CLIENTS: On Wednesday morning, April 9, I fished with three generations aboard. U.S. Marine Corps veteran Richard Smith was accompanied by his son-in-law, James Bliss, and James’ son, Bradley. The Bliss family is visiting Central Texas for their kids’ spring break from San Diego, California.

Everyone had prior fishing experience, and today’s conditions were very good, so the potential for a very productive outing was definitely there.

DATE: Wednesday, 09 April 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: 30 May (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 31 May (AM)





PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Richard Smith, James and Bradley Bliss worked silver, 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs for 4+ hours and amassed a catch of 241 fish, all caught and released.




PHOTO CAPTION: The fish were very aggressive this morning thanks, in part, to a good stiff breeze. Twice during this 4-hour trip James hooked two fish on the same lure at the same time.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

We experienced a strong bite from start to finish today fishing mainly 22 to 26 feet deep with the entire trip conducted using silver, three-quarter ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs fished vertically using a smoking tactic. Although this tactic seems quite simple on its face, there are some definite nuances which I introduced my crew to as we fished at our first two locations. They just got better and better with each fish caught where speed control, and reaction to a strike were concerned.

Winds started off at around 11 mph from the south and gradually crept up to around 16 mph. Although we had no cloud cover, this wind really kept the fish biting aggressively. It was not uncommon to have fish follow a lure 12 or more feet from the bottom before overtaking and striking it. Twice during the trip James landed two fish on his slab at a time — one on the treble and one on the stinger.

When we wrapped up at around 11:30, my three man crew’s count stood at 241 fish landed, including largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, and white bass. Birds were not a factor for our fishing today, although a fellow angler let me know he had fish under birds in the first 30 minutes following sunrise on another segment of the lake.

RESULTS: 241 fish, all caught and released



TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial



LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the silver 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab exclusively to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/





OBSERVATIONS:

Threadfin shad spawn was still paused due to 3 days of cold front-impacted weather.


LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Wednesday, 02 April…

0 feet 65.6F
5 feet 65.6F
10 feet65.6F
15 feet 65.5F
20 feet 65.1F
25 feet 64.9F
30 feet 64.4F
35 feet 63.1F
40 feet 62.0F
45 feet 60.9F
50 feet 57.8F
55 feet 57.6F
60 feet 57.4F

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F


WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:

Elevation: 3.05′ low

Water Surface Temp: 63.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: S11 at trip’s start, building to S16-17 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Cloudless, light blue skies all AM and PM

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 90% illumination.

GT = 55



Wx SNAPSHOT:








AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 0363 – 24 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0202C – 25 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0203G – 11 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 748 – 87 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 097 – 53 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0013C – 41 fish on live shad



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.

....

Richard Smith, thank you for your service...