Killeen Originals – 66 Fish

CLIENTS: On Tuesday morning, 25 Feb., I welcomed aboard a crew of three first-time guests. Everything was coordinated by Mrs. Najah David so her husband, Demitrius David and his long-time friends, Quan Patterson, and Deaunte Mitchell could enjoy his birthday in the outdoors with his buddies. These young men are all originally from Killeen and have been friends since they were kids.

Although they’ve all fish before, none had fished in the way we did today — with a sonar-intensive approach targeting white bass in open water.

Their 66-fish haul was a “personal best” for the trio!

TODAY’S DATE: 21 February 2026 (AM)


NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING: 3-5 March (AM or PM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Killeen originals … Quan Patterson, Demitrius David, and Deaunte Mitchell with 6 of the 66 fish they landed on Stillhouse while celebrating Demitrius’ birthday in an on-the-water event coordinated by Mrs. Najah David.

PHOTO CAPTION: Once I introduced Quan to the Mini White Bass A-rig, he was hooked … and then did some hooking on his own! Here, he landed a multi-species double. While testing this A-rig (it’ll be on the WhiteBassTools.com website soon), I’ve seen numerous instances where outsized largemouth follow smaller white bass which have been hooked on the rig.

FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/


WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow


SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

This morning’s fishing very clearly followed a “bell-shaped curve”, with fishing tough at the beginning, rising to peak action during mid-morning, then falling back off beginning around 10:20.

We relied on two approaches: fishing the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (white, 5/8 oz) vertically and fishing the Mini White Bass A-rig horizontally.

I let sonar be our guide as to when and where we invested our efforts. When (especially in water over 30′) we found fish schooled up tightly and responding to the splasher, we fished vertically. When side-imaging revealed large, roaming schools of white bass out to the port or starboard (especially in water under 24′) the fellows cast the Mini White Bass A-rig to get bit.

In this manner we avoided the traffic and perils of running upriver in hopes of connecting with spawning white bass.

When all was said and done, these fellows landed 2 largemouth, 2 freshwater drum, and 62 white bass in right at 4 hours.

Now, what do you think these fellows did when we got back to the boat ramp? The marched up to their vehicle where they had about 3 dozen minnows waiting and prepared to continue their outdoor celebration with some crappie fishing from shore!!

RESULTS: 66 fish, all caught and released

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SLOW SMOKE” A BLADED HAZY EYE SLAB VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial

OBSERVATIONS:

-Water temps dropped back a good bit (2-3 degrees F) thanks to cold nights on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The surface temps dropped back below 60.

-fish are definitely on the move to the spawning grounds, albeit in no big rush thanks, in part, to low flow in the Lampasas River – the river isn’t all that low, it’s just not flowing all that much with next to no release ongoing through the dam.

-Water temperature in the top 15 feet of the water column is at or near 60F, versus the temperature at depths greater than that still only in the lower 50s.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Taken on Stillhouse Hollow on 25 February 2026…

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: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle