CLIENTS: This morning, Saturday, November 2nd, I fished with returning guests — the father and son team of Alex and Gabriel Morales.

I first got to fish with these fellows when they were invited along to fish with Mr. John Stephenson of Salado, back on Sept. 20, 2014. Alex is originally from the Bronx and came on active duty as an enlisted medic, then worked his way up to become a medical doctor and commissioned officer, retired from the Army, and now continues serving as an orthopedic surgeon.

Gabriel, now 19, is studying mechanical engineering at Central Texas College. He plans to pursue cybersecurity through the military and obtain his degree through Texas A&M.



DATE: Saturday, 02 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 11, 21, & 22 November (weekday AMs and PMs). Next Saturday opening: 30 November (AM)






PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Alex Morales and his son, Gabriel, with a few hands full of fish taken from Lake Belton this morning.




PHOTO CAPTION: This “blast from the past” shows, from left, Alex and Gabriel, then age 9, fishing with me on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir back in 2014.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

For the second consecutive day, thick, grey cloud cover caused the fish to “ease” into a feed, instead of “leap” into one, as has been the case on clearer mornings of late.

We began picking up fish with consistency beginning around 8:40A, and steadily plucked fish right through our wrap up time at 12:30P.

The fish never went into overdrive this morning, as is often the case when a damp, easterly winds seems to put them in a bit of a funk. We found fish readily, and, in most cases, got an instant, positive response, only to have the fish quickly lose enthusiasm. We were then faced with a choice: either stay and catch at a low rate, or move frequently to cash in on that initial enthusiasm repeatedly. I chose the latter.

We worked the MAL Original (with chartreuse tail) all morning, save for a ~10 minute window when, while on a deep flat, I saw enough fish out to our port side that I felt it would be worthwhile to cast and use a “sawtooth method” for them. During that window, I chose white, 1 3/8 oz. White Tornados, and, as is often the case, the fish Alex and Gabe caught on these were of better quality thanks to the sheer size of the lure keeping smaller fish from being drawn to it.

When all was said and done, the fellows landed 92 fish, including 10 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 81 white bass.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ



RESULTS: 101 fish, including 9 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 91 white bass.



LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically & white, 1 3/8 oz. White Tornados today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 101 fish, including 9 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 91 white bass.



OBSERVATIONS:

1) We are in a solid, classic autumn pattern now, which should hold up until the water temperature near bottom falls to around 60F

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) Fish were sluggish thanks to an E. wind and gloomy, grey sky conditions.



LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Friday, 01 Nov….

0 feet 75.3F
5 feet 75.3F
10 feet75.6F
15 feet75.6F
20 feet 75.6F
25 feet 75.6F
30 feet 75.3F
35 feet 75.3F
40 feet 75.3F
45 feet 75.3F
50 feet 75.3F
55 feet 75.3F
60 feet 75.2F
65 feet 75.1F



WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 12:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 2.25′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .03′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 73.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE11-13 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% heavy grey cloud cover all morning

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 1% illumination.

GT = 50



Wx SNAPSHOT:






AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area BHYD03- 31 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area vic 151 – 12 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area vic B0313G – 15 fish – 5 smoking MAL Originals; 10 sawtoothing White Tornados
Area vic B107G/1269 – 15 fish smoking MAL Originals (2 hops)
Area vic 098 – 19 fish smoking MAL Originals (4 hops)





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

Great Story

Cool retro photo Bob.

Keep on keeping on. Solid post and fish. Good job.

Really cool photographs Bob. Thank you Alex for your service and I wish Gabriel the best....