WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, May 4th, I fished with returning guest Stiles Parker, accompanied by business associates and first time guests Edson Chavez and Brent Ellis.

Stiles sells products, including siding and windows, into the building industry, Edson works for ABC Supply, and Brent serves as a contractor doing utility work for an Austin-area electric cooperative.

Here is how the fishing went …

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My next openings will be on June 21 and 23. Weekday mornings are always best. Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).






PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Stiles Parker, Edson Chavez, and Brent Ellis caught and released 284 fish this morning under ideal grey, breezy conditions. 100% of the catch was made on MAL Lures worked vertically in 26 to 43 feet of water.


WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 04 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

After a minor weather disturbance moved through right at sunrise yesterday and upset the apple cart a bit, things got back on track this morning as we enjoyed nothing but unbroken grey cloud cover and a SE breeze at just under 14 mph which made boat control a non-issue.

We fished four areas over the 4.75 hour trip, taking 52 fish at our first stop, 96 fish at our second stop, 52 fish at our third stop, and 84 fish at our fourth and final stop.

The fishing got progressively deeper with each stop, starting up in ~26′ and ending out in 47′.

We used MAL Heavy Lures and MAL Dense Lures interchangeably. Since Stiles had previous experience with the MAL Lure, I put him on the MAL Heavy with barbless hooks right off the bat, and switched Edson and Brent over to barbless once they got the hang of things after leaving our first area.

We used a smoking tactic vertically the entire morning aided by Garmin LiveScope. Stiles owns his own boat and, thanks to observing the usefulness of Garmin LiveScope on prior guided trips with me, has now included Garmin LiveScope on his rig. Edson and Brent were really impressed with the technology and the results it paved the way for us to enjoy.

Actually seeing fish and their response to their presentations in real time helps my clients stay focused on the fish. They fish harder and longer and more intentionally when they can see with their own eyes that there is something down there to keep working for.

A complete description of this “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 284 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Shad spawn is in full swing.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 3.91 feet low, 0.00’ change in last 24 hours, 38 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70.9F

Wind Speed & Direction: SE8 at launch time, slowly and steadily building to SE14 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Moderately thick grey cloud cover at 100% coverage all morning

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 12% illumination.

GT = 80

Wx SNAPSHOT:






AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1804, 682, B0106G, 1298



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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Solid post and fish. Good job.

Solid trip. The fishing continues to be good! Way to go.