WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday morning I fished with a trio of boys from the Liberty Hill, TX, area. First was the birthday boy, Preston Nichols (age 8), and two of his buddies — Jasper Arnold (age 8), and Luke Lavender (age 7). The boys were chaperoned by Preston’s dad, Dan Nichols, who help me with crowd control and did not fish.
8 year old Jasper Arnold reeled in this 5 1/8 pound Stillhouse largemouth as we fish 30-40 foot water targeting white bass. My by-catch of hefty largemouth bass always increases sharply as I jig for white bass in the winter, especially when submerged timber is nearby.
Cold and wet, but still smiling — from left, Preston Nichols, Jasper Arnold, and Luke Lavender.
WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir
WHEN WE FISHED: Friday morning, 22 December, 2017
HOW WE FISHED: Due to an ill-timed, damp cold front, the fish were really in a negative mood this morning making them difficult to find and difficult to catch. Dan had hoped to get a trip in during this holiday season when the kids had off from school, but, the forecast indicated that today’s low was going to be higher than that high temperature any day the following week, so, I thought it best to get the boys out while it was warmest. Unfortunately, the cold front came in a bit earlier and a bit wetter than forecast, so, we had an uphill battle on our hands. We put 15 fish in the boat via vertical jigging, and 3 fish in the boat via flatline trolling with shad-imitating crankbaits.
OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 1) The fish were very difficult to goad into striking this morning, but I noted that when the boys did hook one, others would lift 2-4 feet off bottom thus expressing a bit of interest, but nothing like a dozen or so fish following their hooked schoolmate toward the surface as is observed under better conditions.
TALLY: 18 FISH, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 110:45a
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F dropping to 46F during the 3.5 hours on the water.
Water Surface Temp: 59.1F
Wind Speed & Direction: NNW8-12
Sky Conditions: 100% grey clouds with occasional light rain
Water Level: 3.19 feet low
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area SH0001C (2x)
**Area 101 (2x)
**Area 114-706
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
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