What’d You Bring for Show-and-Tell?? 31 Fish, Stillhouse Hollow, 12 Nov. 2011






For the second Saturday in a row I had the pleasure of fishing with aspiring young angler Joseph B. of Killeen. Joseph is 7 years old and caught his very first fish during an outing with me last weekend during which we boated 10 fish.

Joseph blew his former personal best catch of 10 fish in one trip right out of the water by boating 31 fish on today’s trip!

As we got started, we did a bit of downrigging in the vicinity of Areas 909/644 over 21-26 feet of water. We also had a single flatline rod out. We boated a total of 5 fish in this area as I kept an eye on the building wind and looking for any bird activity.

As fewer and fewer fish appeared up off bottom, we transitioned to working slabs over deepwater areas ranging from 23-41 feet deep. We put 13 more fish in the boat at Area 961 by 9:15. After these fish cooled off, we went hunting elsewhere with sonar.

As we searched out a few areas, Joseph told me he’d taken printed photos of our trip last week in to school for show and tell. I would like to have been a fly on that wall!! Joseph really has taken to fishing very quickly and maintains his enthusiasm longer than most 10-12 year olds I have on board.

By around 9:25 or so things got tougher. We were able to find fish and get them to respond initially to our presentations, pulling a few fish in, but then they’d cool off really quickly and either lose interest, move on, or both. We caught 4 fish at Area 949, 3 fish at Area 926, 4 fish at Area 927, and 2 fish at Area 962. It’s interesting to note that this is the time the prime morning feed ended on Belton Lake during yesterday’s trip, as well.

By 10:45 the winds were at 18mph, with frequent higher gusts and so I decided to play it safe with my young fishing buddy and head back in to safety.

Aunt Marisa was at the ramp waiting for our return where Joseph got to show her a few of the larger white bass we’d caught and pose with her for the photo above.


TALLY = 31 FISH, all caught and released


Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 10:45a

Air Temp: 54F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: 64.1F.

Wind: Winds were S5 at sunrise, slowly building to S18 with higher gusts by 10:45a.

Skies: Skies were 80% greyed with high, thin clouds.