FOUR CONSECUTIVE 100 FISH DAYS — 106 Fish, 21 Oct. ’17

WHO I FISHED WITH:   I fished with Marty Wall of Killeen and a friend of his, Joel Schaubert.  The two met at a Christian men’s event some years ago and have stayed in touch ever since.  Marty is self-employed, working from his home as a draftsman doing commercial and residential building plans.  He and his sons, Kyle and Evan, have fished with me on a number of occasions in the past.

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From left: Marty Wall and Joel Schaubert put exactly 106 fish in the boat today.  That made the 4th consecutive 100 fish trip this week (117 on Monday, 148 on Wednesday, 190 on Friday).

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday morning, 21 October 2017

HOW WE FISHED:   For the fourth consecutive trip we both surpassed the 100 fish mark, and did so with 100% vertical jigging for heavily congregated white bass.  Our first contact with fish came about 25 minutes into the trip when, up against a windblown shoreline that had been impacted by the south wind for 4 days, we found the most active fish we would encounter all morning.  These fish were in 30 feet of water, but had risen to within 12 feet of the surface and were chasing shad in the lower 2/3 of the water column.  The remainder of the fish we caught came from deep, well-defined schools glued to the bottom in 36-42 feet of water.  We used both 3/8 and 3/4 oz. slabs with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks attached to get the job done.  By 11:30 the bite had ended.  Although the numbers are strong, there are a lot of small fish in the mix this fall, including some of this year’s crop spawned back in the spring which have grown out quickly thanks to the incredibly abundant forage (threadfin shad).

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: This was the fourth day of what would be a 4-day warming trend.  

TALLY: 106 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:25a

End Time: 11:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  65F

Water Surface Temp:   74.9

Wind Speed & Direction:   S2 at trip’s start, tapering up to S11 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions:  80-100% grey cloud cover all day

Water Level: 1.76 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

21OCT17

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 2031 – low light bite catching whites/short hybrid/largemouth on 3/8 and 3/4 oz. slabs in lower 2/3rd of water column via smoking

**Area 2032 – catching whites/short hybrid/largemouth on 3/8 and 3/4 oz. slabs in lower 1/3rd of water column via smoking

**Area 2030 – catching whites/short hybrid/largemouth on 3/8 and 3/4 oz. slabs in lower 1/3rd of water column via smoking

**Area 2027-2029 – multiple “short hops” in this area catching whites/short hybrid/largemouth on 3/8 and 3/4 oz. slabs in lower 1/3rd of water column via smoking

 

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

190 FISH FRIDAY ON BELTON — AWESOME FISHING CONTINUES!!

WHO I FISHED WITH:  Earnest Henderson of Georgetown and his son-in-law, Evan Blazor, from the Bryan-College Station area.  Earnie cashed in a Christmas 2016 gift certificate from his sister, Kathleen Ramey, of Salado on this trip.

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From left: Evan Blazor and his father-in-law, Earnie Henderson, stuck with it for a full day on Lake Belton and were rewarded with a 190 fish day.  The lion’s share of the fish were white bass.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday morning, 20 October 2017

HOW WE FISHED:   This was a full day trip, so, we fished from 7:25a through 12:30p and landed 111 fish during that time on one segment of Lake Belton.  We then took a lunch break and returned to the water for the afternoon segment, fishing from 2:45p through dark at 7:00pm during which time we landed 79 fish, for a total of 190 fish.  The vast majority of our fish came on 3/4 oz. slabs equipped with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks fished using a “smoking tactic”.  We also took a few fish up shallow at first light using bladebait, as well a 7 fish off a deep flat using downriggers during the slow first part of the afternoon trip.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: This was the third day of what will be a 4-day warming trend.  Fishing was spotty in the morning thanks to light winds through 11am. Once the wind began to blow steadily, the bite came on strong through 12:30 when the fish went into the ‘midday lull’.

