TEXTBOOK SUMMERTIME FISHING — 60 Fish

WHO I FISHED WITH:   As Bryan Reed climbed aboard my boat this past Saturday, he looked at me solemnly and said, “It took us 9 hours to catch 6 fish the last time we tried this on our own, and that was a good day.  If we can do better than that, we’ll be satisfied.”  And so, as the rest of the crew arrived, including Jason Woolverton, Jason Walters, and Steve Guzman, we headed out on Stillhouse in search of fish.  In just a little over 4 hours’ time, we returned to the launch having landed 57 white bass, 1 longnose gar, 1 freshwater drum, and 1 channel catfish — 60 fish in all.

Bryan, Jason Walters, and Steve are all on active duty in the US Army, and Jason Woolverton is a commercial electrician.

Steve, Jason, and Bryan with a trio of fish all landed seconds apart as we used the Spot Lock function to hold over top of loosely congregated fish we found as we covered water via downrigging.

Jason with one of the better 3-year class fish we landed as we fished both vertically and horizontally after finding fish via downrigging.

In addition to the 57 white bass we boated, we also landed this longnose gar, as well as a freshwater drum and a channel cat.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR:  This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday morning, 21 July 2018

HOW WE FISHED: This was textbook summertime fishing under hot, dry, clear, high pressure conditions.  We downrigged to find fish while catching them steadily, then worked baits vertically and then horizontally once large congregations of fish were found.  Topwater “popcorn” action definitely helped lead to such congregations although these fish were definitely boat shy.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES:  About 75 minutes worth of spotty topwater action helped lead the way to our best catching spread out over a fair piece of open water.  White bass were definitely boat shy.  With 4 anglers it was not worth chasing “popcorn” fish just for a few casts; working vertically and staying put was the best option.

 

TALLY: 60 fish, all caught and released

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:15a

End Time: 10:25a s

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  79F

Water Surface Temp:   85.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW7-9

Sky Conditions: <10% cloud cover

Water Level:  6.62 feet low

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT:  

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

 

**Area 1971 thru SH0040C – downrigging for white bass

**Area SH0047C thru 1969 – downrigging for white bass

**Area SH0045C thru SH0046C – downrigging for white bass; then vert. and horiz. presentations to capitalize

**Area SH0044C – downrigging for white bass; then vert. and horiz. presentations to capitalize

 

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@HoldingelleTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

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