June | 2018 | Fishing Report

50/50 Whites & Hybrid Split on Lake Belton — 43 Fish

June 28th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Tuesday evening, June 26th, I fished with Mr. Jerry Worley of Harker Heights and a young man by the name of Daniel Kennedy who Jerry first got to know through the youth ministry at Memorial Baptist Church in Killeen. Jerry owns the Worley Insurance Agency in Harker Heights, and Daniel is currently headed to California as part of a remodeling crew to work on Brandenburg Air Force Base.

Jerry Worley with a Lake Belton hybrid striped bass taken from a small school of fish located on a breakline in 30′ on a tailspinner.

Daniel Kennedy with a Belton Lake hybrid striped bass taken on live shad suspended at 25′ over a deeper bottom.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip in which we caught white bass and hybrid striped bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday evening, 26 June.

HOW WE FISHED: This trip broke down into two 2-hour halves. The first half was spend downrigging for suspended white bass and the last half was spent fishing with live shad for suspended, loosely schooled hybrid striped bass.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: N/A

TALLY: 43 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:40p

End Time: 9:00p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 95F

Water Surface Temp: 82.8F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE14 at trip’s start and through 7:30p, then tapering down to SSE11

Sky Conditions: <10% cloud cover on a blue sky

Water Level: 5.56 feet low

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic B0096C – downrigging with a pair of 3-armed umbrella rigs for 21 white bass in 2 hours’ time; fish were suspended at 25-27′ over a deeper breakline

**Area vic B0095C – live shad for hybrid striped bass suspended at 24 to 36 feet over a deeper bottom.

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

SKIFF TRIP 2018-6: 67 Fish for the Ycaro siblings and 2 “First Fish” Awards

June 27th, 2018July 24th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

EXCERPTED FROM THE KILLEEN DAILY HERALD, 30 JUNE 2018:

It seems we humans have a thing for “firsts.”

We recall how Babe Ruth was the first to slug his way to 50 home runs in a season. We recollect how Roger Bannister was the first to break the 4-minute mile.

We celebrate the Wright brothers, who made the first mechanically powered flight in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., and the list goes on. But what about fishing firsts?

Thanks to the Angler Recognition Program run by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, anglers can now preserve the memories of their first catch.

That is exactly what siblings Christian and Delilah Ycaro did last week while fishing aboard my boat.

The youths’ mother, Angel Garcia, contacted me requesting a free fishing trip for her kids offered through the Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun program to youths separated from their parents by their parents’ military duty.

The children’s step-dad, Army Sgt. Christopher Garcia, is currently deployed to South Korea where he works in the information technology field. Their father, John Ycaro, a veteran, and their step-mom, Alyssa Ycaro, reside in San Jose, California.

Angel and I agreed that Wednesday would be a mutually agreeable date on which to take the kids on their SKIFF trip.

From June through the end of August I always opt for a morning trip whenever kids are involved, for a number of reasons. Winds tend to be lighter, the morning bite tends to be longer and stronger than the evening bite, and, of course, mornings are much cooler and more enjoyable.

Angel drove Christian and Delilah to the boat ramp on Stillhouse Hollow Lake where we had agreed to meet, along with her 7-month-old baby. So she could care for the baby, Angel left the older kids in my care and met us back at the boat ramp some hours later.

I provided Christian and Delilah with a safety briefing and a basic introduction to the equipment they’d be using, prayed with them, asking the Lord for safety and success, and we then headed off to the fishing grounds.

On this particular morning, we began fishing in an area which had been impacted by the southerly winds for several days. In 30 to 35 feet of water, sonar clearly revealed great numbers of baitfish which appeared as suspended clouds in the water column beneath the boat. Soon, the gamefish there to feed on those baitfish began to show on sonar as well.

Using a pair of Cannon Digi-Troll 10TS downriggers, we presented Pet Spoons on three-armed umbrella rigs just slightly above the level at which the fish appeared on sonar.

The three-armed umbrella rigs each allow three Luhr-Jensen Pet Spoons to be presented at a given time, one on each downrigger, hence, there are six baits in the water in total.

By keeping the boat moving slowly forward, these Pet Spoons, which are similar in size, shape, and color to the young of the year shad that most gamefish are feeding on this time of year, appear to swim horizontally, parallel to the bottom.

We did not go even 50 yards before Delilah’s line sprang out of the downrigger’s release clip, indicating a fish had struck her presentation. As it was her first fish ever, I carefully explained what she needed to do to successfully bring the fish boatside. Delilah listened well and, after about a minute or so, she brought not one, but two fish to the surface at the same time, one a white bass and the other a largemouth bass. She had just earned her TPWD First Fish Award.

As soon as we measured, photographed and released Delilah’s fish, I put the boat back in gear and we worked on resetting her rod while Christian’s rod remained deployed. Within seconds of beginning to motor forward, Christian’s line also sprang out of the downrigger ball’s release clip, letting us know he, too, had connected with a fish … or so we thought.

As Christian worked to bring his fish in, it soon became clear that he, too, had hooked into a double. In this case, there were two white bass on his line. One was under the 10-inch minimum length limit, so we immediately released it, but the other larger fish we kept just long enough to measure and photograph prior to releasing it as well.

Just minutes into the trip we had already boated four fish and both kids had already earned their First Fish Awards. Christian and Delilah went on to catch and release 67 fish on this outing, including largemouth bass, white bass, freshwater drum and several species of sunfish.

Those wishing to commemorate their first catch may do so by going to tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/programs/ and downloading the PDF found under the Fish Records and Awards link. This form and a photo of the angler holding the fish are then submitted to the TPWD’s Austin headquarters at the address shown on the form. This can be done by mail or electronically.

Ron Smith of TPWD processes these applications and sends the applicants an 8½-by-11-inch certificate suitable for framing, complete with a gold, raised Seal of the State of Texas affixed to it. On the certificate, the details of the catch, including, angler name, date, water body, species, etc., are recorded.

Anglers requiring assistance in working through the submission process are welcome to call upon me for assistance at 254-368-7411 or email me at Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com.

This program is open to anglers of all ages.

Free SKIFF Trip for the Halladay Family

June 27th, 2018June 27th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Tuesday morning, June 26th, I fished with the children of U.S. Army Major Jeff Halladay. Mrs. Nicole Halladay accompanied her three children, Lily (age 9), Owen (age 6), and Violet (age 4) on this SKIFF (Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun) program fishing trip provided free of charge through the efforts of the Austin Fly Fishers. MAJ Halladay has been in the military for 13 years and is currently deployed to Afghanistan where he is serving with the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade as an ordnance officer managing logistics there.

SKIFF trips are provided free of charge to military children separated from their parents by their parents’ duty assignments, such as deployments, TDY assignments, military schooling, field time, gunnery, etc. Call me for details on a trip for your children if your situation is similar — 254.368.7411.

Lily Halladay with a pair of white bass taken 2-at-a-time as we downrigged with 3-armed umbrella rigs during late-morning.

Owen Halladay with a nice 15″ largemouth that slammed his Pet Spoon.

Little 4-year-old Violet with a white bass she landed with big sister Lily’s assistance. I think Owen is saluting her for her efforts 😉

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip in which we caught white bass, drum, and sunfish.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday morning, 26 June.

HOW WE FISHED: We divided the trip up into three distinct parts. First, we downrigged in two separate areas using Pet Spoons on 3-armed umbrella rigs to catch white bass (and 1 drum). Next, we went up shallow and fished in hydrilla beds for sunfish. We finished the trip up downrigging once again in yet another area, this time catching larger fish on average than the smaller fish we’d found earlier in the morning.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: N/A

TALLY: 35 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 10:00a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 75F

Water Surface Temp: 82.8F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE 10-13 the entire trip

Sky Conditions: ~50% cloud cover on a blue sky

Water Level: 5.56 feet low

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic SH0036C – downrigging

**Area SH0018C to 1500 – downrigging (okay at mid-morning, better at late morning after fishing the area twice)

**Area 832 sunfish

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Ft. Hood SKIESUnlimited Fishing 101 – A Morning with the DeLeons

June 25th, 2018June 25th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, June 25th, I fished a short morning trip with the DeLeon family. Command Sergeant Major Louis DeLeon, his wife, Rhoda, and their kids, Uziah (age 11), and Santino (age 8) all came aboard for a fishing trip booked through the Fort Hood SKIESUnlimited program open to military and DoD personnel. CSM DeLeon had a bit of downtime after returning to Ft. Hood in the midst of a deployment to Arifjan, Kuwait; duty called again this morning so, we wrapped up a bit early just a some rain came in, but the fishing was solid right up until we headed in.

Santino DeLeon with his largest fish of the trip — a 3-year class white bass taken in ~41 feet of water on a Pet Spoon.

Uziah DeLeon with his best fish of the trip, also taken from over 41 feet of water with the downriggers set around 35′. As grey skies and light rain moved in, the bite got increasingly better.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip in which we caught white bass and largemouth bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday morning, 25 June.

HOW WE FISHED: We fished for our first 2.5 hours via downrigging in two distinct areas using Pet Spoons on 3-armed umbrella rigs for white bass. As light rains and heavy cloud cover moved in, the bite shifted shallower and to the surface where we through small slabs to imitate the young of the year shad these fish were feeding on. Quick, accurate casts got bit 4/5 times.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: As southerly winds brought training storm cells in a S to N line up and through our area, the morning grew increasingly humid, cloudy, dark, and calm. The fishing action improved as this weather moved in to the point where, in our last 35 minutes on the water (about 8:55 to 9:25am) we had constant surface action surrounding the boat as schoolie largemouth fed on young of the year shad they were herding to the surface.

TALLY: 35 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 9:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F

Water Surface Temp: 83.0F

Wind Speed & Direction: S10 at trip’s start, decreasing to a light S ripple by trip’s end as light rain moved in from the S.

Sky Conditions: 80% cloud cover at trip’s start, increasing to 100% grey clouds and rain at trip’s end.

Water Level: 5.56 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 139 – downrigging under early morning, low light conditions; primarily yearling fish

**Area 1995 thru SH0033C – downrigging with once incidence of going vertical with tailspinners yielding 2 whites

**Area 1960-1966-SH0035C – area triangulating the largemouth topwater which broke out as light rain arrived

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

KIDS FISH, TOO! — 46 FISH WITH THE MILLINERS

June 25th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday morning, June 23rd, I fished a “Kids Fish, Too!” trip with Mr. Mike Milliner and two of his children, Ava (age 10), and Andrew (age 7). During this trip, both kids caught their first fish and therefore earned TPWD “First Fish Awards”.

Kids Fish, Too! trips are intended for younger kids (5th grade and younger). We focus on quantity over quality, keep the trips shorter (3.5 hours max versus 4+ hours for adult trips), and introduce a number of tactics to account for shorter attention spans. Although parents are always welcome, they come as chaperones and/or helpers, but not as anglers.

From left: Andrew Milliner, his dad, Mike, and his sister, Ava, with Andrew’s first fish ever (actually, his first 3 fish ever). Andrew caught a “triple” on his first try — 3 fish at the same time on a single 3-armed umbrella rig!

From left: Minutes after Andrew landed his triple to start off our trip right, his big sister, Ava, landed a double — we had 5 fish in the boat before we could even get our 2nd rod in the water to downrig with. The first 45 minutes of this morning’s trip was very active.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip in which we caught white bass, sunfish, and drum.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday morning, 23 June.

HOW WE FISHED: During this 3.5 hour trip, we downrigged for 2.75 hours and then used the balance toward the end to fish up shallow for sunfish using slipfloats. Although as we downrigged I did see some bottom-oriented white bass which looked like good candidates for vertical jigging, based on the fact that they were 1) bottom-oriented, 2) aggressively approached the downrigger ball as seen on sonar, and 3) were tightly congregated, I passed on these in favor of going after sunfish. We fished for sunfish up shallow in aquatic vegetation using slipfloats and caught 13 sunfish. The downrigging produced 33 white bass.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: The most aggressive bite took place in our first 45 minutes on the water, during which time we landed multiple double and triples on our 3-armed umbrella rigs.

TALLY: 46 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 10:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F

Water Surface Temp: 83.0F

Wind Speed & Direction: S10 at trip’s start, increasing to S15 by trip’s end, and continuing to increase to gusts over 20 later in the day.

Sky Conditions: Low density, low cloud cover under early, low-light conditions at ~45%, then clearing to <10% with light blue sky.

Water Level: 5.46 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area SH0017C – SH0027C – downrigging

**Area 1312-1310 – downrigging

**Area BOW005S – sunfish

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

ESCAPE FROM CALI — 53 FISH WITH THE SHORTS

June 24th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday morning, 22 June, I was joined by the Short family. Mr. Brett Short and his wife, Kristi, of Newman, California, traveled to central Texas to visit their son, Mike, who lives in Killeen, and their daughter who lives in Temple. Brett is in law enforcement in Newman, a town of about 10,000 people east of San Jose and south of Modesto. Kristi works in the HR field for a rehab center, and Mike is a certified mechanic employed at Precision Tune in Killeen. Brett and Kristi have their own boat but typically pursue largemouth in the deep reservoirs near their home.

From left: Mike, Kristi, and Brett with a few of the 53 fish we landed this morning. With high pressure back in control of our weather, the fishing is back to “summertime tough”, which simply meant we had to get out there and work for our fish. They were catchable, just not uber-enthusiastic.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip in which we caught white bass, largemouth, and drum.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday morning, 22 June.

HOW WE FISHED: As is typical for summertime fishing with the thermocline in place, we downrigged for a majority of our time and, on occasions when we found a concentration of fish in a small, well-defined area, we vertically jigged with tailspinners. We enjoyed 3 such instances on this trip, with the last being our most productive, giving up about 15 of our 53 fish in the span of just a few minutes.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: The most active fish we found today were found with sonar after I began searching where surface feeding white bass and largemouth revealed the location of more action below.

TALLY: 53 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 11:00a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F

Water Surface Temp: 82.6F

Wind Speed & Direction: A light S breeze at 6-9 blew the entire trip.

Sky Conditions: 50% white cloud cover on a blue sky

Water Level: 5.40 feet low

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1395 to 854 – downrigging

**Area vic 931 – downrigging

**Area 495-SH0034C – downrigging

**Area 1496-1960 – downrigging and tailspinners in 3 separate short hops in vicinity of surface feeding

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Free SKIFF Fishing Trip for the Winget Family of Killeen — 48 Fish (Trip 2 of 2)

June 24th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday evening I fished with Mrs. Jennifer Winget and her two daughters, Brooklyn (age 9) and Peyton (age 5). Jennifer’s husband, US Army Staff Sergeant Brandon Winget, is a non-commissioned officer currently deployed to Afghanistan with his explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) unit. SSG Winget has served for 12 years and, on this date, was spending his 10th wedding anniversary away from wife and children on duty in harm’s way.

Jennifer contacted me after hearing of the free SKIFF (Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun) trips I provide to military children separated from their parents by their parents’ duty assignments, such as deployments, TDY assignments, military schooling, field time, gunnery, etc.

Call me for details on a trip for your children if your situation is similar — 254.368.7411. This program is sponsored by the Austin Fly Fishers with a number of individual and organizational donors coming alongside them to keep this going strong since May of 2009.

From left: Peyton, Jennifer, and Brooklyn Winget with a pair of white bass the girls landed on downriggers on this hot June afternoon on Stillhouse Reservoir.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip in which we caught white bass and sunfish.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday afternoon, 21 June.

HOW WE FISHED: Given the girls’ age and limited prior fishing experience, and the fact that we were fishing in the afternoon, we focused first on sunfish, catching a mix of bluegill, longears, and green, for a total of 40 fish before leaving the shallows for deeper water and looking for white bass. We found a loosely congregated school of white bass holding near the old Lampasas River channel and worked them for a total of 8 fish. By then, the girls had had enough of the heat and we decided to call it a great day and wrap up a bit early.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: I would normally not fish with kids in the afternoon, but the family’s schedule dictated this. In doing so, I found fish more scattered and about 3-4 feet deeper as compared to my morning results.

TALLY: 48 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 5:00p

End Time: 7:45p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 97F

Water Surface Temp: 83.7F

Wind Speed & Direction: A light S breeze at 6-7 blew the entire trip.

Sky Conditions: 60% white cloud cover on a blue sky

Water Level: 5.38 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 203 – 40 sunfish on slipfloats

**Area SH0032C thru SH0033C – 8 white bass on downriggers

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

HOME FROM THE OIL PATCH — 60 FISH (Trip 1 of 2)

June 23rd, 2018June 23rd, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday morning, June 21st, I fished with father and son team Dalton and John Adams. Both fellows are US Marine Corps veterans, and Dalton retired from the US Army. John currently works in the oil business out in northwest Texas, and returned home to Killeen for a visit with his dad.

