Stillhouse Fishing Guide Report – 12 October 2009 – 21 Fish (PM Trip)






I fished just a quick evening trip tonight with a young man from church, Jaylen, who is staying with us while his mom recovers from illness. Blade baits were the ticket tonight for some low light white bass action in shallow water.

See more about these blade baits at the end of this blog entry. Now available at Salado Creek Outfitters!! Give Jeff a ring at 254-947-8239

Start Time: 5:10p

End Time: 7:35pm

Air Temp: 69F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: ~72.4F

Wind: Winds shifted from E to SE just as we got on the water, and blew at a steady 6-7 mph .

Skies: Skies were leaden grey the entire trip.

Environmental Note: White pelicans continue to migrate south; saw 3 larger terns heading over the lake from W to E to roost just prior to sunset. We’ve picked up another 1.25 inches of rain, now putting the lake just about a foot above full pool.

We got on the water, checked a deepwater dropoff with sonar, found nothing, then checked the edge of a deepwater flat and found nothing, and then spotted two stranded boaters paddling against the wind after their motor quit on them. It was a perfect opportunity to model a “do unto others” situation with Jaylen, so we did just that. We put fishing on hold for about 35 mintues to help out two young men from Ft. Hood. We towed them to their launch site at Dana Peak, wished them well, and returned to fishing. We took a look at a mid-depth section of bottom off a point near Area 419 and saw some bait and gamefish returns on sonar, but that didn’t pan out. We made one last move to Area 116 and finally contacted fish here. We fished about 35 minutes and landed 21 fish including 20 white bass of all sizes, and 1 fair 2.75 pound largemouth. We found fish at first in 12 feet of water, and they moved shallower as the light began to fail, finally ending up in less than 2 feet of water at Area 532 pushing small schools of shad in toward the newly flooded brush on the bank. Blade baits were the ticket.

Just a note on fishing tackle for you who follow this blog. I mention blade baits quite often and had no less than 8 people stop by my booth at the Bell County Expo Center asking about this bait. When I mention “blades” or “blade baits”, I’m referring to the Cicada made by Reef Runner Lures of Marblehead, Ohio. Cicadas are soon going to be available locally at Salado Creek Outfitters. Jeff Warren, the owner there knows what colors and sizes I use, and stocks those. Just tell him I sent you and he’ll know what you’re looking for.

21 FISH CAUGHT, All caught and released