April | 2019 | Fishing Report

HYBRID WEATHER – 50 FISH @ BELTON

April 29th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Monday, April 29th, I fished with returning guest Brian House, accompanied by two first-time guests, Jason Moon and Nick Szyman. The three men got to know one another working out at the same gym. Brian is a U.S. Navy vet, Jason is a U.S. Army vet, and Nick is a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant still on active duty.

PHOTO CAPTION: Brian hooked up first and often today. He had great technique on the reel, waiting for a sustained pull until he methodically turned the reel’s handle slowly allowing the circle hooks we used to cam around and latch onto the fish.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jason, originally from Georgia, is now using his G.I. Bill to pursue a degree as he operates his own taxidermy business.

PHOTO CAPTION: U.S. Army SSG Nick Szyman with a nice 4-pound class Lake Belton hybrid striped bass taken on live shad.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: Hybrid striped bass using live shad.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 29 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We fished strictly live bait in pursuit of hybrid striped bass this morning. The stiff SSE breeze and grey cloud cover were very welcome after the bright sunny skies of this past weekend.

The shad spawn was heavy this morning and the hybrid put on their best show to date. Of the 50 fish we landed today, 29 were legal hybrid. We landed no undersized hybrid. The remainder of our fish consisted mainly of blue cat and white bass, with a single largemouth bass thrown in the the mix.

We fished only two areas extensively today. The first area produced from 7:30 to 9:30am. During this time we landed 35 fish, including 22 legal hybrid.

We then had a hour’s lag as I searched numerous areas without success.

Then, from 10:38 to 12:30, we enjoyed another 2 full hours of slower, but still productive fishing. This second run produced another 15 fish, including 7 more legal hybrid stripers.

OBSERVATIONS: Large shad produced best early; then medium-sized shad and cutbait produced best at the end of the morning. “One and done” shad situation at SHAD014 although no motion could be seen for the wind blowing pre-sunrise.

TALLY: 50 fish caught and released – including 29 legal hybrid

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 12:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 2.30′ above full pool with a 0.06′ 24-hour fall and a 1672 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: ~67.4F

Wind Speed & Direction: S12-15

Sky Conditions: Grey skies with “squinting light” penetrating all morning

GT = 65

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 717/B0148C – 35 fish, including 22 legal hybrid

**Area B0149C – 15 fish, including 7 more legal hybrid

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)

FRONT-LOADED HYBRID – 30 FISH @ BELTON

April 28th, 2019April 28th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday, April 27th, I fished with Temple-based CPA and long-time client Steve Niemeier. Steve typically books several trips each year and has always included his grandkids on his trips from as soon as they are able to fish (around 5 years of age). Today, his granddaughter, Macy Fowler, age 10, got to join us.

I was really impressed with Macy in that I only had to explain/show her something one time and she would immediately get the hang of it. At age 10 she also hung in there really well as we passed on smaller fish opportunities to put legal hybrid in the boat, which required some waiting and patience on her part.

PHOTO CAPTION: The hybrid fishing was “front-loaded” this morning, with a majority of our legal fish taken in the first 90 minutes. Here Steve Niemeier and his granddaughter, Macy Fowler, grip two fish caught just seconds apart as a small school of hybrid came into our vertically presented bait spread.

PHOTO CAPTION: This mid-morning surprise came just after I had moved us to get away from small fish including smaller blue cat, white bass, and (very) short hybrid. Although all of these same fish would present themselves at this stop several yards away from the fish we’d hoped to leave behind, it wasn’t before this battle-scarred largemouth found Macy’s shad suspended up off bottom. It weighed 6.75 pounds and measured 23.75 inches (just shy of a Big Fish Certificate length by .25 inches).

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: Hybrid striped bass using live shad.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 27 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We fished strictly live bait in pursuit of hybrid striped bass this morning and did best in our first 90 minutes.

With water temperatures still lagging behind “normal”, the hybrid bite still has not really taken off yet, but is at least consistent.

Fishing live shad on a tight-line rig with a 3/4 oz. egg sinker, quality swivel, 25# fluorocarbon leader and circle hook (with mono tag) is standard fare. I have been gauging the distance off bottom at which we present our baits based on fish aggression level and the presence of smaller, non-target species like white bass and blue catfish.

We never caught more than two hybrid at any one location although we saw additional fish present before and after catching the legal hybrid we caught, they would come up to the level of our baits, then turn away, and then only as singles or pairs.

OBSERVATIONS: Even more white bass coming down the tributaries today headed for deep, clear water. Shad spawn visibly evident at the following: SHAD023, SHAD017, and SHAD024. I netted successfully at SHAD024. Reliable source indicated shad also spawning at SHAD025 and SHAD009 thru SHAD010 to SHAD011. We got checked by TPWD today — no issues.

TALLY: 30 fish caught and released – including 8 legal hybrid

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:45a

End Time: 12:15a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F

Elevation: 2.33′ above full pool with a 0.06′ 24-hour rise and a 1672 cfs flow due to 2-3 inches of rain in the watershed 3 days ago

Water Surface Temp: ~67F

Wind Speed & Direction: S10-14

Sky Conditions: Bright, cloudless blue skies

GT = 20

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1298 early

**Area 1743/346 – mid-morning action with lots of smallish fish — moved 3 times to get away from small fish just killing baits

**Area B0082C late

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)

We’re Getting There – 38 Fish @ Belton

April 27th, 2019April 28th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday morning I fished with David Burke of Belton, TX, and his friend, Glen Wagoner, of DeSoto, TX, near Dallas. The two have been friends for about 14 years. David first came out fishing with me solo during peak hybrid season in 2017, then last year brought Glen along. This year Glen brought his dad, also named Glen, along, as well. David is a U.S. Navy vet and retired counselor, Glen III works as an estate manager, and Glen Jr. retired from the painting business and now works part-time for a trucking company.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Glen Wagoner Jr. David Burke, and Glen Wagoner III each with an early morning hybrid striped bass which struck live shad on Lake Belton.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: Hybrid striped bass using live shad.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 26 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We fished strictly live bait in pursuit of hybrid striped bass this morning and did best in our first 90 minutes and in our last 45 minutes, with slower action during mid-morning. With water temperatures still lagging behind “normal”, the hybrid bite still has not really taken off yet, but is at least consistent. Slowly but surely, we’re getting there!

OBSERVATIONS: Each day I see more and more white bass beginning to filter back in to deeper, clearer water haunts. I noted that the Cowhouse arm picked up some whitish coloration from Wednesday’s rains. Also noted the non-target blue catfish seem, on average, larger thus far this season. The majority which strike live or cut bait are hooked and landed (versus much smaller blue cat experienced in years past which would nibble a shad from the tail end but not get hooked due to small mouth size). Netted shad successfully at SHAD022 as they spawned in shallow water.

TALLY: 38 fish caught and released – including 19 legal hybrid

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 11:35a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F

Elevation: 2.27′ above full pool with a 0.31′ 24-hour rise and a 1672 cfs flow due to 2-3 inches of rain in the watershed 2 days ago

Water Surface Temp: ~66.6F

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW8-12

Sky Conditions: Bright, cloudless blue skies

GT = 25

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1945 early

**Area B0037C late

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)

ON THIS DAY, 29+ YEARS AGO … 37 FISH @ BELTON

April 23rd, 2019April 28th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, April 23rd, I fished with returning guests, father and son Matt and Mitch Laakso. This was a birthday trip for Matt, scheduled a full year ago as we concluded his birthday trip in 2018. We actually had to leave the fish biting at 11:35a this morning so Matt could make his 2:30p business flight for North Carolina out of Austin-Bergstrom airport!

PHOTO CAPTION: Mitch Laakso (left) and his dad, Matt Laakso, with a late morning pair of hybrid taken just after the glassy-calm surface got rippled by a light easterly breeze. The fishing closely tracked with wind velocity today, allowing these two anglers a total of 17 legal hybrid, all taken on barbless circle hooks and all released in excellent condition.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: Hybrid striped bass using live shad.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 23 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We fished live shad in pursuit of hybrid stripers for a full 4+ hours this morning. For the 3rd trip in a row (I believe on account of the unseasonably cool water temperature), we typically caught the fish we witnessed on sonar which led us to stop at the areas we fished, but we never got a “chain reaction” going via pulling in fish from around us, thus, we had to move frequently, even if just a few boat-lengths.

Most of our fish came from 43-50 feet of water. Shallower areas had an annoying abundance of small blue catfish on them.

We did best when the ESE wind blew, and noted a lack of action, or at least a lack of enthusiasm in the strikes we got, when the winds were calm.

Our 2nd hour and final hour were best, as that is when we enjoyed the best winds. Unfortunately, we had to leave the fish biting at trip’s end so Matt could make a 2:30p flight out of Austin.

OBSERVATIONS: The fish seemed to have no preference today on bait size. If the wind was blowing, the fish were active and they readily took whatever lively baits we sent down to them. Experimental cutbaits drew blue cat and zero hybrid this morning. Netted shad successfully at SHAD014 as they spawned in shallow water.

TALLY: 37 fish caught and released – 17 legal hybrid, 4 short hybrid, and a 50/50 mix of white bass and blue catfish.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 11:35a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 0.71′ above full pool with a 0.01′ 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: ~65.4F

Wind Speed & Direction:

Sky Conditions: 100% thin, grey cloud cover with occasional drizzle

GT = N/A

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 717

**Area vic 1289

**Area B0037C

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)

MOVE OR GO FISHLESS – 34 FISH @ BELTON

April 22nd, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, April 22nd, I fished with MJ Linder of Belton, his 80-year-old dad, Gene Linder of Abilene, Justin Hall and Justin’s 13-year-old son, John Hall, both from Gatesville. MJ owns Mobility Therapies, his dad is a retired college educator, Justin is a youth pastor in Gatesville, and John is in middle school in Gatesville where he’s currently playing 7-man Spring Football.

PHOTO CAPTION: MJ Linder (right) and his dad, Gene, age 80, scored early on live shad. Our best bite came in the first two hours this morning.

PHOTO CAPTION: Justin Hall and his 13-year-old son, John, took these fish just moments apart as an aggressive pack of hybrid passed into our bait spread and grabbed what we were offering.

PHOTO CAPTION: Gene Linder landed our largest fish of the trip. This blue cat went for a cutbait we had put out for variety’s sake. It went 8.50 pounds on a certified scale.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was my first trip of the season devoted strictly to fishing for hybrid striped bass with live shad.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 22 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Fishing was fair this morning, although I expected a bit better based on the wind speed, wind direction, and cloud cover. We fished live shad all morning and found the same scenario as I did last Friday — that when we pulled up on an area, we’d essentially catch what was there, but would not see fish pulled in from adjacent areas attracted by the commotion we made by thumping, with chum, nor by the frenzied movements of hooked fish. Thus, it was necessary to move soon after the bite tapered off. My conversation with one other Lake Belton angler confirmed this was happening elsewhere, as well.

The first 2 hours of the morning was best. We got a lot of “lookers, not takers” in the last 2 hours of the morning; and this observation was confirmed by a fellow guide I checked in with after my trip had concluded.

OBSERVATIONS: The later it got the more frequently we had disinterested fish inspect our baits without committing.

TALLY: 34 fish caught and released – 15 legal hybrid, 3 short hybrid, 12 blue cat, 1 largemouth bass, and 3 white bass.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 11:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 0.7′ above full pool with a 0.09′ 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: ~64.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE11, increasing to SSE14 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: 100% thin, grey cloud cover

GT = 50

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area B0090C thru 344 – best hybrid action in first 2 hours after sunrise

**Area 151 – abundant, but finicky, fish here; a few hybrid mixed in

**Area 966 – encountered bluecat with baits close to bottom; a few hybrid mixed in

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)

ANYONE KNOW HOW TO DO CPR? – 53 FISH @ STILLHOUSE

April 21st, 2019April 21st, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On April 20th I fished with Jason Lange and his son, Andrew (age 16), and Will Sears and his son, Tyler (age 15). All four were first time guests and came after being high bidders on a gift certificate from a recent Central Texas Christian School fundraiser.

Jason is a cardiologist with the Baylor Scott & White health system based at the Metroplex facility in Killeen where he works with Will’s wife, a gastroenterologist. Will is in the residential and commercial construction trade and runs Sears Builders and Development in Temple. Andrew still attends CTCS, and Tyler recently transferred to Belton High School.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Will Sears, Tyler Sears, Andrew Lange, and Jason Lange, each with one of the 53 fish we landed in a 4-hour morning white bass fishing trip on Stillhouse Hollow.

PHOTO CAPTION: 15-year-old Tyler Sears landed this 4.25 pound largemouth on a soft plastic grub on a 1/4 oz. jighead and on spinning gear intended for white bass. After quite a tussle, we worked together to slide the fish into the net, then did a little C-P-R (Catch – Photograph – Release).

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multispecies trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: 20 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: This very clear, cool morning, we began working up shallow first under low light conditions throwing soft plastic paddletail grubs on 1/4 oz. heads to white bass hanging on shallow flats. As expected under post-frontal conditions, the bite was hindered a bit by the bright skies and relatively calm winds. We experienced a slow, steady pick of fish through about 8:40a, when the shallow bite died for keeps. We landed 15 white bass, 1 crappie, and 2 largemouth during this bite.

We immediately headed for deeper, clearer water and searched a number of potential fish-holding areas for fish. When we found a few fish, I introduced everyone to LiveScope-assisted vertical jigging with 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs/Stingers. Everyone really seemed “wow’ed” by the demo I provided (which resulted in a landed white bass which came racing about 25 feet from off the bottom in 40′ to grab my slab). From that point on everyone stayed engrossed in properly working their baits so as to capitalize on interested fish. Due to the post-frontal conditions, the fish were somewhat reluctant, but the time from 10:00 to 10:30 produced well thanks to the peak wind conditions we enjoyed during that span. We ended up catching 35 white bass via vertical jigging, thus taking our tally to 53 fish.

OBSERVATIONS: Thanks to 2 solid days of high winds, the upper 1/3 of Stillhouse was siltier than I care to fish; I believe this impacted our bite from fish accustomed to sight-feeding.

TALLY: 53 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:45a

End Time: 11:00a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 46F

Elevation: 0.53′ above full pool with a 0.12′ 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: ~64F

Wind Speed & Direction: WSW3 at trip’s start, and staying just barely strong enough to ripple the water until around 10, when it picked up to a consistent WSW9

Sky Conditions: No cloud cover.

GT = 40

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1697 & 1724 – low-light, shallow bite from 7 – 8:35 for 18 fish on paddletail grub/jighead

**Area 1201 – whites on channel shoulder via LiveScope with Hazy Eye Slabs/Stingers

**Area SH0108C – whites on channel shoulder via LiveScope with Hazy Eye Slabs/Stingers

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)

SEASON’S FIRST SOLID HYBRID ENCOUNTER — 66 FISH @ BELTON

April 20th, 2019April 20th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, April 19th, I fished with a contingent of the Oliver clan, including brothers Joe, Jack, and Jamie, as well as Joe’s son, Thomas, and Jack’s son, Isaac. This was all part of a 30-person reunion to take place over the Easter Weekend, with “Pa” Oliver’s place in Temple being ground zero for the festivities.

PHOTO CAPTION: Brothers Joe Oliver (Temple, TX) and Jack Oliver (Marble Falls, TX) with a nice pair of hybrid taken on live shad just seconds apart.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jamie Oliver (Cedar Park, TX) with his nephew (Joe’s son), Thomas Oliver (Temple, TX) with one of the 21 legal hybrid we took under incoming cold front conditions.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jack Oliver and his son, Isaac Oliver, with our heaviest hybrid of the trip which tipped the scales at 5.25 pounds.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multispecies trip focused on white bass using artificial baits and hybrid striped bass using live shad

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 19 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Based on recent results and the forecast weather conditions, I was concerned that a morning of solid hybrid fishing might not be in the cards for us, but, thanks to some overnight cloud cover, more heat was retained overnight allowing for a sunrise air temperature of 57F versus 50F called for by the weatherman. Additionally, there was a brief, but intense, pre-sunrise shad spawn thus confirming to me that the cold front didn’t do the damage it could have. Additionally, the winds from this cold front were still blowing, so we were not in post-frontal conditions.

We got on a solid hybrid bite for our first 2.5 hours on the water, putting 21 legal hybrid, 2 short hybrid, 1 blue cat, and 1 largemouth in the boat during this time. The fish were not really fired up. We caught what I saw on sonar as we Spot Locked, but did not really pull in additional fish from nearby, hence, we had to “short hop” or “jog” a bit to keep getting bit.

Eventually, the forecast winds built to the point where our bait rods were moving vertically too much in the swell, and we headed for more protected waters.

Over our last hour on the water, we put 35 white bass, 1 drum, 1 blue cat, and 4 short hybrid in the boat, all on 3/8 oz. white Hazy Eye Slabs with Hazy Eye Stinger hooks affixed to the line tie.

OBSERVATIONS: Brief, intense shoreline spawn by threadfin shad at Area from 6:45-6:55a, also noted spawners at Area 1367 and SHAD002; James C. reported 3 hours of spawning at his location the day before from about 30 minutes pre-sunrise and hence. This was the first trip in this 2019 season with a mix of both quality and quantity concerning hybrid striped bass.

TALLY: 66 fish caught and released – 21 legal hybrid, 6 short hybrid, 2 blue cat, 1 drum, 1 largemouth bass, and 35 white bass.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 11:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 0.7′ above full pool with a 0.09′ 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: ~65.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: NW14-17

Sky Conditions: 0% cloud cover as a cold front continued to move in on a NW wind

GT = 65

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area B0087C, B0091C, and 1374 – live shad for hybrid

**Area 966 to 1543 (on rise) – live shad for hybrid

**Area B0066C to 378 – slow smoking for white bass on slabs/stingers

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)

Teetering on the Edge of Hybrid – 79 Fish @ Belton

April 18th, 2019April 18th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, April 17th, I fished with Jerry Worley and Jerry Blalack, both of Harker Heights. The two men got to know one another when Jerry W., owner of Jerry Worley Insurance Agency, helped Jerry B. out with homeowner’s insurance.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jerry Blalack of Harker Heights with a Lake Belton hybrid taken on live shad. The hybrid bite is just now coming around after an unusually late start thanks to an unusually cool spring and very frequent cold fronts moving through making the fishing tough.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jerry Worley, owner of the Jerry Worley Insurance Agency in Harker Heights, with another bait-caught hybrid going between 4-5 pounds. Our last two hours was better than the first half of this morning’s trip.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multispecies trip focused on white bass. using artificial baits and hybrid striped bass using live shad

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 17 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: This trip broke down into 3 parts. Part 1 was a largely unsuccessful bait fishing effort targeting hybrid which resulted in just a handful of fish, none of which were hybrid. We then took about an hour and a half in the middle of the morning to get our strings stretched by targeting white bass. As the trip closed out, and knowing that the white bass were still active based on both our results and sonar returns, we once again hung bait to see if we could interest a few hybrid stripers.

This was the first time this Spring 2019 season I saw any rhyme or reason to the hybrid activity I observed — that’s promising!

OBSERVATIONS: The shad spawn appears to be making its way down the tributaries. Zero bird activity seen. Light topwater feeding action observed under less windy, rainy conditions towards trip’s end.

TALLY: 79 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:40a

End Time: 11:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 0.52′ above full pool with a 0.05′ 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: ~65.2F

Wind Speed & Direction:

Sky Conditions: 100% murky grey clouds the entire time with drizzle the last 75 minutes prior to post-trip clearing later in the day.

GT = 55

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 788/1024 – smallish white bass

**Area v380/B0148C – 2 year class white bass

**Area vic B0074C – whites and hybrid mixed; whites stayed on bottom; hybrid rose up for live shad

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)

Long Grey Line Meets Long White Bass – 104 Fish @ Stillhouse

April 15th, 2019April 15th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, April 15th, I fished with new clients Jonathan Blauvelt and his fiancee, Gloria Rodriguez. The two met at a Starbucks while Jonathan was on active duty and Gloria was grading papers while she was teaching in the public school system. They are due to be married at the Cadet Chapel at West Point, NY, in July of this year.

Jonathan is a Class of 2005 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and is thereby part of the “Long Grey Line”. He served as a commissioned officer in the Signal Corps. Gloria is from McAllen, TX, graduated from the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, and currently works for the Nolanville Economic Development Corporation.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jonathan Blauvelt and Gloria Rodriguez, each with a pair of white bass from among the 104 we caught on the first day of decent fishing weather we’ve enjoyed in about a week’s time.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multispecies trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: 15 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We finally got a day’s worth of weather I could get excited about and, evidently, the fish were excited about it, as well. The overnight lows did not drop down as low as were forecast (only dropped to 55F), and a southerly breeze was already moving the water before sunrise.

We enjoyed consistent action on white bass willing to take paddletail grubs on 1/4 oz. jigheads from 7:00am through 8:35am. These fish were feeding on shad on a flat in under 12 feet of water, although there was very little surface action to give away their presence after the sun rose. We landed 41 white bass during this low-light feed.

We had a bit of a lull from 8:45 to 9:30 as the sun continued to rise and brighten the cloudless sky, and before the wind built up enough to create wave action.

By 9:30 enough wind had worked on the water long enough to help the open water bite develop. I checked 4 areas before finding fish at a fifth area. The action built nicely after we fooled the first 2 or 3 fish into biting, and we stayed on these fish at this one spot without short-hopping a single time all the way until 11:15. We relied heavily on the Garmin LiveScope technology to keep our baits in front of the fish regardless of the depth the fish were using. Most of the action took place in the lower 1/3 of the water column as we sat in 32 feet of water. We landed 63 white bass here, all on 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slab/Stinger combinations in white color.

OBSERVATIONS: No gulls seen. Working ospreys helped identify general fish holding areas, but not as precisely as gulls would have.

TALLY: 104 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:45a

End Time: 11:15a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 55F

Elevation: 0.49′ above full pool with a 0.05′ 24-hour drop

Water Surface Temp: ~63.9F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW3 at trip’s start, building to SSW14 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: No cloud cover.

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1697 – low-light, shallow bite from 7 – 8:35 for 41 fish on paddletail grub/jighead

**Area vic SH0005C – open water bite in 32′ for 63 fish on 3/8 oz. slab

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)