WHO I FISHED WITH: This second day of Spring Break 2019, I fished with Brian House of Harker Heights, his son, David, his daughter, Claudia, and Isabella Hagains of Killeen, a friend of Claudia’s. All three kids are students at Saint Joseph’s Catholic School in Killeen.
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Isabella Hagains, David House, Mr. Brian House, and Claudia House. David’s freshwater drum weighed in at 4.25 pounds on a certified scale.
WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip focused on white bass.
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir
WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday morning, 12 March
HOW WE FISHED: The heaviest fog cleared slightly during our first hour on Stillhouse Hollow, allowing for about three-quarters of a mile of visibility. We did a bit of flatline trolling to see if the slow warmup we had enjoyed since the previous Wednesday had brought fish any shallower, but results were scant — 2 white bass and a drum.
We moved out to deeper water and I brought everyone up to speed on how to use the snap-jigging tactic effectively. We had limited success at two areas under scant bird action, picking up another half-dozen fish. We moved to a third area – the deepest we would fish – and found what we were after.
The sonar screen just came alive with fish which were heavily congregated together in about 38 feet of water and on a sloped segment of bottom. I could tell by the posture these fish appeared in that they would not require the very slow snap-jigging method we had been using, but would instead respond to a faster tactic which I refer to as “smoking”.
Indeed, as soon as my four anglers’ baits touched bottom and they began using this smoking tactic, the fish started coming over the side of the boat. The bite went soft one time thanks to a cessation in the wind for about 25 minutes, but, once the wind returned, the bite fired right back up again. When noon rolled around, we had managed a total of 77 fish, including a 4.25 pound freshwater drum landed by David.
OBSERVATIONS: The bite directly correlated with wind speed on this very foggy morning.
TALLY: 77 fish caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 8am
End Time: 12:15p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F
Elevation: 0.73 feet high, with a 0.07 foot rise over the last 24 hours
Water Surface Temp: 57.6F
Wind Speed & Direction: Winds were ESE5-10
Sky Conditions: Leaden grey skies with heavy fog.
GT = 45
#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Areas SH0096C, SH0097C, and SH0098C all produced well on slow-smoking in conjunction with LiveScope
Bob Maindelle
Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service
Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle
Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle