Fishing with the Farmer, Part 2 -- 63 Fish, Belton Hybrid Fishing Guide Report, 30 April 2013

Belton Lake Fishing Report

Without rain the lake level continues to fall. As of today the current level is sitting at 7.77 feet low. As always, care should be taken while on the water, however it is more important now that treetops and other objects that would normally be underwater are now above the surface or only inches below it. The water temperature continues to rise and is now between 65 and 68 degrees. The lake for the most part is at different levels of stained, with the clearer water up by the dam and the dirtier water closer to the bridge. A few big, late spawners are being taken up shallow and early in the morning, but most of the fish have already spawned. Look for fish in the backs of coves, in water 8 feet or less early and then back out to the deep ends of points. Baits that seem to be working well in the shallow water are, a Texas-Rigged 6” Lizard (watermelon / red) or a 1.5 Squarebill (sexy shad color). In the deeper water a great choice has been a “C”-Rig, 6” Watermelon / red Lizard. Whichever bait you are using the key to getting bit over the past week can be summed up in one word “slow”. Good Luck and I’ll see you on the water. For this and other great fishing reports for whatever lake you might be fishing be sure to check out these great sites, www.surestrikeguideservice.com, www.fishhound.com, www.texasfishingforum.com, and www.anglerweb.com. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook.   

He Caught Fish Until it Hurt!! -- 86 Fish, Belton Lake Fishing Guide Report, 23 April 2013

Belton Lake Fishing Report

As with all Area lakes, Belton Lake is also low. Currently the lake is 7.61 feet low. The lake for the most part is stained and the temperature is between 67 to 69 degrees. The spawn on Belton also seems to be in the late stages with most of the fish having already spawned. The backs of coves are full of shad and a few Largemouth are being taken on lipless crankbaits there, but most have moved back into deeper water. Fishing the deep ends of points or drop-offs next to spawning flats is producing good numbers. Plenty of Smallmouth in the 2 to 2 ½ pound range are being caught also and in the same areas. Jigs and 1/4oz. Shackyheads with a JuneBug 6” finesse worm  attached have been working great. And as always, be sure to check out these other great sites for up-to-date fishing reports. www.surestrikeguideservice.com, www.fishhound.com, www.texasfishingforum.com, and www.anglerweb.com.  Be sure to follow us on facebook. 

Belton Lake Fishing Report

Belton Lake is currently at 7.50 feet low. The water temperature is between 67 to 69 degrees and stained, Fish are being caught shallow (10 feet or less) early and pushing back into deeper water later in the day. Fish being caught are range from 12” to 4lbs.Texas rigged soft plastics, in watermelon or watermelon/red are the colors that seem to work the best. As they push back, a “C”-rigged Lizard or 1/4oz. Shacky Head fished on points close to shallow water are key areas.   

The lake continues to drop and is currently at 7.17 feet low. The water temperature continues to climb and is between 57 to 59 degrees. Males are on the beds and some females have begun to move up on beds. For the fish that are on beds, a 6” watermelon/red Lizard, fished weight-less has been doing the trick. Most are still in a pre-spawn pattern. A few fish are being taken on small shad colored crankbaits fished on points leading into the creeks, however a jig (1/4oz watermelon) seems to be getting more bites and producing the bigger fish. Fishing a shaky-head with a 6” Zoom trick worm (black/blue) tight to cover is also producing fish. For more up-to-date fishing reports be sure to check out these other great sites, www.surestrikeguideservice.com, www.fishhound.com, www.texasfishingforum.com, and www.anglersweb.com. And as always be sure to follow us on our facebook page. 

The lake is currently sitting at 6.86 feet low and for the most part stained. The water temperature has been holding steady between 54 and 56 degrees. The fish seem to be holding in a pre-spawn pattern and have not begun to move up on beds. A slow presentation has been the key to catching these fish the past couple of days. 1/2oz. jigs or a Texas Rigged 6” Lizards fished in the deep channels along the rock bluffs or fished the deep side of points that are leading into a protected cove are producing the most fish. The other area that has been producing some of the larger fish is the deep edge of the main lake points. A “C”-Rigged 8” Lizard fished from deep to shallow seems to be getting the most bits.  And as always, for the latest and most up-to-date fishing reports, be sure to check out these other great sites, www.surestrikeguideservice.com, www.texasfishingforum.com, www.fishhound.comand www.anglerweb.com. And be sure to like us and follow us on facebook.  

The current water level on Belton Lake is 6.79 feet low. Water temperature has been coming up with the warm days we been having lately and is currently holding between 54 to 56 degrees. The lake remains stained over most of the lake with a little clearer water close to the dam. The Largemouth Bass are beginning to move up from the deeper water into a pre-spawn pattern. Fishing main lake points leading into coves has been very effective. Crankbaits and Lipless Crankbaits fished along the deeper edges of the points is producing nice numbers. Reds or Watermelon Red colors are working now in these areas, however the larger fish have been coming on a “C”-Rigged, black and blue lizard fished at the ends of the points in the deeper water. As the weather continues to remain mild the spawn is not far off. And for the latest and most up-to-date fishing reports, be sure to check out these other great sites, www.surestrikeguideservice.com, www.texasfishingforum.com, www.fishhound.comand www.anglerweb.com. And be sure to like us and follow us on facebook.

Jersey Boys!!, 75 Fish, Belton Lake Fishing Guide Report for 02 Feb. 2013

Belton Lake Fishing Report - 9 January 2013

Largemouth Bass fishing has been real slow over the past week, with the lake level at 6.69 feet low and a temperature holding between 50 to 52 degrees, the Bass don’t seem to be very willing to chase baits. The water for most of the lake has been stained with the clearer water up around the dam. However with the rain over the past few days it should not only raise the lake level but it will also make the water muddy. A slow presentation of soft plastics has been producing the best results.  A “C”-Rigged rattlesnake (watermelon Red) or a Shackyhead rigged with a craw (watermelon) fished along the rock bluffs has been the best producer. Make sure to maintain contact with the bottom and be ready because the bite has been real light.  

You Know You REALLY Trust a Guy When ... 84 Fish, Belton Lake Fishing Guide Report, 04 Dec. 2012

This afternoon I fished with long time client Ryan S., an anesthesiologist at Scott & White (more on that later).

As you can (barely!) see, the bite extended right up until dark.

I know people make a lot of jokes about "doctors' hours" and such, but, every one of the physicians who fish with me from Scott and White don't have very much down time, and, what down time they get typically has to be planned long in advance of taking it.

With Ryan's days off limited, we had to "go with what we got" as far as weather was concerned today. The forecast was "iffy" because a mild cold front pushed through beginning around sunrise. It pushed out some moisture ahead of the front, but the front itself came in dry and from the NW beginning around noon when the skies began to clear (wet cold fronts tend to come in from the N or NE).

We linked up at 1:45p and, given the now favorable conditions, we began our search deep and worked slowly shallower and caught fish consistently along the way.

Our first stop was in the deepest water we would fish all day. We found a decent school of white bass on bottom with some short hybrid stripers working over top of them at Area 717 in 45-47 feet of water (although I marked fish as deep as 51 feet as well, just not as many). This was by far our most productive area, giving up 58 fish altogether. We would fish a "patch" of bottom, get the fish teased up really well, catch them in rapid succession, then see them settle down, work for them a while longer, then see them get lethargic, then move a few yards to watch the same process unfold. We did 3 or 4 "hops" like this in the same area and kept on catching for two solid hours. All of this work was done with TNT180s in 3/4 oz. white, although when the fish were in a chasing mood, Ryan scored as many on a BPS Tail Spin.

Around 4:15 we'd scraped all the fish off of Area 717 I felt we could, so we went searching. We didn't have to search long as we located another nice school of white bass, this time in 35-38 feet of water on Area 297. We got our slabs down, saw the fish get instantly agitated and rise up off the bottom to chase our baits as well as chase after fish we'd hooked, but, after only 12 fish boated, these fish cooled off very quickly and sent us looking once again. It was interesting to note that these less enthusiastic fish really had to be slabbed for. Ryan tried the BPS Tail Spin on these more lethargic fish as I tied on a similar Strike King Sand Blaster, but the fish really would have none of this.

With sunset only 30 minutes away, I looked for some bird activity to develop, but, after watching both with the naked eye and glassing for birds, we saw nothing of interest.

With the light fading fast, I knew we needed to get to some shallow water quickly to gun for fish using the still-illuminated shallows to feed. We rolled the dice and headed for Area 327. The gamble paid off nicely. As we idled in and upslope, we transitioned into 25 feet of water and on into 20 feet of water. In the band, dozens of fish littered the bottom up about 14" from it and in a definite feeding posture. We got the boat stopped and hovered over these fish as quickly as we could, got our slabs down and used primarily an "easing" tactic with long pauses to tempt these low-light feeders. We added a fast 14 fish to the count here before it got too dark for the fish and they quit altogether. Again, slabs ruled the roost in this application. We did both give a horizontal approach a try (Ryan with a BPS Tail Spin and me with a Reefrunner bladebait), but the fish refused this presentation.

Now, I recently decided to have rotator cuff surgery done on my right shoulder. Naturally, I'd prefer to have a medical team that I know and trust work on me. So, I asked Ryan if he'd consider being the one to "knock me out" and bring me back out of anesthesia. Now, I know your thinking "Oh, that's what he meant when he titled this blog entry as he did." Well, actually, that isn't right. Although I certain do trust Ryan to be my anesthesiologist, that isn't an indicator that I REALLY trust him. No, sir!

No, that indicator came at the end of the night's trip when I asked him to back my Ford truck and guide boat trailer down for me!!! Now that's when you know you REALLY trust a guy. A shoulder is one thing, but your fishing rig is another matter altogether. Enough said.

TALLY = 84 Fish, all caught and released

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TODAY'S CONDITIONS:

Start Time: 1:45p
End Time: 5:55p
Air Temp: 69F at trip's start.
Water Surface Temp: 65.1F
Wind: NW12-13, changing to NNW10-12 around 4:30, then tapering to NNW8 by dark.

Belton Lake Fishing Report

The cooler mornings this past week has seem to activate the fish a little more. The lake is now 5.85 feet low and the water temperature ranges from 60 to 64 degrees. The water color is slightly stained for most of the lake and the fish are now moving up in the creeks and rivers chasing the bait fish. Most success early has been coming from a shallow running Crankbait, like a 1.0 or 1.5 Squarebill and the color that seems to be working the best is the ghost shad color. As the sun gets higher the fish seem to push back out to the mouths of the rivers or creek channels and are holding tight to hard structure like stick-ups or rock ledges. Here a crawfish style soft plastic or Baby Brush Hog fished Texas Rigged is landing the larger fish.  Still little to no bird activity and schooling fish are hard to find. For this and other up-to-date fishing reports, be sure to check out our fishing report section at www.surestrikeguideservice.com. You can also keep up with the latest fishing report by checking out these other great sites; www.fishhound.com, www.texasfishingforumand www.anglerweb.comand as always be sure to follow us on Facebook.  

Playing the Fronts -- 65 Fish, Lake Belton Fishing Guide Report, 12 Nov. 2012

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Fishing remains the same on Belton Lake, as some days are still better than others. The water temperature is holding at between 65 and 68 and the lake level remains steady at 5.49 feet low. The water color ranges from stained the closer you get to the bridge to clear the closer you get to the dam.    Largemouth Bass are being taken early at the points leading into coves with a Texas Rigged 6” Trickworm or Baby Brush Hog in a watermelon / red. Both Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass are being taken along the deep edges of the rock bluffs and again along the dam. In these areas they seem to prefer a 1/4oz. PB&J jig with a rag craw trailer. Chartreuse colored Crankbaits and Spinnerbaits are working good in the backs of coves and creek channels. For more up-to-date fishing reports be sure to check out these other fine sites; www.surestrikeguideservice@yahoo.com, www.fishhound.com, www.anglerweb.com , and www.texasfishingforum.com . And as always be sure to follow us and like us on Facebook.     

Fishing "Kangaroo-style" -- 121 Fish, 10 Nov. 2012, Belton Lake Hybrid Fishing

This morning I fished with returning guest Coleman R. and his fishing buddies, Craig and Will, all proud "Kangaroos" from Killeen High School in Killeen, TX.

The fishing was truly in overdrive this morning as pre-frontal warming and winds turned the bite on big-time. This was one of many times all 3 boys landed fish at the same time. From L to R: Will, Craig, and Coleman.

Many times this morning sonar showed the water column completely filled with fish as we worked our shad-imitating baits amongst the white bass and hybrid stripers foraging on shad. This screenshot off of my sonar unit shows literally hundred of fish on a heavy feed.

Coleman took Big Fish honors today with this hybrid striper weighing in at 4.00 pounds and measuring 20.00 inches.

The fishing was just phenomenal today! We've got a cold front on the way and the fish were cranked up to feed in advance of its arrival.

We got on the water about 15-20 minutes before sunrise, but, for the 3rd day in a row had no action until the sun rose and began to shine directly on the water. Due to a low cloud bank in the east, the sun actually shone a bit after it rose above the horizon, around 7:30. Literally the moment it directly appeared the first of the fish in our vicinity began to break the surface chasing bait and a few birds began to work over top of this bait.

From 7:30 until 10:15, we never went more than 3-4 minutes without boating a fish, and, often times had 2 or 3 fish being caught at the same time. We encountered all of our action today within an area bounded by Areas 1143/837/344/1144 (BA:70G).

The number of hybrid striped bass we caught today was remarkable. Of the 121 fish we boated, all were white bass and hybrid stripers (no crappie, no blue cat, no largemouth as is typical). More than 60% of our catch was made up of hybrid stripers, and not a single one of them was less than 16", nor more than 20".

The fishing was very straightforward. We observed for fish striking the surface and or bird activity, went to it, searched in that immediate vicinity for fish schooled in that vicinity, set the trolling motor to hover us in that spot, and fished until the fish moved on using slabs (both TNT180's and KastMasters) to replicate the bait size which was around 2 1/8 inches based on what we observed the fish we caught regurgitating.

I normally toss a line in when things get slow in order to locate fish near the boat and to gauge what the fish are doing or preferring. I rarely touched a rod today as I was busy unhooking fish, keeping the boat maintained in the wind, and untangling the occasional knot or fouled line.

By 10:15 the bite was winding down and so we gave downrigging a try. We boated 2 sets of doubles (all white bass) on Pet Spoons fished on tandem rigs and then, with the winds increasing to over 20mph, decided to head for safety's sake.

Congratulations to Will! He caught the first fish of his life today and earned a Texas Parks and Wildlife "First Fish" certificate for it.

TALLY = 121 Fish, all caught and released

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TODAY'S CONDITIONS:

Start Time: 6:30a
End Time: 10:45a
Air Temp: 68F at trip's start.
Water Surface Temp: 68F
Wind: SE at 9-11, ramping up suddenly to SSE20 with higher gusts by trip's end.
Skies: Skies were 25% clouded on an otherwise fair sky.

Belton Lake Fishing Report

Belton Lake has been fishing slow over the past week with both small numbers being caught and low numbers being reported by other area anglers. The lake is, as of today 5.36 feet low with the water temperature ranging from 68 to 70 degrees. The water clarity for most of the lake has been cloudy.  Fish can be found schooling all over the lake but they are only up for a short time before they move. Patterns that have been working are; fish early at the backs of coves and working the bank out. A White Spinnerbaits or a Small natural colored Crankbaits are the baits of choice early.  Later in the day fish are being taken using a C-Rigs or 1/2oz. jigs on main lake points or along the dam.  Also fishing a Shackyhead along the points to the entrance of the coves has been a good producer. As always be sure to check out these other great sites www.surestrikeguideservice.com, www.fishhound.com, www.texasfishingforum.com and www.anglerweb.comfor all your up-to-date fishing reports. As always be sure to follow us on Facebook. 

ON MY HONOR, I WILL DO MY BEST ... TO CATCH BIGGER FISH THAN DAD!!

This morning, Nov. 3rd, I was joined by father and son team Brian and Trevor M. of Cedar Park.

Brian and Trevor with our best fish of the trip, a 19.25 inch hybrid that fell for a Pet Spoon fished down in 40+ feet of water.

The last time these fellows came out with me was back in June of 2011 on Stillhouse. Today, we gave Belton Lake a try as it typically fishes a bit more consistently during this portion of the autumn.

Our conditions were less than ideal today with a persistent morning fog that didn't burn off until around 9:30, thus keeping the conditions murky and "low light". I find, especially on Belton, that the sudden brightening of the skies just prior to sunrise is a real feeding trigger for white bass and hybrid, and on low light days the bite tends to ramp up very slowly with topwater action virtually unheard of on such days.

Regardless, we took the conditions in stride and methodically worked through them to put together a respectable catch by morning's end.

We began our day downrigging over a "circuit" for suspended fish showing clearly on sonar 19-24 feet down between Areas 473 and 1079. We ran two sets of Pet Spoons on tandem rigs behind the down riggers and put 11 fish in the boat before this early bite died.

We then went hunting with sonar, this time finding abundant bait unusually deep -- between 45 and 50 feet. Where shoals of bait were found, gamefish were also present, but still not "jazzed" and hitting all that well as long as the fog remained and the calm winds prevailed. We did best at Area 682, both combing it over with downriggers to confirm the presence of active fish, then working these active fish over with TNT180 slabs. We added 12 fish to our tally at this location, including 3 hybrid stripers, the best of which went 19.25 inches and weighed in at 3 3/16 pounds. It was interesting to note that all 3 of these hybrids hit immediately after the fog lifted and the direct sun began to shine on the water for the first time this day.

After we caught all that Area 682 would give up, we continued hunting with sonar and found one last concentration of fish at Area 294/1012. Given the way these fish presented on sonar (up off bottom by 18+ inches versus belly-to-the-bottom as we had encountered elsewhere), we skipped the downrigging and went right to slabbing for these fish. We used a "smoking" tactic to put a final 10 fish in the boat including 8 white bass, 1 largemouth and 1 hybrid striped bass. By the time these fish slacked off around 11:05, the fishing was over for the morning.

We finished up our trip with exactly 33 fish boated.

Once we arrived back at the dock, we worked on some Boy Scout fishing merit badge tasks for Trevor, including some knot tying and presentation of certain artificial and natural baits.

TALLY = 33 FISH, (4 hybrid stripers, 1 largemouth, 28 white bass)

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TODAY'S CONDITIONS:

Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 11:20a
Air Temp: 68F at trip's start.
Water Surface Temp: 70.5F
Wind: SSE at 2-5
Skies: Skies were fogged over until 9:30, then cleared to partly cloudy, 30%.

Belton Lake Fishing Report

The resent cold front has lowered the water temperature a few degrees (68 to 69 degrees) but has not seemed to have affected the fishing much from what it has been lately. The current lake level is at 5.04 feet low and most of the lake is cloudy and it clears slightly the closer you get to the dam. A light finesse type of “C”-Rig tipped with a Baby Brush Hog fished across the sand flats and secondary points has been a good choice and a 1/2oz. jig fished close to the rock bluffs or on main lake points has also produced good numbers of fish. Other good areas to try have been the backs of the creek channels with standing timber and in the rivers fishing around brush piles and lay-downs along the bank. A lot of small fish being caught and some are even being caught on small Crankbaits and Spinnerbaits.  However the key to catching the bigger fish is to slow down and continue to fish the same areas, where you have caught smaller fish. The smaller fish are hitting the bait right-away and larger ones seem to be holding off somewhat before hitting any bait.  As always, for the latest up to date fishing reports be sure to check out these other great sites, www.surestrikeguideservice.com, www.anglerweb.com, and www.texasfishingforum.comand don’t forget to follow us on Facebook.    

Topwater Scouting at Belton -- 29 Fish -- 18 Oct. 2012 -- Belton Fishing Guide Report

I've been off Belton Lake since my return from the Outer Banks, NC, so, with some time on my hands towards sunset, I headed out to see what topwater action I could find.

The fish began feeding on top right at sunset and, despite a near flat surface, were still hard to see.

The fish were hard to see because the bait they were feeding on was small and so it didn't require a fast, powerful pursuit to overtake that bait. It was more like the gamefish were "sipping" from below.

The conditions were just right -- the lightest of S. breezes returning just after sunset after a light WNW breeze all day following our last mild cold front.

Topwater this time of year tends to happen right at sunset, so, for the first hour or so on the water I checked a few deepwater areas with the slab. I pulled 2 white bass and 1 hybrid from Area , and 6 more white bass from Area 084/147.

Around 6:40, the fish at Area 084/147 moved shallower which was my cue the topwater, if it was going to happen, was going to happen soon.

I moved to Area 1070/811/010 and found pods of fish (both white bass and hybrid stripers) feeding subtly on small bait. My first 5 fish caught were 16-19" hybrid caught on the Cork Rig, so, I experimented with a larger bait hoping to key on larger fish since they were obviously present. This didn't work well, as the Spook Jr. I selected was a bit too large to imitate the shad these fish were locked on to, and the Spook got essentially ignored. So, back to the Cork Rig and, when all was said and done, I'd put 21 fish in the boat in the last 35 minutes of light, for a grand total of 29 fish on this short evening venture.

TALLY = 29 fish, all caught and released

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TODAY'S CONDITIONS:

Start Time: 5:30p End Time: 7:15p
Air Temp: 76F at trip's start.
Water Surface Temp: 75.5F
Wind: WNW @ <6.
Skies: Skies were fair.

Belton Lake Fishing Report

Currently the lake level is at 4.83 feet low and the water temperature is between 73 and 75 degrees. The bait fish have started to move in small schools into the back of coves. Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass are both being caught on the points entering the coves. A good choice of bait has been Topwater or Spinnerbait early as the fish are moving to the backs of the coves to feed. Use Small Crankbaits (a 1.0 or1.5) and Small Jigs on the points as afternoon approaches. Another good choice at this time of the day is to fish a C-Rig on the sand flats. Some nice fish have been taken this way. Be ready to move as the fish are not staying in one place to long. For other updated fishing reports be sure to check out these other great sites, www.surestrikeguideservice.com,  www.anglerweb.com, and www.texasfishingforum.com. As always be sure to follow us on Facebook.