During the afternoon of Friday, the 11th of December, I fished with MJ Linder and his adult son, Elliot, targeting white bass and hybrid stripers on Belton Lake.

Elliot landed our largest fish of the trip, a 6.50 pound flathead catfish (a.k.a. yellow catfish) which fell for a slab worked near bottom.

From left: MJ and Elliot pose with the largest four white bass we caught today.  Most of our catch consisted of a nearly 50/50 mix of average white bass and short hybrid, with most of the hybrid running right at 13 inches and having the more slender, striper-like body shape.

MJ runs his own business, Mobility Therapies, which is focused on offering outpatient physical therapy to people in their own homes.  MJ’s son, Elliot, age 20, is headed for his first enlistment in the U.S. Navy beginning in February of 2016 where, based on his very high Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test scores, he now has the opportunity to enter into the Navy’s nuclear propulsion program.

After a 144 fish morning under birds and grey skies, this afternoon’s trip was a bit tougher.  The birds did not work all afternoon, and the skies were quite bright.  This all meant we’d be fishing for deeper, more reluctant fish, and that those fish would have to be searched out with sonar.

We found 3 solid concentrations of fish, with each giving up ~30 fish or so until the bite declined and we went looking elsewhere.  At each of these 3 locations we used a slow jigging stroke to tempt the fish with 3/4 oz. slabs.  The first area we fished (when fish were the most reluctant) saw fish sour on the 3/4 oz. bait after we’d landed about 20, but I still saw plenty of fish on the sonar, so, I downsized our baits to 3/8 oz. and that did the trick, turning the fish back on until the school dispersed.

The second area we fished was much like the first — on a gentle breakline, and the third area we fished, after initially being drawn by birds only to have the birds give up before we got to them, was more flat.  Once the fish here failed to respond any longer to a vertical tactic, we continued to catch fish by casting our slabs and working them horizontally along bottom.

With over 100 fish in the boat by 4:00pm, I asked if MJ and Elliot would like to roll the dice and look at a different area of the lake for bird action possibly leading to taking some better hybrid.  The gamble was okay with them, so, we set out looking, but, unfortunately, did not find any useful bird action this evening.  We still managed to find fish with sonar and fish so as to both catch fish and keep our eyes out for birds, but what we found was really no different size-wise or species-wise than we had found in the areas we’d left behind.

As sunset came and the bite died, we closed out our trip with exactly 129 fish boated.

FISHING OUTLOOK: 

Sunday sees a mild, fast moving cold front come through so I expect fishing will be off that day. (No fishing)

Monday sees a return to SW winds and should offer improving fishing.  (Booked)

Tuesday sees continued, stronger SW winds and continued warming, and  should offer good fishing.  (I have an AM opening this day 7:15 to 10:15; call if interested)

Wednesday will see another cold front come in so fishing will be off that day. (No fishing)

TALLY = 129 FISH, all caught and released

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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 1:15p

End Time:  5:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F

Water Surface Temp:  62F

Wind Speed & Direction: S14-15, tapering to S12-13 in the last hour before sunset.

Sky Conditions:  Fair skies with 40% white clouds following the clearing of fog and grey skies in the morning.

Water Level: 6.54 feet above full pool with 0.32 feet of water released in the past 24 hours

Other: GT= 20

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1623-565 – long easing strokes with slabs (reduced from 3/4 oz. to 3/8 oz. when bite got tough but fish were still abundant on sonar)

**Area 1658- long easing strokes with slabs

**Area (vic) 406- long easing strokes with slabs

**Area 1654- long easing strokes with slabs

Bob Maindelle

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Salado, TX

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

This morning, Friday, the 11th of December, I fished with Don Mikeska and his grandson, Kaden Lehrman, targeting white bass and hybrid stripers on Belton Lake.

We used sonar to find fish under foggy conditions while the birds were unable to see and work.  After the fog cleared, the birds went to work and led us to additional fish.

Kaden landed two at a time at the peak of the bite when fish could be seen from surface to bottom.  One fish is hooked on the treble and the other is hooked on the stinger hook.

Don is a retired painter from Temple, TX, and his grandson, Kaden, happened to be staying with him and his wife, Monica, while mom is away visiting her sister in London, England, for a few days.

Well, while mom’s away, the boys will play!  We met at the boat ramp at around 7:00 and had lines in the water by 7:15 under quite a thick blanket of fog.

The bird action that has been so helpful in the morning was non-existent under these foggy conditions as the gulls and terns simply couldn’t see well enough to spot fish and bait near the surface.  So, for the first hour, we relied strictly upon sonar to find fish, and did well, boating nearly 50 fish in the first hour on the water.

By 8:15 the fog began to thin and by 8:30 it was gone, leaving grey skies, a stiff breeze, and great fishing conditions, especially given the unseasonably warm 61-62F surface temperatures more commonly found in mid-November than mid-December.

As the fog lifted the birds began to work and kept working for about 70 minutes.  When the birds quit, we had another 20 minutes of fishing and then the fish shut down hard.  By this time Don and Kaden had worked to put 144 fish (literally, a “gross” of fish) in the boat.  Given the increasing wind and decreasing fish activity, they decided to call it a great day while they were ahead, and we wrapped it up a bit early.

Kaden when to a “fishing summer camp” for youth up in Massachusetts this past summer where he got to experience mackeral fishing, striped bass fishing, and lobstering.  It was neat to hear him recount the tales from that experience in between fish caught this morning.

Our catch consisted of mainly white bass and short hybrid stripers.  Kaden boated 3 legal hybrid, as well as a number of 2-3 pound freshwater drum, and a single largemouth bass just for good measure.

Once again the silver/white Redneck Fish’n’ Jigs Model 180 slab did the trick for us in the 3/4 oz. size.

FISHING OUTLOOK: 

Saturday morning is due to be excessively windy, but the afternoon should offer solid (albeit wet!) pre-frontal fishing. (Booked)

Sunday sees a mild, fast moving cold front come through so I expect fishing will be off that day. (No fishing)

Monday sees a return to southerly winds and should offer good fishing.  (Booked)

Tuesday sees continued southerly winds and should offer good fishing.  (I have an AM opening this day 7:15 to 10:15; call if interested)

Wednesday wil see another cold front come in so fishing will be off that day. (No fishing)

TALLY = 144 FISH, all caught and released

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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time:  10:15a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 50F

Water Surface Temp:  61-62F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE9 at dawn, increasing to S16 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions:  Thick fog, accompanied by 100% grey skies.  Fog lifted around 8:15, leaving better visibility but still-grey sky conditions

Water Level: 6.90 feet above full pool with 0.15 feet of water released in the past 24 hours

Other: GT= 30

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 024 – low light slabbing after finding schooled fish on sonar (no bird action)

**Area  024 through 794 with fish and birds constantly on the move over this great span in an hour’s time

Bob Maindelle

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Salado, TX

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

This morning, Thursday, the 10th of December, I fished with Dr. Ryan Sparkman targeting white bass and hybrid stripers on Belton Lake.

Dr. Ryan Sparkman took a break from his home waters of Lake Conroe to get in on the sweet run of productive fishing Belton has provided since the warm-up following our last cold front.  We boated 235 fish in 4.5 hours.

Ryan trained at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, TX, as an anesthesiologist, and then moved his family to Bryan/College Station when an opportunity with Scott & White presented itself there.  Ryan was just starting to figure things out on Belton when he made the move, and now considers Belton Lake a true gem compared with the fishing scenario presented at his new “home lake”, Lake Conroe, with its turbid waters, limited white bass population, and abundant recreational boaters.

I had a last minute cancellation for this morning’s trip and so Ryan’s ability to come on short notice was a real win-win, and at a time where the fishing has been very productive and predictable.

We had the “perfect storm” of conditions facing us today — good weather (grey skies on the tail end of a warming trend, with several days of stable pressure beforehand), good wind speed and direction (S12-14), a dark moon, unseasonably high water temperatures (61-62F) and a good angler on board, able to take full advantage of the potential Belton offered today.

We left the ramp at 7:15, found fish with sonar in 20 feet of water by 7:25, and caught fish, non-stop, using sonar at first, then by following birds thereafter, for a full 4 hours.  The action never wound down until around 11:15.  We stayed with it another 30 minutes to “mop up”.

Our first 100 fish came over the side by 8:19am.  Although the birds (gulls and terns) worked during two distinct “spurts”, the fish they led us to continued to bite well after the bird action subsided.

Once again, we observed the feeding gulls to make sure our lure size was close to the size of shad the fish were feeding on.  We selected white and silver 3/4oz. Redneck Fish’n’ Jigs Model 180’s with a stinger hook and worked them with slow jigging strokes near bottom.

The majority of our catch consisted of 14-15″ hybrid stripers with the white bass running close in numbers.  We landed only 2 legal hybrids, as well as 4 largemouth bass, and 3 freshwater drum.

As of this writing I still have an afternoon trip open tomorrow (Friday) and a morning slot open on Saturday.  The price is $220 for up to two anglers ($110 per person).  Call me at 254-368-7411 ASAP if you are interested.  The incoming cold front due to arrive late Saturday night will negatively impact this scenario.

TALLY = 235 FISH, all caught and released

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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time:  11:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 50F

Water Surface Temp:  61.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: S9 at dawn, increasing to S13 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions:  100% grey skies, but thin enough to make for bright conditions

Water Level: 6.90 feet above full pool with 0.15 feet of water released in the past 24 hours

Other: GT= 30

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 015/018 – low light slabbing after finding schooled fish on sonar (no bird action)

**Area  133 over to Area 1656 under birds for 90 minutes, with an additional 30 minutes of fishing after the birds lifted.

**Area  1657 final bird action of the morning took place here around 10:15 to 10:30, with an additional hour’s worth of action after the birds lifted.

Bob Maindelle

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Salado, TX

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

This morning, Tuesday, the 8th of December, I fished with retired U.S. Navy flight surgeon Ray Johnson.

Despite suffering a heart attack that involved the “widow-maker” vessel of the heart back in August, Ray bounced back and gave the fish a run for their money this morning.

Ray has battled multiple sclerosis for a number of years now, then, this past August, suffered a heart attack.  Four days and 2 stents later, he was back up and running and all the time looking forward to his next fishing trip.

I looked for “just right” conditions to take Ray out and, seeing today fit that description in the forecast two days ago, gave him a ring.  He gave me a big thumbs-up, and so we met up at 7a this morning and went fishing.

Things started slowly as the skies were bright and clear and the winds at sunrise were light.  As the winds increased, the fishing picked up right along with them.

Our first fish came near Area 124 via downrigged 3-arm umbrella rigs.  We picked up occasional suspended and bottom-oriented white bass and hybrid just one at a time.  When it was clear this area wasn’t going to “turn on” any time soon, we moved.

Our next stop came in 25-27′ along a short breakline.  I spotted a small school of fish tightly clustered together and in a feeding posture, so, we buoyed them and then used the Spot Lock to stay over top.  We used a slow jigging stroke with silver/white 3/4 oz. slabs to boat white bass, short hybrids, largemouth, smallmouth, and freshwater drum — 26 in all in about 3 “short hops” all in this same general location (Areas 1642-1645)

As we enjoyed this slow but steady action, I continued to scan for bird activity.  At exactly 9:30a, I spotted about 20 gulls and terns all working over an 80 yard stretch of water (Area 1655).  We got to them quickly and used a variety of jigging tactics to put another 34 fish in the boat in about 40 minutes’ time.  The birds worked the first ~30 minutes of that time, then we continued to catch fish here for a few minutes after the birds quit.

The action in this segment of the lake died hard once the birds lifted, so, we searched elsewhere, finding heavily schooled fish on bottom in ~27 feet in the vicinity of Area 1623.  With 60 fish in the boat, and given what I was seeing on sonar, I felt Ray and I had a real good shot at boating 100+ fish.  We got down to business and fished hard for an hour straight and put another 42 fish in the boat from out of this area, thus finishing up our day with exactly 102 fish.

Although the numbers were strong this morning, we didn’t catch any outsized white bass or hybrids this morning.

TALLY = 102 FISH, all caught and released

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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time:  11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 41F

Water Surface Temp:  62.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: S5 at dawn, increasing to SSW12 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions:  Fair and cloudless

Water Level: 7.29 feet above full pool with 0.36 feet of water released in the past 24 hours

Other: GT= 0

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 124 – low light downrigging for spotty success

**Area  1642-1645 – slow tactic vertical jigging for bottom-oriented fish

**Area  1655 for 30 minutes of bird action

**Area 1623 for slow tactic vertical jigging for heavily clustered fish on bottom

Bob Maindelle

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Salado, TX

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

This morning, Saturday, 05 December, I fished  Belton Lake in pursuit of hybrid striped bass and white bass with Andrew and Megan Zills of Killeen, Texas.

Bird action began around 7:40, leading us to fish.  Although the birds only stayed active for about 45 minutes, that was long enough for us to pattern what the fish were doing.  We caught fish continuously right up until 11am.

The two met in Alabama where Andrew is from, and where Megan was going to college.  Megan actually has dual Canadian and US citizenship. She was born in Vancouver and moved with her family to Tupelo, Mississippi, at age 11 when her dad took a job with American Family Radio.

Andrew is a corporal in the US Army assigned to an engineer unit where he does horizontal construction (i.e roads).  Megan is a nanny for several local families. The couple’s trip was a gift from Mr. Dean Renkes of the Dallas area. Megan looks after Dean’s grandchildren, and Dean thought so highly of the couple that he wanted to send them on a fishing trip. Today was the day.

The weather forecast had me concerned because we were due to have very light southeast winds and very little cloud cover. I was pleasantly surprised to find the wind blowing 6 to 8 from the SSE before sunrise and very slowly increasing up to SSE12 mph by late morning. This favorable direction and wind speed really turned the fish on this morning. We began our day downrigging for fish that were not yet really turned on. By around 7:40, however, birds spotted fish working bait and we followed those birds to what would be a full morning of catching.  From 7:40 until 11 AM, we caught fish steadily. Our catch included white bass of all sizes, keeper and short hybrid striped bass, freshwater drum, and largemouth bass.

I observed closely beneath the bird activity to try to catch a glimpse of the size of forage the fish and birds were feeding on. This led me to select baits that were of the same size and color as those I observed being fed upon. A three-quarter ounce slab in silver and white equipped with a stinger hook did the job well this morning. Despite the water temperature still being above 60°, the fish were not all that active. A slow intentional jigging stroke did the trick for us, and I observed that we clearly outfished nearby boats by a substantial margin using this slow jigging tactic.

To say that Andrew and Megan are competitive would be an extreme understatement.  Throughout this morning’s trip the responsible party notified the other party when the first fish, largest fish, and most fish were caught.   All such claims were immediately challenged and debate often ensued.

By the time the fish activity tapered off, we had boated exactly 143 fish including several keeper hybrid which were all right at the 18 to 19 inch mark.

TALLY = 143 FISH, all caught and released

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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00am

End Time:  11:00am

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 38F

Water Surface Temp:  61.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE6-8 increasing to and leveling off at SSE12

Sky Conditions:  Fair and cloudless

Other: GT= 45

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 024 downrigging for bottom-hugging white bass and hybrid with White Willow Spoons and silver & white Pet Spoons

**Area 1642, 1643,1644, 1645, 1646, 1647, and 1648 initially found fish under birds, then “spot-hopped” in the same general vicinity along the same contour.

Bob Maindelle

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Salado, TX

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com