WHO I FISHED WITH:
On Thursday afternoon, March 28, I fished with a pair of fathers and sons from the Salado area. Joining me, were Mike Splawn, and his son, Josh, and J.J. Peckham and his nine-year-old son, Declan.



As many clients do, these fellows brought along some snacks, including crackers. And, as many boys do, they attacked these snacks no sooner than I came off plane and began searching over our first fishing area with sonar. Fearing consumption of all of the snacks within minutes of the trip’s start, the dads requested the boys scale back on the eating to ensure food was left for the latter hours of the trip. Obeying, the boys put some provisions back into what they nicknamed the “snacklebox”.

My next open dates are: 2, 5, & 11 April (AMs)

Here is how the fishing went…





PHOTO CAPTION: Back row from left: Mike Splawn and J.J. Peckham and their sons, Josh Splawn (left) and Declan Peckham, with 8 of the 89 fish they landed as conditions improved this past Thursday evening, 28 March.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 28 Mar. 2024 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Thanks to a nice warm-up into the low 70s, and winds which were steady at S 12–13, fishing was better this afternoon then I have seen in over a week’s time. Although the fish were still not aggressive, they were fairly easily found, and, with enough schools yielding 10 to 20 fish each, we were able to put together a catch of 89 fish with two rather inexperienced boys, who only stayed hard after it for about three of the four hours.



For the first half of the trip, while the fish were less aggressive, we relied on working white, three-quarter ounce slabs vertically with a slow smoking tactic.



By the trip’s halfway point, fish were beginning to chase farther off the bottom and more quickly upwards, thus indicating an increase in their energy level. As I saw this happening, and as fish presented themselves off the port or starboard side of the boat as seen on side imaging, I had , Michael and J..J use the sawtooth method with MAL Original lures to present baits to a greater number of fish by reaching out horizontally.



This trend of increasing aggressiveness continued right up to sunset, allowing us to jump right into horizontal presentations at the last two areas we fished .



Since the boys were not all that focused at this point, I had them use the MAL Lures vertically since their main interest was now in watching fish follow their baits on the Garmin LiveScope.



The 89 fish catch this afternoon consisted of 88 white bass and 1 white crappie.

Find the MAL Original and the 3/4-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/


TALLY: 89 fish caught and released



OBSERVATIONS: Here is the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured before sunrise on March 26 …

0 feet, 62F
5 feet, 62F
10 feet, 62F
15 feet, 62F
20 feet, 62F
25 feet, 62F
30 feet, 62F
35 feet, 62F
40 feet, 61.9F
45 feet, 61.4F
50 feet, 56.0F
WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:45P

End Time: 7:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 11.53 feet low, 33 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 62.0F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Steady S12-13 all afternoon

Sky Condition: Cloudless, pale blue skies

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 91% illumination.

GT = 0



AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

B0009C, 0151, 1140, B0066G, 387, and B0057C


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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Nice post and fish. Good job.