CLIENTS: This morning, Saturday, Nov. 16th, I fished with first-time guests Jimmie, Janet, and Kristina McCormack. I met Jimmie and Janet back earlier this fall when all of us came out to support the Catch A Special Thrill (CAST) event coordinated by Randi Bingham.
Kristina works at a veterinary practice in Salado, so, once her days off aligned with my own openings, Jimmie booked a trip for all three of them.
DATE: Saturday, 16 November 2024 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2, 3, 4, 6 December (weekday AMs). Next Saturday opening: 23 November (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Kristina, Janet, and Jimmie McCormack with Lake Belton white bass caught working MAL Original lures vertically using a “smoking” tactic.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
I was reassured as I kept an eye on the forecast for this morning’s trip in the days leading up to it by the wind speed, wind direction, and likelihood of cloud cover, all adding up to the kind of morning where you just know you will find and catch fish.
As I launched this morning, the SSE wind was already creating minor wave action and a bank of broken, grey clouds was moving in from the SSE.
After covering safety, equipment, and techniques, we prayed and then began the search for fish.
This morning bite was “front-loaded” with the majority of our catching taking place in the first two hours. When the fish feed this strong for this long, they often tone down significantly and then stay somewhat apathetic for the remainder of the morning, and that is just what we saw today.
A few gulls have begun to camp out on Lake Belton, and a few of them plucked shad driven to the surface by hungry white bass below. This helped shortcut the more time-consuming process of finding fish with sonar, but, the birds only stayed active for a short while, and only fed where fish were near the surface, NOT necessarily where larger schools of catchable fish were located.
My crew of three used MAL Originals to catch all but one of their 71 fish, with Jimmie picking up one white bass on a White Tornado at the very last location we fished as I saw a strong school of white show up on starboard side side-imaging.
Everyone fished their MALs using a smoking tactic, in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope. Now, Jimmie has his own boat and has Garmin LiveScope on it, but, Janet normally fishes in the back of the boat without the benefit of Jimmie’s bow-mounted forward-facing sonar.
After having her “own personal” LiveScope unit all morning, she insisted that she needed one for Christmas!
In the last half of our trip, we continued to find fish rather readily, but, they were in small schools and were just not all that enthusiastic. Unless multiple fish showed up simultaneously to create a bit of competition, most of the fish did not aggressively chase after the McCormacks’ baits.
We ended the morning with exactly 71 fish, including 5 largemouth bass, 1 blue catfish, and 65 white bass.
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
RESULTS: 71 fish, all caught and released
LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/
OBSERVATIONS:
1) The long run of fantastic fall fishing which began in early September has now begun to be impacted by increased frontal activity. The fishing has now become cyclical, following the arrival and departure of cold fronts. The more wind, the better. Fishing will be poor with calm conditions.
2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.
3) When fishing slowed, chances of a hookup greatly increased when targeted fish were in groups with multiple other fish, thus creating a “competition bite” or a “greed bite”.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Friday, 15 Nov….
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:15A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 55F
Elevation: 2.49′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow
Water Surface Temp: 70.2F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE6 at trip’s start, increasing to SSE15 by trip’s end
Sky Condition: 70% grey cloud cover on a white, hazy sky
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 99% illumination.
GT = 55
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area B0194C thru B0026G – 42 fish smoking MAL Originals; minor bird activity
Area 1544 – 10 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area vic 1074 – 4 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area B0251G – 6 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area B0319G – 27 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area vic B0252G/966 – 9 fish smoking MAL Originals
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
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