CLIENTS: This morning I welcomed aboard Manuel Pena, his daughter and son-in-law, Amanda and Hector Bustillos, and their children, Camila (8), and Joaquin (4), for a “Kids Fish, Too!” trip focused on the kids’ success. Manuel is the driving force behind the SKIFF (Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun) program at the Austin Fly Fishers where he has served as an officer of that club with oversight for that program for many years. The family operates the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Dripping Springs, TX (https://drippingsprings.wbu.com/)
DATE: Saturday, 12 October 2024 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES: Next open dates: 18, 21, 23, 24 Oct. (weekday AMs and PMs). Next Saturday opening: 02 November (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: The kids’ father, Hector Bustillos, and grandfather, Manuel Pena, look on as the kids pose with a few of the fish they caught. Camila and Joaquin landed a total of 101 fish during their 3.5 hour morning trip, including 5 hybrid striped bass, 18 sunfish, and 78 white bass.
PHOTO CAPTION: As the sun rose, Manuel Pena and his grandkids, Camila and Joaquin Bustillos, walked down to the boat in anticipation of a great morning of fishing on Lake Belton
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
The excellent early autumn fishing pattern which developed very quickly in early September continued this morning.
As soon as the sun’s direct rays began to shine on the water, the white bass began feeding, and they kept right on feeding for the next several hours. During this time, I used (mainly) well-tuned side-imaging sonar to find fish. After Spot-Locking atop them, the kids presented MAL Original Lures with chartreuse tails vertically, using a smoking tactic and caught fish after fish.
Camila functioned autonomously after I provided her with some basic guidance followed by a few pointers after she got the hang of things. Joaquin, on the other hand, had dad and granddad tag team behind him and help him with holding the rod and maintaining a fish-catching cadence.
Camila already had it in her mind before stepping on the boat that she wanted to catch 100 fish, so, with the fish and the wind cooperating, we strived for that goal.
The kids hung tough for a full two hours before Joaquin showed signs that he needed a break, so, with 37 fish in the boat, we headed up shallow and focused on catching sunfish (and feeding ducks!) to break things up a bit, leaving one full hour at trip’s end to hit that 100 mark starting at 55 fish landed once the sunfishing was done.
We hit two areas in our last hour. The first had fish present, but they were not all that numerous or aggressive, so, after landing just two, I decided to pull the plug and move on.
Our last area fish turned out to be our most productive (and during that span of time at which the wind blew strongest). The kids landed a final 44 fish in their last 40 minutes of fishing to take their final tally to 101 fish.
As we walked up to the parking lot following the trip, I told Hector that I bet Joaquin would take a solid nap on the drive home back through Austin.
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 99% of the time for our white bass this morning. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 106 fish, including 6 short hybrid striped bass, 2 freshwater drum, and 98 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.
2) As routinely happens, the best bite today corresponded with the strongest wind conditions.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Thursday, 10 Oct….
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:50A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F
Elevation: 1.73′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .04′ fall in last 24 hours (w/ inflow from Proctor)
Water Surface Temp: 79.2F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SSW5-11
Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover on a hazy1 blue sky.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 70% 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