WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, March 4th, I fished with returning guest Dave Ross of Salado. Dave’s face may look familiar. He’s one of the pharmacists at the HEB in Harker Heights.
Dave is a well-traveled outdoorsman and recently returned from the tropics where he and a few buddies got into multiple sailfish on trolled livebaits.
Dave recently fished Belton with me to get an overview of what it takes to catch fish on that lake this time of year. I consider Belton a “quantity” lake (by Hill Country standards), whereas Stillhouse is a quality lake. Dave sampled Stillhouse with me this morning.
Today, we boated two trophy-class white bass exceeding TPWD’s threshold of 15″ for that species, as specified in their Elite Angler table for Big Fish.
PHOTO CAPTION: David Ross of Salado with two trophy class white bass taken on bladebaits on Stillhouse Hollow this morning.
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir
WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (AM), 04 March 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
We began at 6:45AM this morning under cloudless skies. There were two groups of gulls working open water, with more flying than feeding going on. We saw small, well-dispersed groups of whites on deep flats during this time. The few we interested really swam quickly after our baits, then many gave up before closing the deal. We only landed 4 fish in this manner.
The remainder of our trip was spent fishing with bladebaits horizontally adjacent to the river channel. As the bite got underway, we used the smaller profile, 1/2 oz. Cicada. Once the bite ramped up, we covered more water more quickly with the 3/4 oz. Binsky. We pulled fish steadily up until ~11AM when the fish ramped down fairly quickly. We used a “sawtooth” retrieve on the blades and scored consistently for a total of 46 landed. Toward the end of the bite, with fish slowing down and suspending, we also managed a few fish on the MAL Lure although the water is still just a bit too cool for really knocking it out of the park on this bait.
Two of the white bass we landed this morning measured 15.00 and 15.50 inches. For white bass, this is what TPWD considers a freshwater trophy, hence, we completed the required paperwork to get Dave a Big Fish award, which is one step toward Elite Angler status.
Here is the species list with minimum lengths under the Elite Angler Program …
Bass, Guadalupe 14″
Bass, Hybrid Striped 25″
Bass, Largemouth 21″
Bass, Smallmouth 18″
Bass, Spotted 16″
Bass, Striped 35″
Bass, White 15″
Bluegill 10″
Buffalo, Bigmouth 30″
Buffalo, Black 30″
Buffalo, Smallmouth 32″
Carp, Common 30″
Catfish, Blue 36″
Catfish, Channel 30″
Catfish, Flathead (Yellow) 45″
Cichlid, Rio Grande 9″
Crappie, Black 15″
Crappie, White 15″
Drum, Freshwater 25″
Gar, Alligator 72″
Gar, Longnose 50″
Gar, Spotted 42″
Sunfish 10″
Trout, Rainbow 15″
Walleye 25″
Hazy Eye Slabs, MAL Lures, and Stinger Hooks are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 46 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: 4th day of a warming trend with a wind shift and mild, dry cold front due in tomorrow.
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 6:45A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 46F
Elevation: 0.52′ high with a 0.01’ 24-hour fall and 1 CFS flow thru the dam.
Water Surface Temp: 50.9F
Wind Speed & Direction: Calm thru 8:25, then a steadily building SW breeze peaking at 12 began to build quickly
Sky Condition: Cloudless, fair skies
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 68% illum.
GT = 5
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
** vic 1538 – deep flat fishing under birds for scant fish – 4 landed on 3/8 oz. slabs
** SH0102C – side of channel for sluggish bottom cruising fish
** SH0106C – best action of the morning on blades for schooled, active white bass with some bird assistance
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
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