WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday morning I welcomed U.S. Army retiree Mike Fagan and his grandson, Nathan Houston (age 11) aboard for a morning of white bass fishing on Stillhouse Hollow. Mike’s mom, Dee Heffernan presented this trip to Mike as a gift back before Christmas 2018.
Mike served both as a trainer and as a mechanic while in the military and now is working in a second career as a hydraulic lift mechanic for Altec aerial devices commonly seen in use on cable TV and phone company vehicles. Nathan is a student in the Florence Independent School District and is playing center field and pitching for his baseball team.
The two have fished together regularly, so, Nathan was more advanced than most 11-year-olds when it came to casting, retrieving, playing fish, etc., which certainly helped today.
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: 11-year-old Nathan Houston and his grandfather “Papa” Mike Fagan with a few of the 38 fish we landed on a grey, breezy early spring day on Stillhouse Hollow. The fish on the far left of the photo went over 14″.
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: 23 March 2019
HOW WE FISHED: We spent most of our first 2.5 hours in water shallower than 22 feet mixing it up between slabs fished vertically and bladebaits cast horizontally with the slabs producing better than the blades. Our last 2.5 hours were spent over deeper, 34′ water in a segment of river channel working bottom-oriented and suspended fish with slabs assisted by Garmin LiveScope. Bottom-oriented fish were definitely easier to tempt than were suspenders today. Helpful bird action existed most of the first 5-hours following sunrise.
OBSERVATIONS: Fishing bounced back a bit today over yesterday’s tough situation. Fish fed moderately and steadily throughout the morning, helped by the low light extended by cloud cover. The most notable observation today was the speed at which I saw suspended fish moving in that there was a noticeable uptick, which I’m sure relates to the water temperature climbing to its highest thus far this season. Despite these fish moving quickly, I also noted that these suspended fish were much more difficult to tempt than fish coming in on bottom, and were also more difficult to tempt than slower suspended fish have been in the past few weeks when temperatures were lower.
TALLY: 38 fish caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:25a
End Time: 12:30p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F
Elevation: 0.19 feet high with a 0.10 foot 24-hour drop
Water Surface Temp: 61.6F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE11-13 the entire trip
Sky Conditions: 100% grey cloud cover with just the lightest bit of drizzle on 2 brief occasions
GT = 0
#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area vic SH0092C – first stop under low-light and with minor bird action for active whites in 18′
**Area SH0104C – 2 short hops for shallow, active fish in ~20′
**Area SH0101C – a few fish down in this gut
**Area SH0105C – last 2 hours of fishing came in 5 short hops in this area over the channel for both bottom-oriented fish and moving, suspended fish
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