White Bass Were Cleared for Takeoff — 88 Fish
CLIENTS: This morning, Friday, March 27, I fished with returning guest Kevin Yuille, accompanied by friends of his and the first time guests of mine, Shaun Locke of Killeen, and Kirk Whitney of Temple.
Kevin is a veteran who served in air traffic control in the military. He got to know Kirk through professional ties and Shaun through social ties. All had at least some prior experience both with fishing and use of spinning gear, which is always a plus.
TODAY’S DATE: 26 March 2026 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING: 30 March (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Kevin Yuille, Kirk Whitney, and Shaun Locke worked 4.5 hours for an 88-fish catch — that’s a full 3-man, 75-fish limit and then some.
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
This morning we found ourselves at the final day of a lengthy, unseasonably warm warming trend, ushered in by a stubborn high-pressure system which has lingered over the southwest for many days now. A significant cold front is due in during the overnight hours. I knew we would not enjoy the prefrontal bump we normally get during the prefrontal wind shift, but, given the season and the warming trend, the fishing was not too bad, despite fairly bright skies and nearly calm winds.
Our best fishing came in the first hour under low light conditions when we had a steady breeze out of the south-southwest. By 8:20, the gray cloud cover and wind both began to decrease significantly, leaving us with tougher conditions for the remainder of the trip. Whenever skies get clear and winds are light, I have higher confidence in fishing deep, clear water. That’s where we went this morning, and that’s where we found our fish after the skies brightened.
We used only one tactic today, all albeit with two different lures.
That tactic was the vertical smoking tactic, greatly enhanced by the use of Garmin LiveScope to keep track of our lures, and enhanced further by a splasher to keep fish consolidated under the boat.
The two lures we used were the 5/8 ounce, white, Bladed Hazy Eye Slab, and the three-quarter ounce, nickel version of the same.
We use the smaller white LURE during our hour of cloudy skies, then switched over to the shiny Nickel version once the sun came out
When all was said and done, Kevin, Kirk, and Shaun put together and 88 fish catch including 87 white bass and one flathead catfish.
I will no longer be fishing weekends until after Labor Day, so, we will ride out this weekend’s cold snap and see what next week brings.
RESULTS: 88 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SLOW SMOKE” A BLADED HAZY EYE SLAB VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial
OBSERVATIONS:
-Deep, clear water was a “fix” for the calm, bright conditions. Thanks to steadily warming water and increasing fish metabolism, the fish are biting even when it is tough.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Taken on Lake Belton on 27 March 2026, approx. 7AM…
0 feet 68.4F
5 feet 68.4F
10 feet 68.2F
15 feet 68.2F
20 feet 67.9F
25 feet 67.6F
30 feet 66.3F
35 feet 64.5F
40 feet 62.9F
45 feet 62.4F
50 feet 60.8F
55 feet 58.7F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:20A
End Time: Noon
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F
Elevation: Belton is 1.08′ low with a +0.04′ change in the last 24 hours. USACE is releasing 51 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 68.4F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SSW5-6 at sunrise, then light and variable from 8:20A on.
Sky Condition: Fully greyed over skies at sunrise cleared to cloudless by 9:15A
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 71% illumination
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area 2318- 10 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. white)
Area 2402 – 34 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. white)
Area 2403 – 19 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. nickel)
Area vic 2404 – 11 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. nickel)
Area 738 – 4 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. nickel)
Area 2405 – 10 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. nickel)
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