CLIENTS: This morning, Monday, April 28, I fished with a crew of five including Jack Oliver, Jack’s grandson, Roy Martin, Roy’s friend, Vayle Steele, and two of Jack’s friends, Mel Bowman and Hank Lewis, both retired from missionary work.
DATE: Monday, 28 April 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: 12 June (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 21 June (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: This morning’s crew, from left: Mel Bowman, Hank Lewis, Jack Oliver, Vayle Steele, and Roy Martin all with post-spawn white bass which continue to increase in numbers in deep water by the day.
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: A 15.00-pound yellow cat, a 4.25-pound hybrid, and a 3.75-pound blue cat were a few of the 8 species of fish my crew landed on live shad this morning.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
Wind was a significant consideration this morning, so much so that we had a primary and secondary meeting point established in case the wind turned out higher than forecast. As I write this report, five hours after the trip, my ears are still, literally, ringing from the constant roar of the wind this morning (and the tinnitus from the military and a lifetime of hunting contributes, as well, I’m sure!).
Picking up where fishing left off last week, I continued with presenting live bait, which I felt had a significant edge over artificials thanks to the shad spawn now at peak condition.
We were able to fish where we wanted in the first two hours as the wind simmered at around 13 mph occasionally white capping and occasionally not. By around 9:25, the wind began to ramp up steadily, and by the time it hit 16 mph, the swells were too great to effectively fish live bait in the open water I preferred to be in. We finished out the trip in areas which were more protected – not calm, but still wind-blown, only without swells.
The live bait we fished on tight downlines with rods in rod holders accounted for an 89 fish tally including at least one specimen of 8 different species of fish: largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, white bass, hybrid striped bass, white crappie, freshwater drum, blue catfish, and yellow catfish.
By the time we came off the water, conditions were such that there were no longer areas I suspected would hold fish that were safely accessible. We wrapped up at 11:30 sharp.
RESULTS: 89 fish, all caught and released
OBSERVATIONS:
- Threadfin shad spawn continues.
- No helpful bird activity.
- Live bait had a distinctive edge over artificials today.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:40AM on Thursday, 24 April
This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:55AM on Tuesday, 15 April…
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:00A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F
Elevation: 3.20′ low
Water Surface Temp: 71.7F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE12-13 through 9:30, then ramping up to SSE16-17 with higher gusts
Sky Condition: Moderately overcast grey skies all morning with 100% coverage
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 1% illumination.
GT = 45
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area vic 1606 – 16 fish on live shad
Area 187 – 13 fish on live shad
Area vic B0235G/187 – 44 fish on live shad
Area vic 651 – 16 fish on live shad
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