13-year-olds Stack 3 Limits of Hybrid & Then Some – 30 Fish (Lots of Photos!)
CLIENTS: This morning, Thursday, June 4, I fish with two fine young men from right here in Bell County. Celebrating his 13th birthday on the water with his buddy was Noah Alexander. Joining Noah was Colden Morgan. Both boys just finished up their seventh grade year and are looking to spend a good bit more time in the outdoors over this summer break. Noah’s dad, John, arranged everything and came along as a non-fishing chaperone on this “Kids Fish, Too!” trip just for kids.
ABOUT “KIDS FISH, TOO!” TRIPS: Kids Fish, Too! trips are intended just for the kids. They are considerably less expensive than standard trips ($215 for up to 2 kids vs. $315 for up to 2 adults; and more can be added), and typically go a maximum of 3.5 hours versus 4-plus hours for standard trips. On these trips, licensed adults who desire to do so often help me help the kids be successful by baiting hooks, untangling lines, resetting our downrigger spreads, etc. so the kids’ efforts are maximized, but, the adults do not fish.
TODAY’S DATE: 04 June 2026 (PM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING: 6, 7 July 2026 (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Noah Alexander and Colden Morgan just whacked the hybrid this morning. These two 13-year olds put three limits of legal (18+ inch) fish in the boat working MAL Dense Lures vertically.
PHOTO CAPTION: After catching multiple catfish around the two pound mark, this brute of a buffalo took Noah for a ride as we fished doughbait on tight lines!
PHOTO CAPTION: We put in 2.5 hours working a large school of suspended fish in deep water. There were far more hybrid than white bass in this shoal of fish, but, the whites which were present willingly chased the MAL Dense retrieved vertically.
PHOTO CAPTION: Blue cats and channels both came to a baited area and then fell for the doughbait we offered several hours later.
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
When I launched the boat at 6 AM, the air temperature was 73°. When we returned to the dock at about quarter after 10, the air temperature was still 73°. It stayed very heavily overcast with occasional bouts of sprinkles and showers throughout the morning. The boys did not let a little liquid sunshine bother them in the least. They pushed through and kept right on catching.
I set aside the first 2.5 hours of this 3.5 hour “Kids Fish, Too!” trip to chase whites and hybrids, and intentionally left the last hour open for the pursuit of catfish at an area I baited just before my young guests’ arrival.
All of our white bass and hybrid striped bass came from just one stop this morning. These fish were found between 30 and 45 feet deep over a 55 foot bottom. These fish were suspended and moving.
Fortunately, the boys quickly grasped the concept of LiveScope and of getting their lures headed upwards on an intersecting path with the fish swimming horizontally. We fished this way right up until 9 AM and the boys caught three limits of legal hybrid striped bass and an additional five white bass.
By nine, this fishing was fading, so we moved on to fish the baited area I had prepared in 42 feet of water. Things started off very well with the boys catching blue and channel cat routinely. However, right about 9:40, a storm cell moved over us and dropped rain at a pretty good rate. We continued fishing through this, but the bite definitely dropped off coinciding with that abrupt change in weather.
By this time, the boys had boated 27 fish. We kept at it until 10:10 AM before we called it a good morning. In the last 15 minutes or so, the boys landed two more blue cat and a nice buffalo fish weighing in the teens.
Our final tally came to exactly 30 fish.
RESULTS: 30 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW WORK AN MAL LURE VERTICALLY:
OBSERVATIONS:
-USACE is running water through the Belton Dam at a rate of 412 CFS.
-No helpful bird action today.
-Lake Belton is now falling after reaching a high of 1.87′ above full pool following the heavy rains on 26/27 May. It is now down to 1.80′ high.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Taken on Lake Belton on 02 June 2026, approx. 6:35AM…
0 feet 82.5F
5 feet 82.6F
10 feet 82.1F
15 feet 81.5F
20 feet 80.2F
25 feet 76.6F
30 feet 74.8F
35 feet 73.3F
40 feet 71.7F
45 feet 70.3F
50 feet 67.4F
55 feet 64.4F
60 feet 62.0F
65 feet 60.6F
Taken on Lake Belton on 24 May 2026, approx. 6:25AM…
0 feet 79.9F
5 feet 80.2F
10 feet 79.2F
15 feet 78.8F
20 feet 78.1F
25 feet 76.6F
30 feet 74.7F
35 feet 73.3F
40 feet 70.8F
45 feet 68.2F
50 feet 66.4F
55 feet 63.3F
60 feet 61.4F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:30A
End Time: 10:10A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F
Elevation: Belton is 1.80′ high with a 0.0′ change in the last 24 hours. USACE is releasing 411 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 82.1F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: ENE5-7 all morning
Sky Condition: Fully greyed over skies with light precipitation most of the morning
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 90% illumination
GT = 25
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area 2482 – 15 hybrid, 5 whites on MAL Dense Lures (silver body, chartreuse tail) suspended
Area JUNCAT001- 10 catfish (7 blues/3 channels) on doughbait
Bob Maindelle
Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service
Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide
(254) 368 7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle