March | 2022 | Fishing Report

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

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THAT MAGIC 58F MARK — 149 FISH @ BELTON

March 29th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, March 29th, I fished with brothers Dwight and Duane Stone, and Dwight’s son-in-law, Josh Rogers (a.k.a. Captain Nintendo).

We could not have custom-ordered better conditions than those we experienced this morning — grey cloud cover for the entire trip, a wind with a southerly component, and an approaching low pressure system, all at the end of a warming trend which helped break that magic 58F mark for the first time since winter’s cool down.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on Monday morning, June 6th. Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Dwight Stone, Josh Rogers, and Duane Stone with white bass taken from Lake Belton on a combination of MAL Lures and Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday (AM), 29 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

The 4-day long warmup continued overnight and, for the first time since the winter cooldown, the water temperature hit 58F. My years of recordkeeping show this to be a very significant temperature for white bass fishing. It is the temperature at which I begin using the faster-paced retrieves in conjunction with the various MAL Lures, and the temperature at which I switch from “thumping” to “splashing”.

In addition to the warmup, we had windy, cloudy, humid conditions this morning, prompting the fish to feed for a full 4 hours.

We began prior to sunrise up in shallow water, under 22 feet deep, casting MAL Heavy Lures (silver blades, chartreuse tails) and taking fish steadily on a “sawtooth pattern” retrieve. We fished two areas, each with 2 “short hops” to keep up with the fish as they moved along bottom, and wound up landing exactly 69 fish before losing contact with them.

At this point, a few helpful birds pointed the way to additional fish, but, these fish were suspended and (I suspect) migrating. These fish were in deeper, cooler water and we not as excited as those shallower fish were, so, I shifted back to white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and we caught the remainder of our fish on them.

We hit the 100 fish mark at exactly 10:08AM.

Any day the fish bite for a full 4 hours is a great one in my book, and that is exactly what we experienced this morning

When all was said and done, we caught and released 149 fish, including 3 short hybrid stripers, 1 sunfish, 1 largemouth bass, 5 freshwater drum, and 139 white bass.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 149 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: For the first time this spring, I observed white bass “busting” the surface as they chased after shad — not dramatic or long-lasting, but present, nonetheless.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 3.46 feet low, 0.02′ fall in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 58.7F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW13 at trip’s start, tapering up to SSW20 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Thin, full grey cloud cover for the entire trip.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 9% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas fished successfully today: Areas vic B0170C, and 163/818 with MAL Lures for 69 fish

Areas fished successfully today: B0079C to B0126G, 938/B0028C w/ 2 hops, 1369 with 2 hops for 80 fish on white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

RAY’S INTRO. TO STILLHOUSE — 20 FISH

March 28th, 2022March 28th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, March 28th, I fished with returning guest Ray Walker of Harker Heights, TX.

Ray retired from the U.S. Army as a senior non-commissioned officer who spent his entire career as an infantryman (11B). He’s now hoping to spend some of that retirement on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir.

Ray’s request was very specific … he wanted an introduction to the reservoir even if the fishing would be less productive than at Lake Belton.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on April 4th and May 23rd. Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: Ray Walker with a pair of large Stillhouse Hollow male white bass taken early on in our trip on MAL Heavy Lures worked along bottom in “sawtooth fashion” in under 20 feet of water.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday (AM), 28 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

We experienced a very rapid warmup over this past weekend with both high temperatures and high winds to help mix the warming surface water with the cooler water beneath. Check the water temperature profile I have listed below in the “OBSERVATIONS” segment.

This morning’s weather was bright and cloudless with southerly winds whipping up quickly. The bite this morning was very low-light oriented, with the majority of our fairly light catch taking place in the first 2.5 hours.

This timeframe (the 3-4 weeks following spring break from mid-March to mid-April) is one in which I rarely spend time on Stillhouse, as the fishing gets pretty tough once the majority of the fish pass on by the Cedar Gap area. Deepwater areas are all but devoid of fish and bait during this time, and until post-spawn fish begin to filter back into the lake from out of the river.

All of our fish were taken in under 20 feet of water this morning, with about 50% taken on MAL Heavy Lures (silver blade, chartreuse tail), and the other half taken on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab. I got to demonstrate both vertical and horizontal tactics to Ray, as well as providing some pointers on line control, especially when dealing with windy conditions.

