CLIENTS: After fishing with Joe Oliver‘s oldest son, Corey, and his kids just after Lake Belton reopened in early July, we worked in this trip for Joe’s daughter, Amber Pugh, and her three kids, Ben, Beau, and Addie, just days before they head back to school in Academy, Texas.
DATE: 01 August 2024 (PM)
NEXT OPEN DATES: 15 Aug. (AM & PM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Addie, Amber, & Beau Pugh, Joe Oliver, and Ben Pugh with a portion of their 48-fish haul taken in just two hours on a hot, dry July evening on Lake Belton, Texas.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED: We kept this trip short, fishing only two hours from about 6:20 PM to 8:20 PM. We started later than usual because this is when the evening bite has been kicking in, thus we got right down to fish catching and avoided a hot, fishless wait by not starting any earlier than necessary. We did wrap up a bit earlier than I normally would, as Addie was starting to wane. Normally we’d have fished another 25 minutes or so until dark.
LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We downrigged with 3-armed umbrella rigs equipped with #13 Pet Spoons. Find umbrella rigs and MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 48 fish caught and released, including: 42 legal white bass, 5 short white bass, and 1 freshwater drum
OBSERVATIONS:
1) Still not much topwater action observed.
2) Better quality fish were holding tight to bottom.
3) USACE stopped running water through the dam for the first time since May’s flooding on 26 July; since then fish have been more likely to use bottom, and have begun using bottom at greater depths versus when a high flow was running.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:15AM on July 25 …
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:20P
End Time: 8:20P
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 95F
Elevation: 0.34 feet high and falling slowly with a 33cfs flow, resulting in a 0.05′ fall over the last 24 hours
Water Surface Temp: 87.3F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: S10 all evening
Sky Condition: Wispy white clouds at 15% on a blue sky
Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 9% illumination.
GT = 80
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
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