Fished a half-day morning trip on Stillhouse today and did some scouting in advance of a “Kids Fish, Too!” trip tomorrow.

This 3.75 pound largemouth was suspended at 25′ over 40′ in open water and was feeding on small shad

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 12:30a

Air Temp: 78F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: ~80.3F

Wind: Winds were light from the SE at around 10 at the start of the trip and stayed that way until around 10:45; they then began to shift to the S. and increase to ~14mph as the skies began to brighten for the first time this morning

Skies: Skies were overcast and grey the entire trip to 10:45 when they dissipated and cleared.



Due to the diminished light level and E. component to the wind, there was no topwater to be found today.

In advance of tomorrow’s trip, I did a downrigging “milkrun” to determine if active gamefish were to be found amidst the plentiful bait congregations seen on sonar in several areas. In summary, I successfully downrigged for white bass in the following areas:

Area 459, Area 464, Area 191, Area 462, Area 463, and Area 056. I spent just enough time in each one of these areas to catch 2-3 fish and then I moved on. By 10:45, I’d put 29 fish in the boat. I did attempt vertical jigging at Areas 459 and 463. Fish were there but very reluctant — there would have been no way to instruct a kid to catch fish over fish as lethargic as these were — the horizontal approach was definitely the way to go.

Due to an appointment set for 12:45, I headed back toward my launch site intending to take a close look, at least with sonar, at the Area 145 complex. As I arrived, the area was heavy with bait and I began attempting to slab. Not 3 minutes into the effort I heard one, then another, then another surface feeding fish pop a shad on top. I let off the trolling motor to eliminate the bow slab and listen better. I was right on the lead edge of what would be a 40 minute mid-day largemouth bass feed on the surface. I stayed on the fish with the trolling motor and work them over with a Cork Rig. A straight-line, fairly brisk retrieve is what they wanted. I landed a total of 17 largemouth (8 legal) in this short time span. By the time I had to leave, the fish were tapering off, but were still seen scattered on the surface.



TALLY = 46 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