04/16/2022
If you need to be put on the fish, call Bob the line, and fill the freezer.
SHAD SPAWN BUILDS – 141 FISH @ BELTON (AM TRIP)
WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday morning, April 14th, I fished with first-time guests Gardiner and Terri Henderson, and their friend, Belton resident and fellow West Pointer (Class of 1981), Bill York.
Gardiner works in management at Newpark Resources, a company focused on the oil and gas industry, located in The Woodlands.
Bill is the founder of Tudor Lewis, an executive recruiting firm.
The Henderson’s traveled in from the Houston area the night prior to be prepared for our 7A start.
Here is how the fishing went …
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My next 2 openings will be on May 11th and June 20th. Weekday mornings are always best. Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trip (until mid-March 2023).
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Gardiner and Terri Henderson and Bill York caught and released 141 fish on Lake Belton as the annual threadfin shad spawn gains momentum.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (AM), 14 April 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
Although dribs and drabs of threadfin shad spawning have been noticeable all week, this morning’s activity was pronounced both because of a greater number of shad moving up shallow to spawn, and because the calm conditions (the first in over a week) allowed for easier spotting of them.
As I waited for my clients to arrive, I did some scouting, throwing an MAL Original into areas where I spotted spawning shad. I took numerous white bass easily (which are not included in the fish tally for this report). I felt I could get my crew onto the same fish in the same way, so, when they arrived, we gave this a try. With three folks casting shallow, snags soon became a bit frustrating, and therefore inefficient, in this limited window of time before the fish pushed out deeper as the sky brightened, so, I left that scenario behind and we pursued fish elsewhere, after landing 4 fish.
I quickly found a nice school of several hundred fish in ~18 feet of water holding tightly on bottom in a pocket being impacted by the very light breeze. We took another 18 fish from this area before those fish dissipated. We caught these fish by casting MAL Dense lures to them and fishing them with a sawtooth pattern.
We hit two additional areas less than 24’ deep and fished in a similar manner, taking our tally up to 44 by 9:30A. At this time a beneficial NE breeze began to blow at about 9mph, rippling the entire lake’s surface.
It did not take long for this breeze to spark a deep water bite. We checked 3 areas, found fish at the last area we checked, and stayed on those fish for the remainder of our trip – about a full hour’s worth of catching, taking our tally from 44 fish, up to 141 fish with near-constant action for everyone using white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs in a moderately-paced smoking tactic.
Our final tally of 141 fish consisted of 4 freshwater drum, 6 short hybrid striped bass, and 131 white bass.
Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 141 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: Increasing shad spawning noted in this morning’s calm conditions. Despite a mild cold front’s passage overnight, and a 48F start to the morning, these shad were putting on a show.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:05A
End Time: 11:20A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F
Elevation: 3.57 feet low, 0.03′ rise in last 24 hours, 34 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 65.6F
Wind Speed & Direction: NE3-4 at trip’s start, picking up and shifting ENE9 around 9:30, then increasing to ENE13 by trip’s end
Sky Condition: Clear, light blue skies following the arrival of a mild, dry cold front overnight
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 93% illumination.
GT = 50
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area 615, 415, vic B0116C, and 327/B0009C
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: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle
