This morning I fished Stillhouse Hollow with Jerry Worley, owner of Worley Insurance Agency of Harker Heights.
Fast, accurate casts were required to hookup with today’s largemouth feeding topside. The bass on the left went 16″ and the fish on the right went 19.5″.
When the largemouth were done on top, the white bass kicked in down deep.
It was a very pleasant day to be on the water with air temps right at 70F or so as we launched. Our first hour we went to several areas looking for mainly topwater action and found little, and thus dispensed with the downrigging that I’d normally due with less experienced clients on board.
I’ve fished with Jerry numerous times before and knew he could take advantage of topwater action if we found it by using fast, accurate casts, so we sought that out instead of downrigging.
By 8a the topwater action began out over deep water and progressed toward the shallows. We found a mix of white bass and schoolie largemouth feeding on small 1.5″ long threadfin shad. We used Spook Jr.’s today simply for the heft, along with long rods and light line to span the distance on long casts. Well placed, well timed casts drew strikes and anything short of that did not. We enjoyed mixed bag angling for whites and largemouth for 2 solid hours boating 21 fish with our largest going 19″.
After it was clear that the topwater was over, we headed back out to deep water and, with few visual clues to go on (like birds, bait, or fish breaking the surface) we simply probed with sonar until we found fish to fish for. Once we found fish, a vertical presentation seemed to be preferred over horizontal today. We used both ‘blasters and blades and did better on the ‘blasters, working them in the lower third of the water column in anywhere from 26-35 feet, just above the thermocline.
We wound up boating 42 on today’s trip.
TALLY = 42 FISH, all caught and released
Get my fishing reports sent to your Facebook page
TODAY’S CONDITIONS:
Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 11:40a
Air Temp: 71F at trip’s start.
Water Surface Temp: 82.2F
Wind: Winds were S9-11.
Skies: Fair, cloudless skies.
Areas Fished:
** First hour was flat (as we chose to do other than downrigging
** 8-10a topwater at vic. 1234/205
** 10 to close vertical with blades and blasters at 1134/871
**
Bob Maindelle
Holding the Line Guide Service
254-368-7411
www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Salado, Texas