My next open dates are: 16 & 24 April, and 03 May (AMs)

 

After rounds of training rain storms yesterday which dropped over 5 inches of rain right on top of both Belton and Stillhouse, both reservoirs are now rapidly rising.

 

Belton rose over 2 feet in under 24 hours.  Despite this, the water was not as badly discolored as I thought it might be.

 

We got going around 7:20A. My plan was to fish any open areas I felt would hold fish early on, as the winds were forecast to be manageable (under 15 mph) through around 11 AM. After that, I was planning to seek the protection of the Leon River arm if need be, as the wind was blowing straight down the Cowhouse Creek arm.

 

That plan lasted all of about an hour when the northwest winds ramped up easily to 20 mph with higher gusts by 8:20.

 

My crew managed to land a handful of fish in open water before the winds picked up, and, if nothing else, got the hang of the Hazy Eye Slab using a smoking tactic during this first stop.

 

With the wind forcing a change of plans, we headed into more sheltered water and, to my surprise, we found fish rather easily, albeit at glued to the bottom in 32 to 36 feet of water.

 

These fish demonstrated the typical bottom-hugging behavior with a reluctance to chase and strike shortly after the novelty of our baits appearing among them wore off, as they often do when environmental conditions are not favorable.

 

Despite this reluctance, my crew of three was still able to catch fish consistently, mainly because the sheer numbers of fish we found created a bit of competition, and because the nearly ideal water temperature has fish active and occasionally suspended and patrolling for food.

 

We fished at four different areas after leaving open water, finding nearly identical scenarios at each.

 

Right at the four hour mark, the fish we were on had about given up and I was planning to make one more move before calling it a good morning.

 

Before moving, I checked weather radar and it clearly revealed an organized cell of thunderstorms from Gatesville up to the Granbury area all moving north. It appeared we were in the clear for quite some while to come.

 

Well, I’ll bet I had not moved the boat 100 yards before a light sprinkle materialized out of nowhere. That turned into rain, rain turned into a downpour, and the downpour included marble-sized hail. I had to turn the face of each of my sonar units toward the floor of the boat to keep them from getting pelted by the hail.

 

I surveyed the crew and we all agreed we were happy with the 51 fish they had landed, thus, we would make a run to the boat ramp as soon as the rain relented.

 

We finished up the morning with exactly 51 fish landed, including 4 drum and 47 white bass.

 

100% of our catch came using the slow-smoking tactic with the 5/8 oz. white, Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.