WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, December 8th, I fished Lake Belton with returning guest Kyle Johnson of Salado, TX, accompanied by his friend and first-time guest, Bobby Turner.

The men work on the same crew as professional firefighters in one of the north Austin communities.

Aside from the fishing, Kyle just got a “new to him” center console fishing boat which is in the shop having Garmin LiveScope added, so, he was keen for a crash course in LiveScope. Fortunately, the fish cooperated and he left the lake looking even more forward to getting his new sonar equipment back than when arrived.

My next weekday opening is on 12 Dec. My next weekend opening is Sat., 31 Dec. (New Year’s Eve)

Here is how the fishing went …

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PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Bobby Turner took this 24.50″, 7.75-pound (certified scale) Lake Belton hybrid striped bass on a white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab fished in ~30 feet of water as Kyle Johnson worked beside him. After checking this girthy fish against the existing catch-and-release record (25.75″) and finding it came up 1.25″ short, we released it in excellent condition.




PHOTO CAPTION: Mature white bass were the mainstay today, making up 81% of our 101 fish catch this morning.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 08 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

We had a very slow start this morning thanks to unforecast windless conditions. By 9:04 we’d only landed 3 fish. Finding fish was no issue, but getting them to do anything more than half-heartedly look at our baits, much less follow and strike them, was challenging.

Just after 9A, the lightest bit of southerly breeze began and, combined with the nice, grey cloud cover already in place, this got the fish going. I commented to Kyle and Bobby, based on what I was seeing on sonar beneath us and around us, that if we could just get a little wind the area we were fishing, I felt as if it would really light up. Well, about 12 minutes later the breeze came and the fish lit up. We caught the majority of our fish (54 fish of a total of 101) right on that area.

Once again, as will be the case at least until the water temperature drops to around 50F, we used mainly Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (white, 5/8 oz.). Additionally, when abundant fish showed on side-imaging, (mainly) Bobby tossed an MAL Original (with white tail) and worked it using the sawtooth method, and added his fair share of fish to the count.

The biggest key to fishing that Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in conjunction with LiveScope is to keep right on reeling without breaking cadence when being chased by a fish. The second key is delaying a hookset until the heft of the fish on the line is felt, thus resisting the urge to set the hook at the first indication of contact.

Since I’ve have a number of folks here and on my Facebook paged have asked about what gear I use while fishing these lures in this manner, I’ve once again included the details here for you:

Reel: Florida Fishing Products Osprey CE 2500 Ultralight Saltwater Spinning Reel with 5.2:1 gear ratio
Link: FFP Osprey Reel


Rod: 8' Russ Bailey Signature Series Spinning Rod by B 'n' M Poles, Model CWRB82 (2-piece)
Link: 8-foot Rod

Braid: 15 pound test Sufix 832 Advanced Superline in Coastal Camo color (alternating blue and white coloration)
Link: 15 Pound Sufix Braid


Swivel: 25 pound test Invisaswivel tied to main line and leader with improved clinch knots
Link: Invisaswivel Fluorocarbon Swivel


Leader: 25 pound test Sufix Invisaline fluorocarbon leader - cut to 36 inches long
Link: Sufix Fluorocarbon Leader

Terminal Connection: Tactical Anglers Micro Power Clip in 25 pound test secured with Palomar knot connects the leader to the lure
Link: Micro Power Clip

Lures: Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook in 3/8 oz., 5/8 oz., and 3/4 oz.
Link: Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

When all was said and done, we landed 101 fish including 6 legal hybrid stripers, 3 short hybrid striped bass, 3 freshwater drum, 2 largemouth bass, 5 short white bass, and 89 legal white bass.

TALLY: 101 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 16th consecutive trip with helpful bird activity. Water temperature profile:

0 feet 62.3F
5 feet 61.2F
10 feet 60.8F
15 feet 60.6F
20 feet 60.4F
25 feet 60.3F
30 feet 59.6F
35 feet 59.4F
40 feet 59.4F
45 feet 59.4F
50 feet 59.4F
55 feet 59.4F
60 feet 59.4F



WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 12:20A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 13.02 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 32 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 62.3F

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm at sunrise, starting SSE at ~9A and increasing to SSE6 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Fully greyed sky all morning

Moon Phase: Full moon at 100% illumination.

GT = 47

Wx SNAPSHOT: Unfortunately, this wind forecast did not match the conditions “on the ground”.





AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1944, 1378, 1749, vic B0100C, and B0149C



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

That sir is a nice Hybrid ! Freight train with scales !

That's a beast!

Nice fish.