WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, 25 March, I fished with Mr. Tommy Maedgen and his wife, Sylvia, of Troy, TX. Tommy, who just fished with me last Tuesday, retired from life as a “shop” teacher in the Temple Independent School District where he taught woodworking, metalworking, small engine repair, and more. Sylvia is retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The couple recently got a really good deal on a 2006 Skeeter with very, very few hours on it and are working on retrofitting the trolling motor and electronics, so, part of their purpose in coming out was to see such technology in action so as to be more well-educated when it comes time to buy this helpful equipment.
PHOTO CAPTION: Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen of Troy, TX, put 52 fish in the boat this morning using a combination of bladebaits, slabs, and crankbaits. The fishing was solid as the winds shifted from W to N in advance of an incoming cold front, right up until the skies cleared around 11:10am.
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: 25 March 2019
HOW WE FISHED: As we got going this morning, we had solid, grey cloud cover and an 8 mph breeze from W. We found abundant, active white bass chasing shad in a low-light feed in under 18 feet of water up on a flat adjacent to the river channel. Opaque Cicada bladebaits in 3/8 oz. did the trick for these fish. As the skies went from fully cloudy to partly cloudy, the shallow bite died and we dropped back to the 25 foot mark to continue catching fish along the channel break using slabs in a snap-jigging presentation. After the two locations we were successful at this failed to produce additional fish, the wind picked up and the clouds thickened. The shallow water bite rebounded and allowed us about 50 minutes’ worth of flatline trolling success pulling baits at ~14′ deep in slightly deeper water. Side-imaging provided ample evidence that these fish were patrolling in groups of 10-20 fish, and, typically, when one of our rods went off, the other went off just seconds later.
Sylvia’s great, reflexive hookset accounted for a lot of fish today as she connected with a majority of the fish which struck her slab. Both she and Tommy were very attentive to their presentations, which also helped us make the most of our situation this morning.
This bite died as the winds finally went from NW to N and the skies got cloudless and bright. We landed only 2 drum via vertical jigging in our final 30 minutes of effort under these tough conditions.
OBSERVATIONS: Even more bait witnessed in the upper 12 feet of the water column routinely this morning. Caught first obviously spawned-out white bass on the main lake this morning.
TALLY: 52 fish caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:25a
End Time: 11:40a
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F
Elevation: 0.05 feet high, with a 0.07 foot 24-hour drop
Water Surface Temp: 65.2F
Wind Speed & Direction: Winds were W8 at trip’s start, swinging through WNW, then NW, then NNW, and finally due N12 by trip’s end as mild, dry cold front pushed in.
Sky Conditions: Back-and-forth coverage this morning with best, full-coverage grey clouds in the first hour, then going partially cloudy through 11:10, and finally clearing to cloudless beyond that time.
GT = 0
#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 729 blades for active, low-light fish
**Area vic 091 -snap-jigging for schooled whites on channel wall w/ 3 progressively shallower short hops as clouds built back in
**Area 745 to channel break – multiple flatline passes for 1-2 fish per pass for 10+ passes
**Area vic 077 – 2 drum after skies cleared
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