Baylor University’s G.O.A.T. Turns 92
CLIENTS: This evening, Wednesday, November 5, I fished a short afternoon trip with former Baylor University head football coach, Grant Teaff and two of his daughters, Tracy Teaff and Cindy Curtis, all from the Waco area.
Coach Teaff is Baylor’s winningest football coach, with 128 victories under his belt in the 20 year (1972-1992) span he coached for the Bears.
Grant’s daughters grew up fishing with him and, in celebration of Grant’s forthcoming 92nd birthday, they wanted to relive a few special moments in the outdoors with him. We chose an afternoon trip for a number of reasons. The forecast called for the winds to be blowing but manageable (versus a very calm morning today), the air temperature was due to be comfortably warm this afternoon, and getting to our launch point by 1:30 PM instead of at the crack of dawn was simply more appealing to my crew of three.
TODAY’S DATE: Wednesday, 05 November 2025 (PM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Tuesday, 12 November 2025 (AM or PM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Tracy Teaff, “Coach” Grant Teaff, and Cindy Curtis joined me for a 2.5 hour mid-afternoon trip on Lake Belton in celebration of Coach’s forthcoming 92nd birthday.
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
My intent was to find bottom-oriented, schooled white bass in deep water and have my crew work MAL Heavy baits vertically for them, but, it became clear pretty quickly that that might be a bit of a struggle at least in the early afternoon when the fish are less aggressive.
Thinking this might be a possibility, I put downrigging equipment back on the boat for this trip, and, the downrigger is actually accounted for a majority of the fish landed today. At both of the areas we fished, we caught a few fish as the white bass showed an initial expression of interest, but as soon as they toned down, I put the downriggers into action and worked both areas over thoroughly to catch all we could at both places. Our first stop produced 11 fish, including 10 white bass and one largemouth. Our second area produced 13 fish, including 11 white bass and two largemouth.
By the 2.5 hour mark Coach was getting to the point where his girls were legitimately concerned about him having enough energy to get back uphill from the courtesy dock to their vehicle, so, around 4 PM we agreed to call it a good trip with exactly 2 dozen fish landed, some great video and photos taken, and everybody energetic enough to enjoy what they had just experienced.
RESULTS: 24 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SMOKE” AN MAL LURE VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE HORIZONTALLY USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial
OBSERVATIONS:
-Belton is 0.60′ low with a 0.03′ fall in the last 24 hours. USACE is releasing 43 CFS.
-Fall conditions are peaking with a surface temp. now at around 72.3F
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: Taken on Lake Belton around 7AM, Saturday, 01 November…
0 feet 73.5F
5 feet 73.5F
10 feet 73.8F
15 feet 73.8F
20 feet 73.8F
25 feet 73.8F
30 feet 73.8F
35 feet 73.8F
40 feet 73.1F
45 feet 72.8F
50 feet 72.8F
Compare to temps taken on Lake Belton around 7AM, Monday, 27 October…
0 feet 77F
5 feet 77.1F
10 feet 77.1F
15 feet 77.1F
20 feet 77.1F
25 feet 77.1F
30 feet 77.3F
35 feet 77.1F
40 feet 77.1F
45 feet 76.8F
50 feet 76.7F
55 feet 76.7F
60 feet 76.7F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 1:30P
End Time: 4:00P
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 81F
Elevation: Belton is 0.60′ low with a 0.03′ fall in the last 24 hours. USACE is releasing 43 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 72.3F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE5-8 for the trip’s duration
Sky Condition: 0% clouds on a hazy blue sky
Moon Phase: Full “super moon” at 100% illumination – moon in perigee position
GT = 100
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area B0171G – 9 whites, 1 largemouth bass by first smoking MAL Heavy Lures, then downrigging
Area 2041 – 11 whites, 2 largemouth bass by first smoking MAL Heavy Lures, then downrigging
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
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle