Fished a half-day morning trip with 3 young men from Nolanville — Cody, age 14, Michael, age 14, and Dylan, age 7. This was a birthday gift from Grandpa Dave who lives in Hawaii.

DYLAN, THE LITTLEST KID WITH THE BIGGEST FISH!!

CODY THE BIRTHDAY BOY WITH A JUMBO WHITE BASS.

MICHAEL WITH THE LARGEST OF THE WHITE BASS HE CAUGHT.

Start Time: 7:30a (with DST now in effect)


End Time: 11:50a


Air Temp: 48F at trip’s start warming to ~80F by day’s end.


Water Surface Temp: ~57F

Wind: Winds were light and variable during the morning hours.

Skies: Skies were clear and bright after some early morning patch fog burned off.

We started off with a little flatline trolling to get a feel for the fish, the water, the bait, etc. This was my first time back on Stillhouse following last week’s rains and cold snap. The water is not at all dingy, but does have some flotsam. The trolling gave up 4 white bass and 2 largemouth, including a 3.25 pound fish.

As the fog began to lift, we headed to the deepwaters between Area 102 and 107. Birds were searching and both bait and gamefish appeared scattered throughout this area. We ran downriggers hoping to both catch fish and to find large congregations of fish which we could instead jig for. We managed 9 more fish including 2 largemouth and 7 whites on the downriggers and then located a large group of fairly deep white bass holding fast on a breakline in 29-36 feet. We buoyed these fish around 9:30a, sent 4 slabs down, and caught fish steadily via a smoking retrieve and a straight jigging retrieve for the next 2 hours and 10 minutes. Things started strong, stayed moderate for a long while, and then tapered off at the end. We caught all the jigged fish on the TNT 180 slabs in 3/8 oz.

We were quite fortunate to find these densely schooled fish, and to find them staying put as long as they did, as typically bright sun and calm winds can lead to tough fishing.

By noon we were back at the dock, high-fiving, taking photos, and telling fish stories to dad. A great day on the water with 3 enthusiastic young fellows!!

TALLY = 87 FISH, all caught and released

Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing