WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning I fished with Troy Hensley of Killeen, TX, and his son, Trace, who just recently turned four. Troy is a US Army combat veteran originally from Kentucky, who served in Iraq with the 1st Cavalry Division, and a faithful member of Memorial Baptist Church in Killeen where he volunteers in the nursery and small group ministries.
Troy Hensley Jr. and his 4-year-old son, Troy Hensley III (nicknamed Trace) braved the elements this morning and cashed in on some solid fishing under cold, westerly breezes.
Little Trace reeled this schoolie largemouth bass in ‘all by himself’. Trace is getting to that age where his mind wants to do things by himself but his body isn’t quite there yet. He often let Troy know, “I’ve got this, Dad.” as he struggled to keep up with the big guys.
WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir
WHEN WE FISHED: Monday morning, 11 December, 2017
HOW WE FISHED: Thanks to a slow, steady drop in water temperature, the fish are more reliably grouping up in deep water and in large schools now. They had begun to do this weeks ago, but the weather moderated and warmed and the trend slowed down. We found groups of active fish willing to chase our 3/8 oz. slabs while we employed a smoking tactic, and, for less enthusiastic schools and toward the end of the morning bite, we found that an easing tactic or snap-jigging tactic was more effective. For a brief spell we found some fish that had moved up in to water under 20 feet in depth, but they did not bite well, nor for very long, on the bladebaits we threw their way.
OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 1) I saw the first sub-60 water surface temperature reading of the fall this morning after a series of mornings with lows in the mid- to high-30’s, followed by a low of 40 this morning.
TALLY: 81 FISH, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 11:30a
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 40F
Water Surface Temp: 58.9F
Wind Speed & Direction: W9-10
Sky Conditions: High, thin cloud cover at 20%, slowly increasing to 30% by trip’s end
Water Level: 3.04 feet low
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area SH002C – pre-sunrise fish well-spread on a deep, 38′ flat within yards of the river channel
**Area SH001C – solid fishing for over an hour on heavily grouped, bottom-oriented white bass right on the channel break
**Area vic 091 – shallow bladebait work for 3 whites and 2 blacks
**Area 101- solid fishing for over an hour on heavily grouped, bottom-oriented white bass right on the channel break
**Area SH001C – fishing tapered to nil as we revisited this area, but not before giving up another 20 fish
Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle