WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, January 5th, I spent the morning on Stillhouse fishing with returning guest Dwight Stone of Georgetown, TX.
I always enjoy fishing with Dwight because we share interests in fishing and shooting, and because he is also a follower of Christ. Further, like me, he isn’t really hung up on a particular species of fish — he just likes “getting his string stretched”, so, although we targeted white bass, when largemouth or blue cat or drum come along, he enjoys catching them, too. Finally, we both like good barbeque. So, there’s always much to talk about and catch up on since our last trip.
Here is how the fishing went …
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My next few openings will be on January 12th, 17th, & 18th. Weekday mornings are always best.
PHOTO CAPTION: Dwight Stone and I got into a quality white bass on Stillhouse this morning primarily using the 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab with a vertical, slow-smoking approach.
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow
WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday (AM), 05 January 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
Although still chilly, this morning’s 38F start was still warmer than yesterday’s 30F start. Winds were just south of west, but, NOAA indicated a mild front and accompanying wind shift would arrive this morning.
We had a strong bite at sunrise, but, even during this time, and as is normally the case as the water cools, we encountered many disinterested or mildly interested fish for every one fish which perked up and responded to our presentations. This bite slowly tapered off through 10AM. At exactly 10:03 AM, a wind shift occurred, ushering in the weather disturbance. The fish responded positively.
To that point (2.5 hours of fishing by 10AM) we’d landed 33 fish. In the 2 hours which followed that wind shift, we caught another 42 fish, so it seemed that little wrinkle in the weather spurred the fish on a bit.
All of our fishing was vertical using white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs. I knew fishing Stillhouse would involve deeper water than I’ve been fishing at Belton, so the extra weight helped get our baits to bottom more quickly and made us more efficient.
A smooth, slow-smoking tactic used in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope did the trick.
When all was said and done, we landed exactly 75 fish, including 6 freshwater drum, and 69 white bass.
Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 75 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: No helpful gull activity witnessed today. Caught fish in as much as 44′.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:20A
End Time: 12:00P
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 38F
Elevation: 2.11 feet low, 0.03 fall in last 24 hours, 1 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 58.4F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSW7 at trip’s start and until 10:03AM, then a sudden wind shift and increase in velocity to NW11 occurred.
Sky Condition: Blue, cloudless skies
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 10% illumination.
GT = 25
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Areas 0256, 0091, vic 1528, SH0001C (3 hops), vic 121, and 980 — 80 fish, all caught on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (5/8 oz. white)
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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