DATE: 12 July 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE: Thursday, 18 July (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:  The sons of U.S. Army First Sergeant Matthew Barber were chaperoned by their mother, Brittani Barber, on the first SKIFF trip I conducted since flooding closed Belton and Stillhouse in late May.  Logan (left) and Colton landed 72 fish during their 3.5 hour adventure.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:  We targeted white bass on an all catch-and-release basis during the first 2 hours of this 3.5 hour trip.  During this time, the boys landed 44 fish, including 41 white bass and 3 largemouth bass. All of these fish were taken on 3- and 4-arm umbrella rigs via downrigging.  During the remaining 90 minutes we fished flooded shoreline brush for panfish using poles and live bait under slipfloats.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  The white bass we landed all bit #12 Pet Spoons attached to 3- and 4-armed umbrella rigs fished precisely with downriggers to control the depth they were presented at.  Find umbrella rigs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 72 fish caught and released (41 white bass, 3 largemouth bass, & a mixed bag of 28 panfish)

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The lake is still ~3′ high, but the flow of water through the dam has decreased substantially.

2) The water looks like green/brown tea and is darker than usual.

3) All fish were taken in under 22′.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device before sunrise on July 12 …

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:20A

End Time: 9:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F

Elevation: 2.54 feet high and falling with a 1084 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 86.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW2-5 all morning

Sky Condition: Hazy, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 37% illumination.

GT = N/A