From left: Dalton Adams and his son, John, with a sampling of the mixed bag angling we encountered “post low pressure” today. Although the fishing was generally tougher than during the past 2 days of low pressure weather, we enjoyed the summer’s first topwater action consistent enough to stop and cast to, yielding both white bass and black bass.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip in which we caught white bass and largemouth.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday morning, 21 June.

HOW WE FISHED: The low pressure we’d been graced with over the past 2-3 days was pushed back east by stronger high pressure from the west. Accordingly, skies began to clear, humidity and cloud cover decreased, winds swung around to the south and west, and the sun shone again. None of this helped our cause on the fishing as the fish got a bit finicky as the weather transitioned. We put a respectable 55 fish in the boat, but really had to work at it, covering a lot of water with the downriggers and catching a lot of singles. We only encountered once incidence of fish aggressive enough and schooled tightly enough to stop and fish vertically for with success, although we attempted this several times.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 1) With light winds for the first 90 minutes of the trip, we were able to visually inspect large tracts of the lake’s surface for topwater action. This led us to the first occasion of sight-casting to topwater feeding fish thus far this summer. 3/8 oz. silver slabs were the go-to bait, yielding a ~40% success rate on fish cast to versus to fish hooked.

TALLY: 55 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 11:00a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 71F

Water Surface Temp: 81.6F

Wind Speed & Direction: Surface was calm for the first 60 minutes, then a S. ripple began and increased to S6 before the winds shifted suddenly to NW8-10. The winds went calm again for our last 30 minutes.

Sky Conditions: 100% grey cloud cover for the first 60 minutes, then gradual clearing to 60% cloudy.

Water Level: 5.38 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area SH0031C – low light success on tailspinners briefly, then a few whites on downrigger in the same vicinity

**Area 1442 thru 862 – topwater and downrigging for white bass and schoolie largemouth

**Area 1395 – downrigging for whites

**Area 1995 – downrigging for whites

**Area 1310 thru 1496 – downrigging for whites

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

GOOD TIMES WITH GRANDMA — 60 FISH

June 21st, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Wednesday morning, June 20th, I fished with Mrs. Gina Rushing of Temple, TX, and her grandchildren, Trenten and Trinity Fly, ages 17 and 13 respectively, of Harker Heights, TX. This trip was a birthday gift to her from her sons. She originally planned to bring her husband along, but, he fell ill and so Gina invited her grandkids along instead.

From left: Trenten Fly, Gina Rushing, and Trinity Fly teamed up to put 60 fish in the boat under continued low pressure weather conditions characterized by light rain, easterly winds, abundant cloud cover, and cooler temperatures. Gina’s sons presented her with a fishing gift certificate for her birthday.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip in which we caught white bass and largemouth bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday morning, 20 June.

HOW WE FISHED: With low pressure firmly in place for the second day in a row, I once again had a good feeling about today’s efforts. We focused on blunt, submerged points being directly impacted by the easterly wind and found fish holding on and actively feeding on four such locations, as well as in one cove pocket also being wind-impacted. We used downriggers to find where fish were concentrated and actively feeding, and then, if they were found near bottom, capitalized on what we found by using tailspinners to rack up the fish by working them into a frenzy beneath the boat.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 1) With lighter winds today than the day before, we spotted 4 separate schools of white bass forcing shad to the surface and “schooling” on top. This was the first organized topwater action I’ve seen on Stillhouse thus far this summer. 2) A total of 0.55″ of rainfall fell on the lake during this 3+ day low pressure event.

TALLY: 60 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 10:40a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 71F

Water Surface Temp: 83.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: E3-8

Sky Conditions: 100% grey cloud cover with light to moderate rain falling in the last 45 minutes of the trip.

Water Level: 5.36 feet low

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area SH0027C – downrigging for white bass

**Area SH0028C to SH0029C to SH0025C – downrigging for white bass

**Area SH0001C to SH0030C – downrigging for white bass

**Area 1995 – downrigging for white bass

**Area 1310 to SH0018C to 1977 – downrigging until white bass were found, then tailspinner to capitalize on them

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)