Dad’s in the Sandbox, Boys are on the Lake – 49 Fish
CLIENTS: This past Thursday evening, March 19, I fished with the Memorial Baptist Church (Killeen) Youth Pastor, Frank Ayala, and three young men who are part of his youth group. This was the fourth SKIFF trip of the 2026 season. Joining Frank were Brian, Jacob, and Mark Landry. The Landrys are stationed at Fort Hood but have orders to move to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, at the close of the school year. Their dad, Matt Landry, is currently away from home involved in a National Training Center rotation, which is a month-long event at Fort Irwin in Death Valley, California.
ABOUT SKIFF: SKIFF trips have been provided to military families at no charge since May of 2009. SKIFF is funded by donations from Austin Fly Fishers, The McBride Foundation, Austin Subaru, and VFW Post 4008 in Belton, TX. S.K.I.F.F. provides kids of military members separated from their families by duty commitments with the opportunity to fish. SKIFF trips are also provided to Gold Star families who have lost their service member, and kids of bona fide disabled veterans. I conduct these 3.5 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir year ’round. Call or text 254.368.7411 to make your reservation. We’ve provided trips for over 650 children, and those kids have landed over 14,000 fish.
TODAY’S DATE: 19 March 2026 (PM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING: 30 March (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Frank Ayala, Mark, Jake, and Brian Landry with a few of the 49 fish they landed during Spring Break 2026. The 20th fish which came aboard earned them each an ice cream!
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
The boys and their youth pastor just returned from a four day mission trip to the Arlington area, but showed up timely and enthusiastic for this afternoon‘s trip.
The afternoon bite this week has been predictably slower than the mornings, and today was no exception.
We had no problem at all finding congregations of fish, but, if the fish got interested, they only typically remained that way briefly. We only picked up single digits of fish at all but one of the several locations we fished at.
The vertical “smoking“ tactic, which has been working so well this week with a white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab on the business end of the line did the trick for us once again this evening.
In right at four hours of effort, these four managed a total of 49 fish including 47 white bass and two largemouth bass.
RESULTS: 49 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SLOW SMOKE” A BLADED HAZY EYE SLAB VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial
OBSERVATIONS:
-As is typically the case, the afternoon bite was weaker than the morning bite.
-No bird activity.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Taken on Lake Belton on 19 March 2026, approx. 7AM…
0 feet 62.6F
5 feet 62.8F
10 feet 62.6F
15 feet 62.6F
20 feet 62.4F
25 feet 62.2F
30 feet 62.0F
35 feet 62.0F
40 feet 61.7F
45 feet 61.5F
50 feet 58.7F
55 feet 57.8F
60 feet 57.2F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 3:40P
End Time: 7:40P
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 85F
Elevation: Belton is 1.01′ low with a -0.03′ change in the last 24 hours. USACE is releasing 34 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 63.1F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SSW7-8 all afternoon
Sky Condition: Cloudless, light blue skies
Moon Phase: New Moon at 0% illumination
GT = N/A
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area 2399 – 2 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. white)
Area 2310 – 21 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. white)
Area 1934- 9 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. white)
Area vic 2037 – 8 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. white); 2 short hops
Area 565 – 9 fish on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz. white)
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