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GUIDE SERVICE

Fishing Guide

Belton Lake

Stillhouse Hollow Lake


Bob Maindelle

254.368.7411

bob@holdingthelineguideservice.com

White Bass & Hybrid Striped Bass

Specializing in Catch & Release

                      


Holding The Line Guide Service - based in Salado, Texas, in pursuit of the game fish of Texas

Specializing in angling for white bass and hybrid strriped bass

Focusing on Stillhouse Hollow Lake, Belton Lake, and Lake Georgetown

Light tackle Catch and Release Fishing

FOR RESERVATIONS, 254-368-7411 or Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com


Copyright © 2020 - - Holding the Line Guide Service © All rights reserved.


Website Design by e-Designs Plus

ABOUT YOUR GUIDE

Who I Am


My name is Bob Maindelle. I was born into a fishing family in 1969 while my dad was serving in Vietnam. My earliest childhood memories revolve around angling. Pop Pop Hamilton was a commercial fisherman on the Mississippi, mom and dad went fishing on Clarks Hill Reservoir near Augusta, Georgia, on cheap dates as newlyweds, and Uncle Glenn ran a saltwater charter boat out of Shark River, NJ. I'm now happily married, live in Salado, Texas, right at the eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country, and am carrying on the family tradition. I have fished all over our nation in fresh waters and salt, and with all manner of gear and tackle. In 1991, I graduated from West Point (U.S. Military Academy) with a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental engineering, and spent 8 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, followed by 9 years in industry as an environmental engineer. I retired in 2016 from full-time ministry as the Small Groups Pastor at a large church in central Texas. My business experience from my "previous life" and my flexible schedule allow me to operate "Holding The Line Guide Service" out of my home on the lakes of this region. I am physically fit, extremely well-organized, very methodical, self-disciplined and detail-oriented. I enjoy introducing beginners to the sport. I enjoy coaching those with a little experience. I enjoy fishing with great fishermen and picking up on tips and techniques from all over the country. I am not so prideful to think that I cannot still learn much from other further down the path than I.


Why I Fish


The pursuit of fish is, to me, an incomparable, lifelong challenge that tests the mind, the body, and even the will. The timeless variables of weather, wind, forage location, light, temperature and pressure prevent any one day's pursuit from being like the chase of any other day. Every sunrise holds new promise, every storm front brings change, every season nudges fish movements, and though the cycle has repeated since the beginning of time, I believe the code will never be fully deciphered. But there are some who understand parts of the code. I am one. And that understanding breeds a desire to preserve and to protect that same Creation that is pursued.


The Numbers


















































































Record Book Entries



The Business



The Gear -  a few notes on the equipment I use and why I use it...




































































































    











The Story Behind the Boat


When I established my guide service I started out guiding clients, up to four at a time, in the boat I had been using for fishing recreationally.  It was a custom-made boat fashioned from the mold intended to produce the Americas Bay Boat 180, built by Henry Berry and Bobby Brim at the Americas Deckboat plant in Gateville, TX.


This boat served me well, but, as my retirement from ministry drew near, I knew, based on the decade of experience I’d garnered while working both in ministry and as a guide, that if I was going to expand the guiding business in my retirement, I would need a larger boat to comfortably fish up to 6 anglers.

During January and February of 2015, I sat down at my kitchen table with a pencil and a pad of graph paper, and I began sketching the boat I had envisioned in my mind.


As I began to rough out the details of this boat, I ensured that the design overcame some of the shortcomings of boats I had previously owned or ridden in, and incorporated all the best features I’d seen in boats through the years.


When my drawing was done, I’d accumulated 12 very details pages of drawings, with one showing the entire boat from a bird’s eye view, one showing the boat from the portside, and the rest detailing specific segments of the boat, such as the front deck.


2015 would see my wife, Rebecca, and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in July.  Since we thought our 20th should be celebrated a bit more than all of the previous 19, we decided to head back to Maine where we’d honeymooned in 1995, to retrace our steps and lay down some new ones.

During the spring of 2015, I reached out to several well-known builders of center-consoles to begin coordinating the construction of the boat I had designed and to nail down pricing.


I was disappointed to find that several builders who claimed to be “custom builders”, actually just wanted to sell me a production line boat with a few accessories pinned on from a menu of options features they offered.  This approach just was not going to work for the level of customization my boat called for.


Then I reached out to Cameron Chislett who, along with his wife, Abbie, own and operate Chislett’s Boating and Design, then located in Dover, New Hampshire.  


As I spoke with Cameron Chislett about my vision for the boat, the more details I threw at him, the more excited he got – he was looking at my boat as a challenge to build and one he would like to take on.


In June of 2015, my wife and I flew to New England for our anniversary.  While there, we planned to meet Cameron, Abby, (and kids!) and their crew in Dover.  The Chislett’s arranged for us to take a tour of their production facility and to ride on several of their hulls, courtesy of Bamforth Marine in Brunswick, Maine.  The hulls were quick to plane, smooth running, and dry.  


While at dinner with the Chislett’s, I learned of Cameron’s upbringing in South Africa, his boyhood dream of building boats, his journey to America, his education at The Landing School specializing in the design of ocean-going vessels, and how the Maritime line of boats became his own.


The Maritime design originated with company’s founder, Paul Hureau. A graduate of Massachusetts Maritime Academy and a retired Coast Guard Captain, Paul spent years with Boston Whaler, and was instrumental in the design and testing of patrol and rescue boats that saw service around the world. Those experiences had a strong influence of the hull shape, durability and seaworthiness of the Maritime design. The Chislett’s bought the Maritime line from Mr. Hureau.


Before we left New Hampshire, I placed an order with Cameron for my boat – a heavily customized Maritime 2090.  He would take my graph paper and hand-scribbled notes and form them into a seaworthy fishing machine.


From June 2015 through January 2016, Cameron and I steadily communicated by phone and email each week.  Cameron kept me updated throughout the construction process.  Whenever a question about my intentions arose, he called to clarify so the end result was just right.


In November of 2015, my wife and I once again flew to Dover now that the fiberglass work was substantially complete.  Cameron and I spent a full day going over all of the dimensioning we’d agreed to.  I (literally) placed Sharpie marker markings and blue painter’s tape in the exact locations for the sonar, rod holders, downriggers, pedestal seats, bolster seat, console, batteries, fuel tank, etc.  In mid-December Cameron called to inform me that the boat was ready for pickup, a full 2+ weeks ahead of our target date of 03 January 2016.


On New Year’s Day 2016, Rebecca and I left Texas on what would be a 4,014 mile, 6 day round-trip to pick up the boat, Yamaha motor, and Sea Lion trailer in Dover.


The Chisletts have been right there every step of the way whenever I’ve needed support “after the sale”.  They’ve talked me through repairing dings in my gelcoat, the best way to keep my deck looking “boat show ready”, how to add an accessory or two to my fuse panel, and more.


For the detail-oriented among you, here are the major customized items which are a part of this boat:


*a properly positioned trolling motor pad                             

*a cushioned, properly positioned bolster seat

*wide gunwales for easy access, accessory mounting, and to hide wiring              

*34 vertical rod holders & 8 horizontal holders

*reinforced downrigger mounts  

*self-bailing deck                                         

*a large front casting deck w/ 3 pedestal seats

*a 16-drawer tackle cabinet                                               

*an onboard raw water washdown system

*a 30 gal. Blue Water Bait Systems insulated, recirculating bait tank                          

*large diameter wire chases from bow to stern, and from stern to console (x2)

*oversized electrical panels                                               

*partitioned under-deck storage

*easy access above deck 18-gallon fuel tank                       

*easy access to a set of six state-of-the-art Impulse lithium-ion 12-volt batteries with a seventh on-board spare

*suicide knob on stainless steering wheel                           

*easy access to fuel-water separator

*a sacrificial transducer mounting board on transom             

*raw water fill/flush for the 30 gal. bait tank

*a minimalistic, functional console                                      

*rugged, no-nonsense SeaLion galvanized trailer with LED lighting, a torsion axle, and hydraulic surge brakes

*heavy duty stainless steel trailer fenders coated with textured Line-X as a safe step in and out of boat

*Safe-Floor non-slip flooring material throughout

*Exterior, under-gunwale green LED lighting system for bait gathering

*MOB+ wireless kill-switch system fully compliant with “Cali’s Law”

*Spray-on Line-X keel guard extending to the bow eye

*Exterior, spray-on Line-X coating in high-scuff areas to avoid cosmetic damage to the hull’s gelcoat