TALLY: 190 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

AM Start Time: 7:25a

AM End Time: 12:30p

PM Start Time: 2:45p

PM End Time: 7:00p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  65F

AM Water Surface Temp:   74.9

PM Water Surface Temp: 75.9

AM Wind Speed & Direction:   S2 at trip’s start, tapering up to S11 by trip’s end

PM Wind Speed & Direction:   SSE12 entire PM trip

Sky Conditions:  80-100% grey cloud cover all day

Water Level: 1.74 feet low

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

20OCT17

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS (AM):

**Area vic 1681 and vic 1573 – shallow horizontal bladebait action

**Area 1916/2029 – slabs fished with a smoking tactic

**Area 998/2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 – slabs fished with a smoking tactic

**Area 1677 – slabs fished with a smoking tactic

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS (PM):

**Area vic 151 – slabs fished with a smoking tactic

**Area vic 834/1790 – downrigging with balls set at 33-25′

**Area  150/1012 – slabs fished with a smoking tactic

**Area 355 – slabs fished with a smoking tactic

 

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Belton White Bass Bustin’ at the Seams — 148 Fish, 18 Oct. ’17

WHO I FISHED WITH:  Lee Pointer, Melanie Ringstaff, and Larry Carter — all friends from the local area.  Lee works for VISA, Melanie is a KISD teacher, and Larry owns several daycare centers in the Killeen area.  This all came together when Melanie went searching for a birthday gift idea for Lee and wound up getting him a gift certificate to go fishing on the recommendation of a friend.

 

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From left: Larry Carter, Lee Pointer, and Melanie Ringstaff enjoyed a 148 fish morning on Lake Belton this past Wednesday.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday morning, 18 October 2017

HOW WE FISHED:   100% of our fish were caught on 3/4 oz. slabs with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks affixed to the line tie, fished “smoking” style.  Lee occasionally experimented with a clear chartreuse curltail grub fished on his own ultralight equipment.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  I occasionally encounter clients who desire to “guide the guide”, meaning they pay good money to have me put them on fish, only to try to dictate how/when/where we go about doing so.  Such trips usually go poorly.  I am, therefore, appreciative of groups like this one which, although they had their hopes up for catching hybrid, were willing to trust me that the hybrid fishing is simply “off” right now, but that the white bass have been extraordinarily cooperative.  As a result, we focused on what was working, everyone had a good time, we caught fish from start to finish, and had a fun, engaging time doing it.  Insisting that a certain fish be caught a certain way when the fishery gives signals to the contrary is the shortcut to a tough day on the water.

TALLY: 148 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  55F

Water Surface Temp:   75.2

Wind Speed & Direction:   S2 at trip’s start, tapering up to S9 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions:  Clear, bright skies

Water Level: 1.70 feet low

GT = 80

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

18OCT17

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  1934/1912 – smoking slabs for whites

**Area 1916/1898 – smoking slabs for whites

**Area vic 1820 – smoking slabs for whites

**Area  vic 1941 – smoking slabs for whites

**Area 1677 to 095 – smoking slabs for whites

**Area 2026 to 148 – smoking slabs for whites (most productive stop with 53 fish as S. wind reached peak velocity while we were here)

 

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Stage Set for Fantastic Fall Fishing on Belton — 117 Fish, 16 Oct.

WHO I FISHED WITH:  Cliff and Jennes (rhymes with ‘tennis’) Wohleb of Belton.  Cliff is retired from Wilsonart International, the decorative laminate manufacturer in Temple, TX, and Jennes works for Terri Covington at Covington Real Estate in Belton.

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The white bass were really putting the feed bag on today thanks to rapidly increasing pressure brought on by Sunday’s cold front.  The fish got so aggressive that Cliff landed 2 fish on the same lure — one on the treble hook and one on the extra Hazy Eye Stinger hook I make and add onto all of my slabs.

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Cliff Wohleb helps his wife, Jennes, hoist a 10.00 pound smallmouth buffalo that fell for her slab amongst a school of much smaller white bass.  Jennes has some rotator cuff difficulties which made this fish especially tough for her to land.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: Although we’d hoped to target hybrid striped bass, that fishery is just not at any manner of a peak right now, so, we took advantage of the abundance of white bass made active by the passage of Sunday’s cold front which had still-stiff winds coming from the north on this Monday morning.  Because it became clear that we’d be better off chasing whites instead of hybrid, I added an extra hour to the trip.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday morning, 16 October 2017

HOW WE FISHED:   100% of our fish were caught on 3/4 oz. slabs with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks affixed to the line tie, fished “smoking” style.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: I combed over 6 different fish-holding areas which are typically productive this time of year, finding fish at 5 of them, but nothing in the way of mature hybrid stripers; in speaking with one of the older gentlemen in my “network” who specifically targets hybrid stripers on artificials, he reported a very tough go of it both on the main lake and in the tributaries.  One of his friends who prefers to fish with live shad spent the majority of Monday on the water and caught only 2 legal hybrid in a full day’s effort.  Then, today (18 Oct.) I got word from a fellow guide (who was on the lake today) that he, too, found very little in the way of keeper hybrid in the first 5-6 hours of post-sunrise effort he put in using live shad.  White bass, on the other hand, are incredibly plentiful and are definitely in post-summer “bottom-hugging” mode.

At every place we fished, I hung 3 fresh-caught ~4″ shad off the portside of the boat as we jigged off the starboard.  We did not catch a single fish on the live shad (not even a white bass or bluecat).

TALLY: 117 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 12:15p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  51F

Water Surface Temp:   74.5

Wind Speed & Direction:   N10-12

Sky Conditions:  Clear, bright skies

Water Level: 1.60 feet low

GT = 20

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

16OCT17

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 2025 – low light bite in ~27′; smoking slabs

**Areas 1882 – smoking slabs

**Area vic 998 – smoking slabs

**Area 1913 – smoking slabs

 

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

A Little Competition Goes a Long Way — 54 fish for the Vaughter kids

WHO I FISHED WITH:  The Vaughter kids — Kiara (age 16), Dasani (age 15), and Anthony (age 7).  The kids’ mom, US Army First Sergeant Yolanda Vaughters is currently serving on active duty at Ft. Lee, VA.  This was a SKIFF trip provided to this family at no charge thanks to the Austin Fly Fishers.  This was the 24th SKIFF trip of the 2017 season.

IMG_4173

 

From left: Kiara (age 16), Dasani (age 15), and Anthony (age 7) with a trio of white bass we picked up on downriggers within 15 minutes of the start of our trip.

 

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species SKIFF program trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday evening, 14 October

HOW WE FISHED:   Downrigging for the first half of the trip, and working tailspinners vertically in the second half, with another shot of downrigging for “high-riders” just after sunset. The kids really buckled down and made every minute count, especially in our last hour, in an effort to better the 52 fish count my crew of 3 kids caught during the morning trip this same day.  As it turned out, they surpassed their goal by 2, ending the evening with 54 fish landed.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  “Homefront” spouses with a husband or wife away from home on military duty (not just deployments) are welcomed to call me at 254.368.7411 to arrange for free 4-hour outing for your children.  Homefront parents are always welcome to attend, but are equally welcome to take some downtime from their own children and leave them in my care for this time on the water.  This is all made possible through the sponsorship and work of the Austin Fly Fishers and the supportive allies they have developed along the way.

TALLY: 54 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:00p

End Time: 7:25p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  72F

Water Surface Temp:  76.9F

Wind Speed & Direction:  S3-7

Sky Conditions:  ~40% white cloud cover tapering off to 20% cover by the end of  the trip

Water Level: 1.36 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

14OCT17

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1950-341-074 — downrigging for fish suspended at mid-depth over a 40-44′ bottom in the first 1/2 of our afternoon trip.

**Areas 2023 & 2024 – sparse results on vertically worked tailspinners despite plenty of bottom-oriented fish

**Area 1150-784 – last light downrigging from 6:50 to dark at 7:25

 

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

23rd SKIFF Trip of the 2017 Season — Just for Soldiers’ Kids, 52 Fish

 

WHO I FISHED WITH:  The Calzado kids — Gregory (11), Gionni (10), and Ciana (7), whose father, US Army Staff Sergeant Gregory Calzado who was recently assigned to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.  This was a SKIFF trip provided to this family at no charge thanks to the Austin Fly Fishers.

 

 

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From left: Gregory, Cici, and Gionni Calzado with a sampling of the 52 fish they landed on a balmy mid-October Texas morning.

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Gionni Calzado with his largest fish of the trip — a 3 year class white bass taken on a Pet Spoon.

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Ciana (Cici) Calzado with her largest fish of the trip — a 3 year class white bass taken on the downriggers.

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Gregory Calzado with one of several largemouth bass we landed as a by-catch as we targeted white bass.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species SKIFF program trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday morning, 14 October

HOW WE FISHED:   Primarily via downrigging, with occasional pauses over top of bottom-oriented white bass to work tailspinners for them vertically.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  “Homefront” spouses with a husband or wife away from home on military duty (not just deployments) are welcomed to call me at 254.368.7411 to arrange for free 4-hour outing for your children.  Homefront parents are always welcome to attend, but are equally welcome to take some downtime from their own children and leave them in my care for this time on the water.  This is all made possible through the sponsorship and work of the Austin Fly Fishers and the supportive allies they have developed along the way.

TALLY: 52 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 11:15a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  72F

Water Surface Temp:  76.9F

Wind Speed & Direction:  S3-7

Sky Conditions:  ~60% grey cloud cover tapering off to 40% light grey cover by the end of  the trip

Water Level: 1.36 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

14OCT17

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1150 – 20 fish on tailspinners fished vertically

**Area vic 2021 – 22 fish on downriggers

 

 

 

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

 

 

Prefers to Remain Anonymous — 43 Fish, Stillhouse, 12 Oct. ’17

WHO I FISHED WITH: DK and his 5-year-old daughter, SK, preferred to be unnamed and have no photos shown on the internet due to privacy concerns.  Therefore, I’m only posting this on my blog for future reference on the locations at which I found fish under these conditions at this time of year.

 

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass and sunfish.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday morning, 12 October

HOW WE FISHED:  Fishing was tough this morning under bright, calm, high pressure conditions.  We were supposed to have a SE wind at ~10 replace the calm high pressure, but that did not materialize until later in the trip.  We picked up 19 mostly small white bass on downriggers in our first 90 minutes, then gave vertical work a try using tailspinner for about another hour, with scant results (6 more white bass).  We finished up using slipfloats for the last 45 minutes and added 18 fish to our tally to end on a engaging note for my young client.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 

TALLY: 43 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 10:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F

Water Surface Temp: 76.9

Wind Speed & Direction: Light and variable, under 3mph

Sky Conditions:  <10% white cloud cover the entire trip

Water Level: 1.33 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

12OCT17

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area  1987-1179 downrigging for 19 fish

**Area  2022 – vertical tail spinners for 6 white bass

**Area 203 for 18 sunfish

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

After School Special — 42 Fish for Josh and Abigail, SKIFF Trip #22

WHO I FISHED WITH: US Army Major Theresa Marie Long and her two children, Joshua (age 4) and Abigail (age 8).  Theresa is a field surgeon assigned to Darnall Army Medical Center on Ft. Hood.  Her husband, Lieutentant Colonel Jeff Long, is the commander of the 2/149 General Support Aviation Battalion currently serving in Southwest Asia.  This was the 22nd free SKIFF program trip of the 2017 season the Austin Fly Fishers have provided to our military community.

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Abigail Long with a “triple”!  She landed 3 fish at a time as we downrigged a slow tapering point just prior to sunset.  She was obviously a little unsure about holding these fish any closer for a photo!

IMG_4116

4-year-old Josh Long and his mom, Major Theresa Marie Long, with one of the better white bass they teamed up to catch on tailspinners early in our trip.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species SKIFF program trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday evening, 11 October

HOW WE FISHED:  Since this was an after work/after school trip, we had a shorter-than-normal time to get on the water, find fish, show the kids what to do, and put fish in the boat.  Fortunately, the first 2 hours of daylight and the last 2 hours of daylight tend to be the most productive of the day anyway, and today was no exception.  We drove about 200 yards from the boat ramp, graphed active white bass on a breakline in about 34 feet of water and put exactly 20 fish in the boat in just over an hour (with plenty of missed fish and fish that flipped off at boatside, to boot) using tailspinners fished vertically.  When this school simmered down, we moved another 300 yards and fished a point with a moderate taper using downriggers after sonar revealed fish pushing higher in the water column to take advantage of the greater amount of light there as sunset approached.  We put another 22 fish in the boat as we caught singles, doubles, and even a triple for Abigail, all using Pet Spoons on 3-armed umbrella rigs.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  “Homefront” spouses with a husband or wife away from home on military duty (not just deployments) are welcomed to call me at 254.368.7411 to arrange for free 4-hour outing for your children.  Homefront parents are always welcome to attend, but are equally welcome to take some downtime from their own children and leave them in my care for this time on the water.  This is all made possible through the sponsorship and work of the Austin Fly Fishers and the supportive allies they have developed along the way.

TALLY: 64 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 5:00p

End Time: 7:15p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F

Water Surface Temp: 78.4

Wind Speed & Direction: Light and variable, under 3mph

Sky Conditions:  <10% white cloud cover the entire trip

Water Level: 1.33 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

11OCT17

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1150 – 20 fish on tailspinners fished vertically

**Area vic 2021 – 22 fish on downriggers

 

 

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Cold Front Coming In – 64 Fish with Andy and Devon

WHO I FISHED WITH: Andy Maindelle from north Austin, and Devon, a 17-year-old young man that Andy and his wife, Amy, are providing foster care for.

IMG_4084

The ominous northwestern sky as we came off the water in advance of a cold front that swept into Texas on Monday evening. As it got dark, this cloud mass lit up with lightning on a continuous basis.

IMG_4081

From left: Andy Maindelle and his foster son, Devon, age 17.  Devon had had pretty limited exposure to the outdoors until recently and did really well fishing vertically for the white bass we boated tonight, primarily using tailspinners.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday evening, 09 October (Columbus Day)

HOW WE FISHED:  The first two hours were very slow with just a handful of fish picked up on downriggers.  Things started to coalesce around 4:45p when I found a widespread, suspended school of white bass working shad around mid-depth over a 40′ flat.  We put a dozen fish in the boat before they dissipated.  We moved on and did well in the final 2 hours of the evening finding well-grouped, bottom-hugging white bass in two distinct areas quite willing to strike tailspinners worked vertically, especially on the first several drops after arriving at a new location (as we “spot hopped” with the Jog function of the Ulterra once I found fish in a general location).

OBSERVATIONS:  As has been the case for most of the summer, white bass were sure to be found wherever largemouth were working bait on the surface in open water. 

TALLY: 64 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:00p

End Time: 7:15p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 83F

Water Surface Temp:

Wind Speed & Direction:  WSW11 at trip’s start, then tapering down to WSW6 by dusk

Sky Conditions:  <10% white cloud cover the entire trip

Water Level: 1.22 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

09OCT17

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 074-2384 -downrigging over a widespread, suspended school of white bass working shad around mid-depth over a 40′ flat.

**Area 520-630, then 139-697 – spot hopping as topwater largemouth pointed the way to white bass below; using tailspinners

**Area 2021 – a “last light” bite in ~33′ using tailspinners

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Columbus Day with the Colonels’ Kids — 44 Fish, SKIFF Trip #21

WHO I FISHED WITH: With our local school district having the day off for Columbus Day, I had military parents interested in getting their kids on the water while the weather is still pleasant.  This morning I conducted the 21st free “SKIFF” (Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun) program trip of the 2017 season.  Mrs. Alison Errington brought her 12-year-old daughter, Becky, as well as two neighbor boys, Lance and Wells Noon, ages 13 and 11.  Becky’s dad, Lieutenant Colonel Joe Errington is the battalion commander of the 316th Field Artillery in South Korea.  The boys’ dad, Colonel Scott Noon, is a logistics officer now deployed to Kuwait.

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The kids were all grins as we worked tailspinners with great early morning success over an aggressive school of white bass in 32 feet of water.  Thanks, Dave Hill, for the sharp SKIFF caps you had made up for the kids.

IMG_4071

I had to vote for Wells as my most enthusiastic angler of the trip.  He stuck with it right to the very end with a high level of enthusiasm throughout the trip.  That enthusiasm was rewarded with a “triple” — three fish on one rod at the same time.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday morning, 09 October (Columbus Day)

HOW WE FISHED: We downrigged as the action ramped up and ramped down at the beginning and end of the trip and worked tailspinners over heavily schooled, bottom-hugging fish from roughly 8:30 to 9:30.  The hour from 9:30 to 10:30 was tough and slow.

OBSERVATIONS:  N/A

TALLY: 44 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 11:15a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:

Water Surface Temp:

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSE10-13

Sky Conditions:  10% white cloud cover the entire trip

Water Level: 1.22 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

09OCT17

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1715 –  17 white bass in our first hour on downriggers with Pet Spoon on 3-armed umbrella rigs

**Area vic 1719 to vic 699 – took tally up to 38 in 30′ on tailspinners in an area tipped off by surface feeding largemouth

**Area 1179-411-558 – finished up with a half dozen small fish on downriggers from off bottom

 

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle