May | 2020 | Fishing Report

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

A CHRISTMAS GIFT OF FISHING – 126 FISH @ BELTON LAKE

May 9th, 2020May 9th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, May 9th, I fished with Mr. Dan Nichols, who very capably helped me help my three young anglers do quite well as we worked Lake Belton for white bass. Joining us was Dan’s son, Preston Nichols, and two of Preston’s buddies — Jasper Arnold, and Taylor Krause. All three are 10 years of age, and all three reside in Liberty Hill, TX.

Dan shared that given a choice between getting Christmas gifts or going on a guided fishing trip, Preston chose fishing, and today’s trip was the fruit of that choice.

PHOTO CAPTION: My crew of 10-year-olds: from left: Taylor Krause, Jasper Arnold, and Preston Nichols.

PHOTO CAPTION: Triples like this one landed by Jasper while we downrigged on the outskirts of a massive school of threadfin shad were not uncommon. The boys landed multiple doubles and triples this morning.

WHEN WE FISHED: 09 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Even though this was not a hybrid striped bass trip and therefore did not require that I catch live bait, I still got out on the water early enough to observe where multiple shad spawning locations were so as to return when bait is required on hybrid-specific trips in the days and weeks to come.

One area, the area I took the boys to to begin our day, was as full of spawning shad as I believe I’ve ever seen on Lake Belton. Not only were the shad in the shallows “running the bank” from around 6:05 to beyond 7:15, the shad were nearly 3 feet thick all the way out to the 22 foot mark over an area about as long as a football field.

The bait was so abundant, we had difficulty convincing the gamefish which were present to pay attention to our lures. Eventually, I actually gave up briefly on using slabs and we re-rigged to fish with downriggers in order to quickly cover ground, and fish around the perimeter of this large mass of bait. This was the ticket, as we began to immediately pick up singles, doubles, and multiple triples on the 3-armed umbrella rigs we ran near bottom, each equipped with Pet Spoons.

When the bait moved on out to deeper water, the bite died and we settled into a more traditional approach going into deep water, searching out congregations of fish holding on or near bottom, and fishing them vertically with slabs used in a “smoking” tactic.

Every fish we took in this manner was taken on a 3/4 oz. white Hazy Eye Slab with stinger hook. I make and sell these myself here: SLABS

The harder the ESE wind blew, the more fired up the white bass got. Our efforts were also definitely aided by a nice layer of grey clouds through 10:25.

We landed our 100th fish at exactly 10:05, then put another 26 fish in the boat in the next 25 minutes, then called it a day as soon as the bite let up, which coincided with the breaking of the direct sun through the clouds for the first time all morning.

TALLY: 126 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Crazy amounts of bait from Area 1606 and shoreward. Larger, better quality bait also seen at Area SHAD026.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time: 10:25A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F

Elevation: 0.93′ high, 0.13′ rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE10 at trip’s start, steadily tapering up to ESE15

Sky Conditions: Thin grey layer of cloud cover existed until ~10:25

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1606 downrigging parallel to shore and up to the 21′ contour

**Area vic B0005C

**Area vic B0150C (hundreds of suspended whites in lower 40% of water column feeding so hard they created a long-lasting bait slick); landed 72 fish here.

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

I’M FEELIN’ DANGEROUS — 133 FISH @ BELTON LAKE

May 8th, 2020May 8th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday morning, May 7th, I fished with husband and wife team Jim and Linda Schultz of Salado. Both are U.S. Army veterans who chose this area to retire to. In their retirement, they purchased a pontoon boat and are slowly equipping it for fishing with sonar and a GPS-style trolling motor.

The pair has had some limited success catching Belton blue catfish, primarily on free-floating juglines, but success on rod and reel has been harder to come by.

In addition to catching fish, Jim was particularly interested in seeing and understanding how and why I used my own sonar/trolling motor combination in the various fishing scenarios we would encounter on the water today.

PHOTO CAPTION: As our fish count crept into the 20’s very early on in the trip, Linda said that was the most she’d ever caught at one time. She and Jim would go on to boat exactly 133 fish on this trip. Gotta love personal bests!

