lake belton Fishing Report 2024

~~Aug 16
 We had another good day today.  Well, afternoon I should say.  Yesterday, we got here at 2:30 in the PM and the fish were biting right away.  I thought for sure if we were here earlier, it would be stellar.  Nope.  2:30 was just right.  We hung out here all day not seeing any yellers, then right at 2;30, they showed up and it was good fishing for the next few hours.  We set up a little differently today and it paid off.  The grade of fish improved.  It was 70% premiums.  That's right.  18-30+ pounders.  2nd fish hold down.  We're cooling down the center well now. 

 Due to the fantastic fishing we've experienced this trip thus far, we are in need of some bait.  We're headed out to what I think is our best chance at making some.  No ones been there as far as I know for quite some time.  It's been windy.  It looks like we have a good weather window so it shouldn't look like the Flemesh Cap.  We're also hoping to run into some bluefin tuna while out there.  We're not just going out there for bait.  We're looking for something to use it on.  Let's keep the ball rolling.
       

~~Oct. 23
 Remember yesterday when I said we would find our dorado kelp?  Well we conquered that quest.  I tell no lies.  An hour or so after breakfast, maybe 2, we found a kelp loaded and we went to battle and overall I think we won.  I mean we caught exactly what we wanted.  Beautiful mahi mahi.  After that we went back to travel mode and we'll be arriving to our slip in San Diego tomorrow at 0800 hours.  We ate some of that mahi for dinner tonight while we watched a slide show of all the pictures taken this trip presented to us by Tommy.  Everyone misses there wives and they all told me, "Drew, I couldn't spend another minute without my wife".  That's why this trip was 15 days.  It's the maximum amount of time we can spend without our wives.

 So we tie up tomorrow and that's the way we'll stay until November 9th, when we'll be departing on a 10 day trip.  So until then, I'd just like to say how much I'll miss writing to you all.  Stay classy and thanks for stopping by, but mostly, stay classy.
         

Friday, May 11, 2012

Hi friends. Our week consisted of us mainly preparing for the final major painting projects to be completed. We completed the necessary steps for the bait tank and bus stop to receive a new paint job. Tomorrow, Jamie and myself will be down at the boat to scuff up the first coat of gloss, wipe down, and hang out as the painters finish up the final coat. We'll have Sunday off and then on Monday, it'll be time to hustle up and get the boat back in the water. A few other chores on the list before we say farewell to Knight & Carver Yacht Center include sanding the rails to be refinished at another time, put the liferafts back on the boat, install all the new zincs and pray the we're back in the water Tuesday or Wednesday. Drew, Tommie, Mark, Jamie and myself are really looking forward to getting the boat back in the water and once back at the docks, our dirtiest chores are pretty much over and all the remains are little "knick knack" cosmetic things, putting the new freezer box on the upper deck, painting the deck, refinishing the rails and a few mechanical repairs. We're starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and it's a beautiful sight.

In other news, Jed went under the knife on Thursday to have his tendon repaired in his thumb and all went well and from what he said, it will be six to eight weeks of recovery time followed by some physical therapy. Jed's doing just fine and here's to a speedy recovery to have him back on the boat sometime in August.

With that, our weekend is looking good for some relaxation, Clippers/Lakers game sevens, Kings/Coyotes hockey and the Gator By the Bay festival at Spanish Landing in San Diego Bay. We hope you all enjoy your weekend as well. Take care everyone!

Oct. 6

My sea anchor trick didn't work today. I had dreams of drifting beautifully on the sea anchor catching wide open yellowfin, bluefin and dorado but those were just dreams this time. We caught a handful of yellowfin and then had to pull it. The rest of the day was very slow for most the fleet. There were a few fresh kelps found today, and I mean a few but all the rest of the fish caught today were on kelps being fished all week long. Boats were waiting in line to fish them and I just can't do that. Not that there is anything wrong with it. These local guys are very very good at what they do and some of that involves keeping track of kelps for weeks at a time and that takes a great talent. We didn't have a whole lot of fish on board at 4 O'Clock but then we found the kelp of the day for us. It started off straight trout size yellows, then the skip jack started mixing in, then the yellows backed off and it went straight skipjack, then the tuna started to mix in, then the tuna overtook the skipies and it was straight tuna for a while. Not wide open but a steady pick of 3 to 4 going for a while. The day maker. And that was our day.

Tune in tomorrow for another exciting day aboard the Polaris Supreme.

Sept. 21

Well we never saw a bluefin today. Or a dorado for that matter. We were ready for them too. I had my lucky bluefin cap on, Gunny had his bluefin pants on and Mark is fat. Nope. Never saw a one. We did once again see some yellowfin tuna of all sizes. One kelp we looked at had an incredable school on it. We just sat there and watched the tuna boil around in fury. It was really cool. We just watched because for one, we already had our limits and for two they were the smaller grade. We called it a little earlier then we planned on due to the weather. Oh man. It was really nice weather in the morning. Then suddenly after lunch time it got really windy out and we started to really roll around alot. I'm currently standing with my legs as far spread apart as I can get them just to be able to type this report and I am misspelling every other werd.

We are headed to the barn now and we get 2 nights in to spend with our wives, fiances, girlfriends, friends, pets and family depending on which crew member we're talking about. We come back out Tuesday night on a 1.5 day trip. This was definately a memorable trip and I mean that in a good way even when it was bad it was good. Cool group and myself and the crew are glad we got to spend this 8 day with them. Thank you.

Had to cover some water, but mid morning the ocean came alive with feeding Bluefin everywhere. We caught 5 and a nice yellowtail. 

Sunday, September 30th, 2012 -- Departure report.

Hi friends. We departed at 1800 hours on yet another 1.5 -day trip. After last trips bait, I was deathly concerned about what type of load we were going to get and to all of our surprise, we received a healthy and plentiful load of bait. We'll see how it fares throughout the night into tomorrow but for now, I'm pleased with those little critters. Hopefully, we put them to good use tomorrow.

For tomorrow, we'll be hitting the local grounds to try our hand a little closer to home. I'm excited about the prospects of finding something decent but I'm more excited about our weather outlook. Our program is showing five knots or less for the morning and afternoon so we're hoping the weatherman calls it right and Mama Nature gives us a break from yesterdays beating.

Anyhow, we're munchin' on some prime rib and getting our tackle put together. We'll be looking for a school in the dark to shut down on and we'll take things from there. Wish us luck and we'll chat with you tomorrow.

2 days of searching was rewarded with a bottom of the 9th rally on good grade yellowtail. Flylined sardines on 25 lb is the most productive right now.