CLIENTS: This morning I welcomed aboard Mr. David Goode, founder of Goode Towing & Recovery, based in Killeen, TX. David brought out his adult grandson, Jeffrey Bauser, and three of his employees — Mark Price, Rick Alvey, and Ryan Ellis. David’s company was founded 1986, and they provide light, medium, and heavy duty towing, roadside assistance, storage, and heavy equipment transport. (https://goodetow.com/)
DATE: Wednesday, 02 October 2024 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES: Next open dates: 17, 18 Oct. (weekday AMs and PMs), 19 Oct. (Saturday AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jeffrey Bauser, Rick Alvey, Mark Price, Ryan Ellis, and David Goode with 10 of the 314 fish they caught and released from Lake Belton on this warm, dry, early October morning.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
It was a “one trick pony” this morning, and that pony ran long and hard!! After meeting and greeting David’s crew of five just before 7:30, we went over the outlook for the morning, and, as soon as the sun rose, we headed out in search of fish, thankful that a breeze was already coming out of the NW.
We found our first solid school of white bass at 7:48 and, from then until we quit under hot, calm conditions right at 11:30, the fish never quit biting aggressively.
We fish six areas today, and, at every one of them, we left fish biting after I felt the fish had gone “past peak” in their level of aggression. These six areas produced 39 fish, 7 fish, 45 fish, 130 fish, 29 fish, and 62 fish respectively.
Every last fish was caught on an MAL Original with chartreuse tail worked with a vertical “smoking” tactic with between 5 and 7 cranks off bottom, depending on fish energy level. Garmin LiveScope was used throughout in order to see where fish were suspended in the water column (if they weren’t on bottom), and to see when fish were chasing a lure as it was being retrieved.
We enjoyed “just enough” wind to keep the fish biting and keep us comfortable until around 10:10, after which the winds went calm and it got hot quickly.
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 100% of the time this morning. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 314 fish caught and released, including 3 largemouth bass, 4 freshwater drum, 1 blue catfish, 9 short hybrid, and 297 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; these fish are there to stay, likely until the water temps drop below 60F.
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: 7:30A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F
Elevation: 1.45′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours (w/ inflow from Proctor)
Water Surface Temp: 80.2F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: NW0-7.
Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover on a light blue sky.
Moon Phase: New moon at 0% 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