CLIENTS:This morning, Monday, April 14, I fished with a crew of four gentlemen, all retired, from the Georgetown, Texas, area. Joining me were Doug Roper, Rob Andrews, Danny Marriott, and John Kelley.

Danny specifically booked this trip to target hybrid, striped bass, so we, spent 4+ hours this morning in pursuit of that species using lively threadfin shad as bait.

DATE: Monday, 14 April 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: 02 June (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 14 June (AM)






PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Doug Roper, Rob Andrews, Danny Marriott, and John Kelley each with Lake Belton hybrid striped bass (a.k.a. wipers) which we took on tightlined livebait .



WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

We searched five areas this morning finding fish at the last four in depths between 25 and 41 feet (shallower early, moving deeper with increasing light). The fish we found were very tight to the bottom this morning , which informed me on how far I should have my crew fish their baits up off bottom. We used a fairly simple rig, tying my main line to a trolling sinker with swivels on either end of the sinker, then attaching a fluorocarbon leader to a kahle hook to which a mono tag was attached to prevent baits from riding too high up on the shank of the hook.

We fished directly under the boat with tight lines and with rods placed in rod holders (I use Bee-Ready holders — simple and effective and bulletproof).

We used large, live threadfin shad which I netted and then culled for size. My net choice is a heavy Fitec tape net with 5/16-inch mesh and 7-foot radius. This small mesh allows smaller shad to slip out of the net (not through the mesh) without getting hung by their gills, so, no net cleaning is necessary, nor are any hung shad present to slow the net’s descent on subsequent throws.

At each location, we began getting hits before we could get all four baits in the water.

By the end of the morning, my crew had landed 81 fish, including a mix of white bass, hybrid, striped bass, and blue catfish. A total of 12 legal hybrid were included in this mix of 81 fish.

RESULTS: 81 fish, all caught and released



LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used only live bait today. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/





OBSERVATIONS:

Threadfin shad spawn continues.
No helpful bird activity.


LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:20AM on Thursday, 10 April

0 feet 62.9F
5 feet 63.1F
10 feet 62.9F
15 feet 62.9F
20 feet 62.9F
25 feet 68.2F
30 feet 62.6F
35 feet 61.4F
40 feet 60.6F
45 feet 59.4F
50 feet 59.4F
55 feet 59.0F
60 feet 58.0 F

This was the previous 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

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:25A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F

Elevation: 3.15′ low

Water Surface Temp: 64.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE12-14 all morning

Sky Condition: ~20% white cloud cover on light blue skies all AM

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 98% illumination.

GT = 140



Wx SNAPSHOT:








AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 363 – 21 fish on live shad

Area vic B0026G – 8 fish on live shad

Area vic B0243G – 9 fish on live shad

Area vic B0308G – 43 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

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Sold post and fish as always. Good job.