WHO I FISHED WITH: On Tuesday afternoon, March 14, I fished with Steve Niemeier, his grandson, Caleb Fowler, and Caleb‘s girlfriend, Abbi Corder.

Although Steve and Caleb have fished with me since Caleb was just starting elementary school (he’s now an 18-year-old high school senior), this was Abbi‘s first time out with me, and her first time fishing for white bass.

Caleb and Abby first got to know one another through participation in high school band.

Here’s how the fishing went …

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone. Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are 21, 22, 29 & 31 March






PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Caleb Fowler, Abbi Corder, and Steve Niemeier with handfuls of Lake Belton white bass taken over Spring Break 2023.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 14 March 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

This afternoon’s fishing was the toughest of the week thus far, as the north winds from the cold front which came in early Sunday morning, finally began to subside. Additionally, the temperatures stayed in the 50s today making it a little bit tougher on hands and feet for folks not used to being out in the elements.

We fished for right at 3.25 hours before the thought of a Chick-Fil-A took priority over the thought of a fish fillet.

The fish were definitely harder to find and more finicky this evening. Although we found fish all afternoon, they tended to be in small schools, and those schools only stayed interested in our offerings for a few minutes after we first began fishing for them.

Interest in our presentations waned very quickly all afternoon. Regardless, we landed 53 fish, including 2 largemouth bass, 1 freshwater drum, 2 short hybrid, striper, and 48 white bass.

100% of our fish came on the white, 5/8 ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slab, and all of those fish were taken with a slow-smoking tactic. In all but one instance, we caught our fish from off the bottom. In one instance, we found suspended, mobile fish, which we used LiveScope to reel our slabs past the fish, so as to place the lure to the front of the fish, and just above high-level to try to provoke a following strike.

TALLY: 93 fish caught and released

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

OBSERVATIONS: Temperature profile taken mid-day, Monday, 13 March:

0 feet 62.9F
5 feet 62.9F
10 feet 62.8F
15 feet 62.3F
20 feet 62.2F
25 feet 61.9F
30 feet 60F
35 feet 58.2F
40 feet 57.5F
45feet 55.9F
50 feet 54.7F
55 feet 54.3F
60 feet 54.2F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:30P

End Time: 6:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 14.05 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .04′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 59.6F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: NNE11 at trip’s start through ~4:30pm, then backing off to NE6-7

Sky Condition: Moderately grey clouds at 100% coverage all day.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 56% illumination.

GT = 80

Wx SNAPSHOT:






AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0013C – 9 fish (2 hops)

Area 2038 – 20 fish

Area vic B0202G – 4 fish

Area 1934 – 10 fish

Area 0403 – 10 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

Nice post and fish. Good job.