WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, November 19th, I fished with a full boat of 6 anglers from the Comfort Masters DFW crew. These fellows are focused on commercial and residential HVAC work. Fortunately, these guys were all accustomed to working out in the elements, as we had some serious elements to work through today.

As a damp cold front slowly eased into Central Texas overnight, the sunset temperature of 51F on Friday evening fell to 37F as we launched this morning. When we arrived back at the boat ramp four hours later, the air temperature was still just 39F.

Mr. Stephen Moore honchoed the whole event, initially reaching out to me to make reservations. Accompanying him were father-and-son team Jim & Cameron Moore, Matt Johnson, Rondel Campbell, and Reese Patterson.

Here is how the fishing went …

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PHOTO CAPTION: Back row, from left: Matt “Yankee” Johnson, Rondel “First Fish” Campbell, Jim “Group Shower” Moore, & Stephen “Boss Man” Moore. Front row, from left: Reese “Best Behaved” Patterson, and Cameron “Above Average” Moore.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 19 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Cold fronts with persistent, damp conditions like this one just don’t have the fish-motivating power which fronts like that which came through on Veterans’ Day do. That Veterans’ Day front had a turbulent lead edge, but, once the rain moved off, the weather dried out and cooled down rapidly.

So, the fishing was a bit tough this morning. We found interested fish everywhere we went, but, they were not overly aggressive and they typically did not stay interested very long. This simply required that we move frequently to stay on top of fish which we could coax into striking.

We used the MAL Original Lure with white tail to catch 100% of our fish this morning, and used a vertical “smoking” tactic with a moderate retrieve speed with these lures.

Helpful bird activity did develop albeit only for about 75 minutes mid-morning. The bird activity followed the fish activity in that the birds would work aggressively but briefly over a patch of water, then quit, then reignite some distance away, then quit, etc. as the gamefish which were driving the feeding cycle did likewise.

There was lots of cajoling and good-natured trash-talking amongst friends on this trip, and the banter plus the steady pick of fish helped keep everyone’s minds off there cold hands, feet, and faces. One highlight was that Rondel caught the first fish of his life, which was ironic since he grew up on an island in the Caribbean!

When all was said and done, this crew landed 157 fish including 10 short hybrid striped bass, 8 largemouth bass, 4 freshwater drum, and 135 white bass.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 157 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) 5th consecutive trip helpful bird activity. Birds active 8:30-9:45A.



WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 37F

Elevation: 13.33 feet low, 0.00′ change in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 62.9F

Wind Speed & Direction: NW10-12 all morning

Sky Condition: Solid grey sky all morning

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 23% illumination.

GT = 71

Wx SNAPSHOT:







AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Vic BG0026 (28 fish), 1325/150 w/2 hops (39 fish), Vic 1489 w/2 hops (33 fish), Vic 354 w/2 hops (34 fish), B0054G (10 fish), B0201C (13 fish)





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

Good read