PHOTO CAPTION: Hybrid stripers have eluded Jim Schultz since he purchased his new pontoon boat, but, the chase ended today when this nice Lake Belton hybrid striper weighing right at 6.00 pounds took his 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slab as Jim fished it in and around an aggressive school of white bass.

WHEN WE FISHED: 07 May, 2020, PM

HOW WE FISHED: As I arrived about 30 minutes in advance of Jim and Linda, I noted abundant shad spawning activity in the area. Additionally, because of the calm conditions, it was clear that abundant gamefish (primarily white bass) were holding just offshore taking advantage of the easy meal these shad offered. After welcoming everyone aboard, going over the safety brief, setting up reel handles appropriately for everyone, and a prayer, we stayed right in the immediate vicinity and put just over 30 fish in the boat using a smoking tactic, all of which were white bass.

Since the white bass fishing requires a bit more reliance on the sonar and trolling motor combination, and because Jim pointed out that Linda enjoys vertical jigging, we intended this trip to be a multi-species trip focused on white bass, despite the fact that the hybrid bite is going strong. Additionally, of the two forms of fishing (white bass vs. hybrid), the white bass fishing would be more easily duplicated given the Schultz’s current equipment setup.

At one point in the trip, as our fish count rose into the 80’s and Jim began processing why we were doing what we were doing, he saw how the components on his own boat could be better used to help him have success. He said to Linda, “I’m feelin’ dangerous.” Linda and I looked at each other and just smiled.

We looked for fish in six distinct areas, finding abundant white bass in three of them. Our final location produced best, and also coincided with the time at which we experienced the highest wind velocity. Our first area gave up 32 fish, our second area gave up 22 fish, and the last area we fished gave up 79 fish, all for a grand total of 133 fish which included 1 hybrid striped bass, 2 freshwater drum, and 130 white bass in the 1 and 2 year class.

Every fish we took was taken on either a 3/8 oz. or 3/4 oz. white Hazy Eye Slab with stinger hook. I make and sell these myself here: SLABS

We used a “smoking tactic” for both bottom-oriented and suspended fish.

TALLY: 133 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Light topwater action at sunrise and sunset now observed 2 consecutive days produced by white bass and short hybrid driving shad to the surface.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:25A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 0.83′ high, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE2 at trip’s start, steadily tapering up to ESE16, gusting 18

Sky Conditions: Clear skies

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic B0194C

**Area 1269

**Area vic 1152/B0078C

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

KIDZ-BOP & WHITE BASS – 132 FISH @ BELTON

May 7th, 2020May 7th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Wednesday afternoon, May 6th, I fished with Mr. Cliff Brown of Texas Boat World and three of his grandkids — brothers Isaiah (age 13) and Caleb (age 5) who live locally, and Kinsley (age 12) who is in for a visit from her home in West Virginia.

Although it is peak season for hybrid striped bass, I feel these fish are not a good choice for kids’ trips because hybrid fishing with bait can involve a good bit of waiting with little more to do than watch a rod tip, and, once a hookup does occur, younger kids can get overpowered by these fish, getting lines tangled in other lines, in the trolling motor, in the outboard’s lower unit, etc. So, we opted to hunt for white bass this evening and, thanks to conducive conditions, we did very well, keeping the kids engaged from start to finish for over 3.5 hours.

PHOTO CAPTION: Isaiah, Caleb, and Kinsley — Cliff Brown’s grandkids had a great afternoon chasing white bass on Lake Belton as north winds began to turn easterly.

PHOTO CAPTION: Although our target species was white bass, we took 1 legal hybrid and several short hybrid, as well. Here, with his Poppy’s help, Caleb shows off our largest fish of the trip which was half as big as he is.

WHEN WE FISHED: 06 May, 2020, PM

HOW WE FISHED: Locating solid groups of feeding fish with sonar, fishing aggressively, and moving once the feeding action began to lessen was the key to success this evening. The fish were feeding in overdrive, hence, a “smoking” tactic using my 3/4 oz., white Hazy Eye slabs with stingers attached did the trick.

I stood between Kinsley and Caleb and took their fish off while Cliff did the same for Isaiah, and we kept baits in the water as best we could.

With a 5-year-old on board, I knew long pauses in the action would not go well, so, whenever action waned even just a bit, we cranked up and moved.

Fish were found on the bottom through around 7p, then, as the light began to dim, they moved up in the water column to about 15′ below the surface with occasional break-aways chasing shad all the way to the surface. This, in turn attracted laughing gulls, making fish location simple.

This was definitely a “catching trip”, not a fishing trip.

TALLY: 132 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: As sunset neared, helpful laughing gull activity pointed out the location of active, suspended schools of white bass forcing shad to the surface. Occasionally a glimpse of the gamefish was seen; these fish were feeding near the surface, but not on the surface.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:15P

End Time: 7:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 82F

Elevation: 0.83′ high, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: E9-11 all afternoon

Sky Conditions: Clear skies

GT = -20

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1941

**Area vic 2041

**Area B0192C

**Area vic B0070C

**Area vic B0188C – suspended fish pointed out by working laughing gulls

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

NORTH WIND NEGATED BY RISING METABOLISM – 46 FISH @ BELTON

May 6th, 2020May 6th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, May 6th, I welcomed aboard Derrick Fontenot, his girfriend, Veronica Merritt, and their friend, Tony Siefner, whom Derrick works with. All three are veterans — Derrick and Veronica served in the U.S. Army, and Tony served in the U.S. Navy.

The trio came out with me once prior for hybrid striped bass back in early June of 2019, and Derrick has done a one-on-one sonar training with me for his Lowrance equipment.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tony Siefner started the day off right with this 6.75 pound Lake Belton hybrid. This is the largest hybrid I’ve had a client land in the 2020 season-to-date.

PHOTO CAPTION: This long-bodied hybrid landed by Veronica Merritt weighed in at 5.75 pounds.

PHOTO CAPTION: In addition to this 5.25 pound hybrid, Derrick Fontenot also managed a 5.00 pound blue catfish this morning.

WHEN WE FISHED: 06 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Because my crew had an above-average result on their last outing for hybrid back in 2019 (95 fish, of which 44 were legal hybrid), the very first thing I mentioned this morning was how I anticipated the post-frontal conditions we experienced (north wind, bright, cloudless skies, and lower temperatures) would negatively impact the fishing. Fortunately, the water temperature is in the high 60’s and has been trending warmer, so fish metabolism is high. This induces fish to feed, but they just don’t binge aggressively under such conditions.

We hedged our bet this morning using smaller baits and cutbait for fish that were more tentative.

We continued fishing these baits on a tightline suspended up off bottom using what is essentially a Carolina rig terminated with a Kahle hook.

In all, we landed 46 fish, of which 15 were legal hybrid stripers. Were this not a catch-and-release trip, we’d have wrapped up by 9:30 with a 5-fish limit per angler.

As always, we released 100% of our catch and continued fishing until right at 11:30, with our final fish coming at 10:45. I’m of the opinion that folks are not paying me for a meat haul, only to go back to the dock when a certain number of a certain kind of fish are caught, but, rather, they are paying me for an outdoor experience, and I feel I owe them every bit of the time they are compensating me for.

10:30 seems to be the time these fish start wrapping up their feed and settling down until evening, as the fish have demonstrated in each of the hybrid-specific trips I’ve conducted now, and as they confirmed again this morning.

When all was said and done, in addition to the 15 keeper hybrid, we landed 2 short hybrid, 1 freshwater drum, 3 blue catfish, and 25 white bass in the 1, 2, and 3-year class.

TALLY: 46 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: No shad at SHAD014. Shad were moving off-shore in 8′ of water at Area 011. I netted sparse shad at Area SHAD026

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 0.93′ high, 0.05 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: N8 at sunrise, shifting to NE10 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: Clear skies with 80% high, thin, white clouds building in from the E. beginning around 10A

GT = 120

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD026

**Area vic LOST ROD 2

**Area vic 682

**Area 1945/1552

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

SORE ARMPITS AND HIGH WINDS — 29 FISH @ BELTON

May 5th, 2020May 5th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, I fished with Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen from near Troy, Texas. The Maedgen’s have fished for white bass on Stillhouse with me a number of times, and have done sonar training with me for their Lowrance equipment on Tommy’s bass boat. This morning they wanted to give Lake Belton hybrid stripers a try and reserved the date some months ago.

NOAA’s weather forecast had been all over the map since Sunday, the normal 2-days-in-advance date by which I make a call on where and when to meet clients. As I headed to bed last night, the cold front was due to arrive just after noon. As I woke this morning, there were flashes of lighting to the north and the revised forecast called for the strong winds on the lead edge of the cold front to hit before noon. Since the fishing has been so good for hybrid from 7 to 10:30A, we gave it a go.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen with a pair of hybrid taken just moments apart, in fact, I landed both in one net at the same time.

WHEN WE FISHED: 05 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Pretty straighforward fishing this morning — find ’em, feed ’em, reel ’em in. The hardest part is finding them. You just can’t go out with a “spot” mentality, head to a waypoint that produced fish three years ago (or even three days ago) and expect to catch fish. A waypoint can certainly get you close, but I rely on colored sonar, side-imaging, and down-imaging to really hone in on exactly where I’m going to commit to fishing before putting baits out.

The rigging was essentially a Carolina rig with an 80-pound braided mainline, a 3/4 oz. weight, a sinker cushion, a quality VMC ball bearing swivel, 25 pound fluorocarbon leader, and a snelled Kahle-style hook by Gamakatsu.

The fish showed a definite preference for live shad this morning (over cut bait). The bite peaked around 8:15 when it was all we could do to keep up with 2 rods per angler. After her third hybrid, Sylvia, who relied on placing the rod’s long butt up under her arm for leverage, said she was sure she was going to be sore tomorrow. Tommy just held on tight and grinned on every one of the hybrid he hooked up with. It sure was fun while it lasted.

Although our trip got shortened by incoming foul weather, we landed 29 fish, of which 24 were legal hybrid, 2 were short hybrid, and 3 were white bass. No catfish this morning.

TALLY: 29 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Found spawning shad at SHAD014 and Area 011, but both were quite sparse

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 9:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F

Elevation: 0.93′ high, 0.05 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: SE5 before sunrise and staying SE6-8 prior to the front’s arrival at 9:15A

Sky Conditions: Grey skies all morning

GT = 120

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD014

**Area vic LOST ROD 2

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

CHEETOS IN ONE HAND, HYBRID IN THE OTHER — 62 FISH @ BELTON

May 4th, 2020May 5th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, May 4th, I fished with returning guests Glen Wagoner and David Burke, accompanied by their friend, Steve Pennington, who fished with me for the first time today. This morning, our efforts were focused on hybrid striped bass on Lake Belton.

David is a U.S. Navy veteran. Back in the day, he was a shipboard helicopter refueler. He went on to become a counselor after the military. Glen manages an estate in the DFW area, and Steve owns his own business, Wind Deflector, producing wind blocking devices for high-end convertible automobiles.

PHOTO CAPTION: Steve Pennington with a wide, solid 5.75 pound Lake Belton hybrid striped bass taken on live threadfin shad.

PHOTO CAPTION: Glen Wagoner took this fish from deep, clear water. It went 5.50 pounds.

PHOTO CAPTION: David Burke of Belton took this dandy on cut bait. It also went 5.50 pounds.

WHEN WE FISHED: 04 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Today was the third day of southerly wind which had me expecting good things, and we were not disappointed. The bait-catching was easy and so was the fishing.

We went to exactly one area and fished it for 4 hours, catching fish continuously through 10:30 with a slowdown thereafter.

As is my custom during the threadfin shad spawn (which is running at peak condition right now), we used live threadfin shad as bait fished on multiple downlines in the lower third of the water column to tempt the hybrid stripers we landed.

We once again used a combination of live and cut bait. The live bait slightly outperformed the cut bait for hybrid. The cut bait also caught its fair share of hybrid, as well as other species, which kept the action going and made the morning engaging.

For the 3rd consecutive trip, the action tapered sharply around 10:30.

We landed 62 fish in total, of which 32 were legal hybrid striped bass up to 5.75 pound, in addition, we landed 1 short hybrid, 2 drum, 1 flathead catfish, 1 channel catfish, and a mixture of 25 white bass and blue catfish.

As the action peaked around 9:15, it was all we could do to keep 3 livebait rods and 3 cutbait rods in the water. Glen actually cut back to 1 rod for a spell because the fish had him running around missing fishing on one rod while he was trying to lower his presentation on the other. Somewhere in the frenzy, David yells, “I need help. I got my Cheetos in one hand and a hybrid in the other.” If I recall correctly, Glen took the rod with the fish on it, leaving David with Cheetos — hey, what are friends for?

TALLY: 62 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Found spawning shad at SHAD014, as well as Area 011 – with “one and done” quantities present at both.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 0.89′ high, 0.05 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: S8 before sunrise, increasing steadily to S12-13 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: Nearly cloudless, blue skies

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD014

**Area vic B0089C/B0084C

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

SKIFF TRIP #5 w/ RYAN, MATTHEW, & CALEB — 100 FISH @ BELTON

May 3rd, 2020May 4th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, 02 May, I conducted the 5th Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) trip of the 2020 season. Prior to the Coronavirus outbreak, I had this family on my SKIFF list, scheduled for Saturday, April 11^th. The boys, Matthew and Caleb were separated from their dad, Ryan, as he was on a temporary duty (TDY) assignment away from Fort Hood. Because Ryan’s assignment had concluded by this time, he was able to join his sons on the water.

ABOUT SKIFF: This fishing trip was provided to this military family at no charge. S.K.I.F.F. stands for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun. This program began in May of 2009. It is funded by the donations and fundraising efforts of the Austin Fly Fishers and other organizations they have partnered with. S.K.I.F.F. provides the children of military personnel separated from their families due to duty commitments with the opportunity to go fishing. SKIFF trips are also provided, free of charge, to Gold Star families who have lost their service member while he or she was on active duty. In mid-2019, SKIFF also began providing trips to dependents whose parents are bona fide disabled veterans. I coordinate and conduct these 3.5 to 4 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, just outside the gates of Fort Hood in Bell County, TX, year ’round. Call or text 254.368.7411.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Ryan, Matthew, and Caleb with a sampling of their catch of 100 fish, which included 97 white bass and 3 freshwater drum.

WHEN WE FISHED: 02 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Fortunately, the weather cooperated this morning, complete with a stiff southerly breeze which kept some anglers home and other anglers off of the open water so the zoo-like weekend conditions often encountered on Belton did not materialize this morning.

Because I continued to scout baitfish and gamefish locations on my own during the shutdown, I was able to keep up with the movement and locations of both, and was able to put the fellows on fish from start to finish.

We fished 4 locations, all in deep, clear water, and found very willing white bass congregated in large schools at each. Using my white, ¾ oz. Hazy Eye Slabs with stinger hooks attached, we fished vertically while the boat was held still by the Spot-Lock feature on my trolling motor.

Using the smoking tactic, we got the fish excited and kept them that way for an extended period at each of the places at which we stopped.

We began our trip at 7AM, and by 10AM had amassed a catch of 88 fish. Based on what I saw on sonar, I felt we still had a shot at hitting 100 fish, even though by this time the morning bite was definitely waning.

At this point, I changed up a bit (primarily to offer Caleb a bit of variety), and introduced the fellows to downrigging. Our first pass over a group of white bass holding near bottom in 40 feet of water yielded a triple – one fish on each of the 3 lures on the 3-armed umbrella rig we were downrigging with.

We stopped atop these fish and worked them until we landed our 100^th fish right at 10:30AM.

TALLY: 100 fish caught and released, including 97 white bass and 3 freshwater drum

OBSERVATIONS: High winds reduced heavy weekend boat traffic, particularly on open stretches of water. Shad spawn going full-throttle.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7A

End Time: 10:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F

Elevation: 0.80′ high, 0.03 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 68F

Wind Speed & Direction: S9 at trip’s start, tapering up to S17 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: 20% high white haze on blue skies

GT =N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 677

**Area vic 2059

**Area vic 1743

**Area vic 472

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

ALL ABOUT EATER CATFISH – 21 FISH @ BELTON

May 3rd, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday evening, May 1st, I welcomed returning guests Rick Powell and Ricardo Cisneros aboard. During the Coronavirus shutdown, I took my wife, Rebecca, and a handful of friends out fishing specifically for blue catfish on Lake Belton. Ricardo, who regularly follows my Facebook posts, saw this and hoped to duplicate the effort on occasions where he hoped to catch a few “eating-sized” catfish (12+ inches).

He requested I take he and his friend (and boss) Rick Powell out to show them what I’d learned.

No, I’m not starting to guide for catfish and don’t intend to do so in the future, but, as the fishery offers consistency and as the quality of these fish continue to improve on Lake Belton (due to zebra mussel consumption, I suspect), I will no doubt routinely mix in some catfishing in my multi-species trips. Additionally, my 100% C&R policy still pertains to this species.

PHOTO CAPTION: This is what the methods I’ve pieced together (with a good bit of help from Steve Webb) typically produce – smaller “eater-sized” blue catfish, two of which provide 4 fillets — just enough for a 1-person serving if kept and cleaned properly. Most fish are 12-15 inches, like this one held by Ricardo Cisneros.

WHEN WE FISHED: 01 May, 2020, PM

HOW WE FISHED: First, I search for blue catfish concentrations on sonar. Next, I Spot-Lock and chum with range cubes, then get right down to fishing vertically with my “Catfish Plumb” bait holders tipped with fresh, dead shad or non-stink doughbait. To enhance things, I’ve brought Garmin LiveScope to bear, which allows slightly suspended fish to be targeted. Otherwise, the default bait position is just inches off bottom.

Concentration is a must, as the catfish typically take only one swipe at the bait, during which time a quick, hard hookset is a must.

In 3.5 hours’ time, some of which was set aside for Humminbird side-imaging explanation and Garmin LiveScope explanation, we put 22 blue cat over the side of the boat with just as many missed on the hookset.

TALLY: 22 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: As I searched for spawning shad, a definite, shallow-water and shad-oriented fishery is also ripe for picking, albeit short-lived with the action drying up about the time the direct sun peeks over the eastern horizon.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:00P

End Time: 7:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 82F

Elevation: 0.77′ high, 0.06 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: S17 at trip’s start, tapering to S14 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: 30% high white haze on blue skies

GT =28

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic B0073C (fished it at start of trip and end of trip with 2 other non-productive stops in between)

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

THE WAIT IS OVER!! – 40 FISH @ BELTON

May 2nd, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday morning, May 1st, I conducted my first guided trip since the 24th of March when all non-essential businesses in Texas were closed by executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott. This morning I fished with returning guest Jeff Arbogust of Kempner, TX. Jeff is a retired landscape architect who fished with me one time previously as we pursued white bass on Stillhouse. This morning, our efforts were focused on hybrid striped bass on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION: With the threadfin shad spawn at its peak right now, these Lake Belton hybrid are ready to eat after returning to the lake from the tributaries during their ‘false spawn’.

PHOTO CAPTION: That’s 10+ pounds of fish landed about 45 seconds apart, both caught while fishing with live shad on tightlines.

WHEN WE FISHED: 01 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: As is my custom during the threadfin shad spawn (which is running at peak condition right now), we used live threadfin shad as bait fished on multiple downlines in the lower third of the water column to tempt the hybrid stripers we landed.

We fished 4 areas. All yielded fish, but only 2 yielded hybrid. The hybrid we landed this morning were very tight to the bottom and came in one or two at a time; we never saw a large, aggressive feed develop beneath the boat.

We used a combination of Kahle and circle hooks — both performed about the same. We also used a combination of live and cut bait. With the fish we found showing a bit sluggish on sonar (small groups, tight to bottom, not willing to come upwards for chum very far), we actually landed more legal hybrid on the cutbaits than on the live.

The action tapered sharply around 10:30.

TALLY: 40 fish caught and released, including 10 legal hybrid, 2 short hybrid, 3 blue catfish, and 25 white bass

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 58F

Elevation: 0.77′ high, 0.06 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 68F

Wind Speed & Direction: S6 at 5:15A slowly and steadily ramping up to S16-17 by trip’s end, as forecast

Sky Conditions: Nearly cloudless, blue skies

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD014

**Area vic 1604 (all white bass)

**Area vic 1269 (mix of whites and hybrid)

**Area vic B0089C (best hybrid producer, with a few blues and whites)

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday