CLIENTS: This Saturday morning I was joined by Bobby, Andrea, & Josiah Fuentes, and by Hector & Santi Castillo. Andrea, Josiah (13), and Santi (11) did all the fishing while the dads looked on. Bobby and Hector are cousins, and both families have been in the Central Texas area for many years. This trip was in celebration of Josiah’s 13th birthday.
DATE: Saturday, 28 September 2024 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES: Next open dates: 30 Sep. & 2, 3, 8, 11, & 12 Oct. (AMs and PMs)
PHOTO CAPTION: Front row from left: Josiah Fuentes, Santi Castillo, and Andrea Fuentes with part of their 205 fish, multi-species catch made on Lake Belton using the MAL Original with chartreuse tail & the 3/4 oz. White Tornado. Back row: Hector Castillo and Bobby Fuentes came along for the ride but didn’t fish this morning.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
The fish were in high gear this morning thanks, in part, to winds which moved the water from start to finish this morning as NW winds continued to blow following the passage of two cold fronts this week which took this morning’s pre-dawn temps down to 62F.
Fishing was super simple once the bite got going after the depths were illuminated by the rising sun. We got going around 7:30 and found our first group of interested fish by 7:55. From that point on there was no more “fishing”, as it was all catching right on through 11:30.
We hit just four areas this morning, and, at the first three, simply used the smoking tactic (see tutorial below) with MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) to catch our first 125 fish as these tightly grouped, aggressive schools of bottom-hugging white bass competed with one another to beat their schoolmates to the baits.
As we move to what would be our fourth and final area, and as we were still about a half-mile away, I spotted what looked like topwater action. The conditions were really not all that suitable for topwater action, so, I really looked hard to see if I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing.
As we got closer, white bass were feeding over open water and over about an acre of surface. I switched my three anglers over to the White Tornado and had them work it with a “sawtooth method” (see tutorial below) across the bottom. This accounted for another 51 fish before the action cooled off. At this point, we went back to “smoking” MAL Originals. I let everyone know it was 11:15, and I challenged them to get our tally to 200 fish by 11:30.
Everyone really paid attention to their technique, avoided reeling hooked fish in too quickly, and avoided reeling fish up too close to the rod tip, and, by 11:30, Andrea, Josiah, & Santi landed their 205th fish of the morning.
Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ
LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We smoked MAL Originals vertically and used a sawtooth method with White Tornados horizontally. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 205 fish caught and released, including 1 blue catfish, 1 freshwater drum, 6 short hybrid stripers, and 197 white bass
OBSERVATIONS:
1) The number of bottom-oriented schools of white bass now found in deep water AND showing a willingness to remain stationary long enough to allow for presentations to be made for substantial lengths of time have increased sharply; it looks like these fish are there to stay.
2) Some atypical late-morning topwater action broke out just briefly. Given northerly winds and bright sun, it was a bit of a surprise, although it didn’t last very long for these very same reasons.
3) The surface temp. fell below 80F for the first time since the summer warmup months ago.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Saturday, September 28…
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:20A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F
Elevation: 1.38′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .04′ fall in last 24 hours
Water Surface Temp: 79.1F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: NW8-13.
Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover on a light blue sky.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 16% illumination.
GT = 0
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