben, Natalie and Ellen Parker, and Calvin Lutz.
Only three of the six had prior fishing experience, but, the three which did not were very willingly coached, and everyone wound up catching plenty of fish by the time the morning was through.
Here is how the fishing went…

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Next available dates are Jan. 9-11 (mornings)

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, that’s Maureen Parker, Clint Murphy, and Natalie Parker with a trio of hybrid they landed within seconds of one another as a school moved beneath the boat and bit.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  That’s Calvin Lutz in the light blue jacket with both a healthy largemouth bass and a hybrid striped bass, and Ben Parker (red jacket) and Clint Murphy (dark blue jacket) with hybrid they landed simultaneously.

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Clint Murphy, Maureen and Natalie Parker, Calvin Lutz, and Ellen and Ben Parker with a sampling of the white bass they took with a slow-smoking tactic on Lake Belton using Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs.

 

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 28 Dec. 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

Once again, fishing followed a normal, bell-shaped curve, with a slow start in the first hour, a tapering off  in the final hour, and peak conditions in the middle two hours.
We enjoyed a northwesterly winds all morning between 8 and 12 mph and approximately 10% white cloud cover on a pale blue sky. We used one technique very effectively all morning, and that was slow smoking with the 5/8 ounce, white Bladed Hazy Eye Slab used in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope. I also used my thumper to both bring fish in and to help everyone keep the correct cadence as they executed the slow-smoking tactic.
During those peak middle two hours, we enjoyed light bird activity, primarily engaged in by terns.  While most of the fish the terns worked over were bottom-oriented, we encountered one situation where the fish were suspended and moving slowly over a submerged channel at between 20 and 30 feet over a bottom which was much deeper.
When all was said and done, this crew put together a catch of 117 fish which included 1 freshwater drum, 3 largemouth bass, 7 hybrid striped bass, of which 5 were legal, with a balance made up of 106 white bass of which only four were short.

 

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

TALLY: 117 fish caught and released.

 

OBSERVATIONS:  The water temperature profile measured on 27 Dec. was:

0 feet 55.6F
5 feet 56.5F
10 feet, 57.1F
15 feet, 57.1F
20 feet, 57.1F
25 feet, 57.1F
30 feet, 57.1F
35 feet, 57.1F
40 feet, 57.1F
45 feet, 56.9F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 32F

Elevation: 15.48 feet low, 40 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 55.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW8-12

Sky Condition: 10% white clouds on pale blue sky

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 98% illumination.

GT = 105

Wx SNAPSHOT:    

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Areas vic 150, vic 098, B0246G, vic B0247G, vic 1152 (over the channel), B0004C (between pos and channel), B0251G, B0252G, 1544/B0239G

 

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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