JOINING ME TODAY: Returning guest Chris Coufal and first-time guest, Chris’ 14-year-old daughter, Kendall Coufal.
DATE: 14 May 2024 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE: Friday, 21 June (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: Chris Coufal and his daughter, Kendall, fished very technically today, and landed 55 white bass for their efforts. We did not see an abundance of fish this morning, but, they really worked their MAL Dense Lures in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope very effectively to catch a great percentage of those fish we did find.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Georgetown
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED: We targeted white bass on an all catch-and-release basis this morning focusing on slowly tapering bottoms in 26-34 feet of water using a vertical “smoking” tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope while Spot Locked courtesy of my Minn Kota Ulterra. Reeling the bait upwards to intersect the forward path of the fish we spotted on LiveScope so as to provoke a response was absolutely key as the majority of the fish we encountered were suspended and moving.
LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the new MAL Dense with silver body 100% of the time today. Find these lures at the Liberty Mart Exxon uphill from Temple Lake Park on Lake Belton, or go here:
https://whitebasstools.com/ TALLY: 55 fish caught and released (100% white bass)
OBSERVATIONS:
1) Incredibly, I did not see a single school of shad on sonar in our 4.5 hours on the water.
2) Georgetown is very clear with hydrilla growing in patches in water as deep as 26′
3) I found no sizeable schools of bottom-oriented white bass with side-imaging today; all fish found were in small group schools of 5-10 fish holding barely off bottom and were spotted as I went directly over them with 2D and DI sonar. I suspect this is due to Georgetown’s limited flat topography and the amount of hydrilla present in under 26′ of water.
4) The splasher earned its keep today, drawing suspended fish in from around the boat.
5) Many of our catches came as doubles as the commotion created by one hooked fish temporarily excited other nearby fish, provoking them into chasing the other angler’s lure and also getting hooked.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Not measured today on Lake Georgetown. Surface temperature was 73.7F.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:15A
End Time: 11:45A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F
Elevation: 4.97 feet low with a .04′ rise in the last 24 hours with 0 flow.
Water Surface Temp: 73.7F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: NW4-6 all morning
Sky Condition: Bright blue, cloudless skies
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 40% illumination.
GT = 85
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
GTMAY2402 – 26 fish
vic 1840 – 4 fish
GTMAY2403 – 21 fish
GTMAY2401 – 2 fish
GTMAY2405 – 2 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.comE-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
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