After the fishing was done, I drove Ray by the 4 uplake boatramps, pointed out timbered areas to avoid, and shared about vehicle security concerns at the various ramp facilities.

When all was said and done, we caught and released 20 white bass with two large males being our largest fish of the morning.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 20 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Here’s what the warm weekend temperatures and high winds did up near the surface:

0 feet 60.4F
5 feet 60.1F
10 feet 60.0F
15 feet 58.9F
20 feet 57.8F
25 feet 57.5F
30 feet 56.9F
35 feet 56.5F
40 feet 56.1F
45 feet 55.9F
50 feet 55.6F
55 feet 55.3F
60 feet 54.8F
65 feet 54.7F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 12 Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 3.39 feet low, 0.02′ fall in last 24 hours, 1CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 60.4F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW11 at trip’s start, quickly working up to SSW16 with higher gusts

Sky Condition: Unclouded, light blue skies.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 16% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas fished successfully today: Areas vic 745, SH0073G, 289, SH0001C

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

ENFORCING THE SPEED LIMIT — 72 Fish @ Lake Belton

March 25th, 2022March 25th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This afternoon, Thursday, March 24th, I fished with returning guests Gene Ellis and his 13 year old grandson, Bryson Ellis, visiting from Colorado.

Gene is both the Chief of Police and Assistant City Manager for the City of Belton, TX.

Bryson is on spring break from his school in Colorado Springs.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on April 4th and May 23rd. Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: Belton Police Chief Gene Ellis and his grandson, Bryson Ellis, took some spring break downtime together to pursue white bass on Lake Belton.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (PM), 24 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

After a tough morning, hindered by 2.75 hours of light winds, the winds picked up through 5:30PM, blowing a steady NW14 during that time, then gradually tapering down to NW8 by sunset.

Although I always prefer to guide parties during the morning versus the afternoon, the Ellis’ schedule dictated otherwise.

By analyzing trends in the data I have gathered over these 30 years of fishing Belton and Stillhouse, the numbers indicate that an afternoon trip will only yield about 70% of the morning’s total when conditions are stable over the course of the day.

The Ellis’ beat the odds, if only by a tad. They landed 72 fish, or 75%, of the morning’s catch of 96 fish. To do this, we fished white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs fished with a “slow-smoking” technique in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope for the first three hours.

Although I have, on just a few occasions in my life, been on the “receiving end” of speed limit law enforcement, the tables were turned a bit this evening when I had to remind the chief to either slow down, or Bryson to speed up — all aimed at keeping their slabs moving at the necessary, slow, steady speed to attract bites this afternoon.

For our final hour, given that the sun had been shining all day and that the air temperature was around 69F, I took us up shallow looking for white bass in under 20 feet of water. Using well-tuned side-imaging, I found multiple schools of white bass, each with perhaps twenty to thirty fish per school in this shallower water.

These fish were not moving much, as gauged by the length of time they remained visible on side-imaging as the boat was at a stand-still.

We cast MAL Heavy Lures with silver blades and chartreuse tails over these schools, allowed the lures to reach bottom, and retrieved the lures through these schools. The action was not red-hot, but, we pulled our last dozen fish in this manner, and, in so doing, got to introduce Bryson to a form of fishing he had never experienced before.

When all was said and done, we caught and released 72 fish, including 3 short hybrid striped bass, 66 white bass, and 3 freshwater drum.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 72 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:30P

End Time: 7:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 69F

Elevation: 3.30 feet low, 0.03′ fall in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 54.2

Wind Speed & Direction: NW14 at trip’s start, then tapering off NW8 beginning around 5:30

Sky Condition: Unclouded, light blue skies.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 59% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas fished successfully today: Areas vic 1362, 1000, 1819/1624, 1666, and 0188

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

JUST LIKE PAC MAN!! – 96 Fish @ Lake Belton

March 25th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: Yesterday morning, Thursday, March 24th, I fished with long-time clients Joe, Jack, Jamie, and Asa Oliver.

Joe, Jamie, and Jack are all brothers. Joe is a retired coach and school district superintendent, Jack runs an electrical business and dabbles in Hill Country real estate, Jamie is a retired psychiatrist, and Asa (Jack’s son) is a firefighter who also, along with his wife, organizes the Vintage Market Days held at the HEB Center in Cedar Park each year (as well as in other locations).

As we used Garmin LiveScope to track our presentations, and the fishes’ response to them, Jamie commented how watching fish engulf our slabs was akin to watching “Pac Man” gobble the dots on that 90’s video game.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on April 4th, 5th, and 25th. Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Joe, Jamie, Asa, and Jack Oliver with a sampling of our white bass catch on a pretty tough, clear, cold morning undertaken as the northerly winds took their sweet time developing enough velocity to aid our cause.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (AM), 24 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

The fishing got off to a tough, slow start this morning as we were hindered by lighter-than-forecast winds. The light winds, from the NW, barely rippled the surface until around 10:15 when the NW winds began “puffing”, alternating between 6 and 11 mph.

Although the fish never went “ballistic”, they definitely began feeding better with the increase in wind, and, with much attention paid to maintaining good technique, everyone began catching fish routinely from that point forward.

Asa was both the least talkative and the most focused on his presentation, keeping his retrieve speed on our “slow-smoking” tactic nearly perfect for the entire trip, and he wound up catching more than his fair share of fish.

All of our fish were taken on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab fished using a vertical, slow-smoking tactic

When all was said and done, we caught and released 96 fish, including 4 short hybrid striped bass, 89 white bass, and 3 freshwater drum.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 96 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: With this morning’s clear, bright, cool conditions with very light winds for 2.75 hours, the fish we found were positioned out deeper than has been the case on recent, more windy days. All of our fish were taken right around the 40’ mark this morning.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 42F

Elevation: 3.30 feet low, 0.03′ fall in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 53.9

Wind Speed & Direction: NW2-3 at trip’s start with a barely blowing breeze through ~10:15; the wind then began to “puff” from the NW, alternating between ~6 and 11 mph.

Sky Condition: Unclouded, light blue skies.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 59% illumination.

GT = 60

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas fished successfully today: B0010C with 2 short hops is where we caught the majority of our fish, once the wind finally came up beginning around 10:15A

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

WHAT GOOD COMES FROM A TORNADO? — 102 Fish @ Belton

March 23rd, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, March 23nd, I fished with brothers Max and Roman Porter, and their buddy, Braxton Hanvey, all accompanied by Max and Roman’s father.

The boys used to live in the Round Rock, TX, area before moving to Albuquerque, NM, some time ago. While on their spring break this week, they returned to Round Rock to visit friends and family. It was during this visit this past Monday night when parts of Round Rock were struck by a tornado.

This tornado knocked out power at Braxton’s school, thus giving him some unexpected time off, and permitting him to participate in this morning’s trip with his old friends, Max and Roman. So, I had one adult and three boys aboard as the stiff, cool north wind which cranked up early yesterday morning, continued to blow.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on April 4th, 5th, and 25th. Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Roman and Max Porter, and Braxton Hanvey, each with a Lake Belton white bass — three of the 102 fish my crew landed this morning, all on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (white, 5/8 oz.). Look at the “cold front-induced” blue sky!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 23 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

The impacts of the recently arrived cold front were definitely felt this morning as the fish were more temperamental, less energetic, and less willing to chase. Catching fish was a bit like pulling teeth for our first hour, as many fish simply ignored our presentations or just casually followed after them, instead of hustling to overtake and eat them.

Things gradually improved as the wind built. The best stretch of fishing was, once again, between 10-11A. During this stretch, our catch rate rose as fish chased harder and faster, and were more likely to be seen suspended up off bottom instead of hugging bottom as they had done up until this point in the morning.

All of our fishing was done in ~32-35 feet of water fishing vertically.

All of our vertical work was done with white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs using a slow-smoking tactic, in conjunction with well-tuned Garmin LiveScope.

When all was said and done, we caught and released 102 fish, including 5 short hybrid striped bass, 94 white bass, 2 freshwater drum, and 1 largemouth bass.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 102 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: All gull/tern activity was focused on shad naturally occurring at the lake’s surface at first light — no fish-induced bird activity witnessed.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 45F

Elevation: 3.25 feet low, 0.02′ fall in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 54.0F

Wind Speed & Direction: NW11 at trip’s start, steadily ramping up to NW16-17 with higher gusts.

Sky Condition: Unclouded, light blue skies.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 69% illumination.

GT = P

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas fished successfully today: 1269, 993, B0009C/B0003C, B0010C/0412

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

YET ANOTHER MARCH COLD FRONT – 111 Fish @ Belton

March 22nd, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, March 22nd, I fished with Kenny and Tarrah McLaughlin of Gatesville.

After Tarrah set up a trip for her husband (Kenny) and son (Clayton) earlier this year, Kenny had such a good time he wanted to bring Tarrah out to experience white bass fishing for herself.

Although the weather could have been more comfortable, this morning’s weather offered us a great fishing “window”, as the winds shifted from west to north and strengthened as they did so with the arrival of a cool, dry cold front. This is a great setup for success.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on March 30th and April 4th thru 6th. Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tarrah and Kenny McLaughlin of Gatesville enjoyed a 111-fish catch this morning on Lake Belton as an incoming cold front spurred fish to feed.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday (AM), 22 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

The McLaughlins have 6-year-old daughter who had to get to Kindergarten this morning, so, instead of a normal 7:30 start, we did an 8:45A start to give them time to take care of business.

This gave me some time to do some scouting, which paid off in that I was able to find some fish so that once the McLaughlins arrived, I put them right on fish and Tarrah got right down to business experiencing what Kenny had hoped for her to experience with the fast action of white bass fishing assisted by Garmin LiveScope.

Thanks to the high energy level of the fish this morning, spurred on by the incoming cold front, we fished five areas and experienced similar, solid action at each one, with the 10-11A hour being the best of the morning, with a notable tapering of activity from 11:20A on.

All of our fishing was done in ~35-38 feet of water fishing vertically.

All of our vertical work was done with white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs using a slow-smoking tactic.

When all was said and done, we caught and released 111 fish, including 2 short hybrid striped bass, 102 white bass, and 5 freshwater drum, and 2 largemouth bass.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 111 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Water temperature profile to 65′ this morning:

0 feet 55.6F
5 feet 55.6F
10 feet 55.2F
15 feet 54.7F
20 feet 54.7F
25 feet 54.5F
30 feet 54.5F
35 feet 54.5F
40 feet 54.3F
45 feet 54.2F
50 feet 54.0F
55 feet 53.5F
60 feet 53.1F
65 feet 52.9F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8:45A

End Time: 12:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 54F

Elevation: 3.27 feet low, 0.04′ rise in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 55.6F

Wind Speed & Direction: WNW14 at trip’s start, steadily turning to NW and ramping up to 20-21 with higher gusts.

Sky Condition: Partly cloudy skies at 20% white clouds on blue sky at trip’s start, clearing to 0% cloud cover by trip’s end.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 79% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas fished successfully today: Area vic 1177, vic 508, vic B0178C, vic 308, 1916

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

GOT WIND, GOT CLOUDS, GOT FISH — 92 FISH, Spring Break Trip #5

March 17th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, March 17th, I fished with first-time guests father-and-son team Scott and Wyatt Keeler.

The Keelers live up in North Texas, but have a getaway home north of Gatesville where they were Spring Breaking.

Scott is in the utility construction business and Wyatt, at age 13, is working his way through school.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on March 30th and April 4th thru 7th. Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: 13-year-old Wyatt Keeler and his dad, Scott, with a 7.00 pound Lake Belton blue catfish Wyatt took as bycatch while fishing vertically for white bass.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Scott and Wyatt Keeler with a few of the 92 fish we landed today using a combination of vertical and horizontal tactics.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (AM), 17 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

This morning got off to a grey, overcast start with a very thin fog veiling the lake. The south wind was already blowing around 10 mph at sunrise, and a wind advisory was posted for 12 noon today through 7AM tomorrow, Friday, 18 March, thanks to pre-frontal warming, immediately followed by the passage of another mild, dry cold front due in around midnight.

Given the limited light reaching the water, we started our morning up shallow, in under 18 feet of water casting MAL Heavy Lures with silver blades and chartreuse tails to white bass holding on bottom. We fished 3 similar areas, picking up a half-dozen fish at each. This held together until the fog burned off and the skies began to brighten through the clouds. At this time, we moved deeper and began fishing vertically.

We hit three more areas with our vertical tactics, with our success increasing at each one as we approached 10:30A. From 10:30 to 11:30 we experienced the most intense action of the morning as fish could be seen on Garmin LiveScope swimming faster horizontally, and chasing our lures farther and faster than in the hours leading up to this point. Our catch rate went way up during this time.

All of our vertical work was done with white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs using a slow-smoking tactic.

When all was said and done, we caught and released 92 fish, including 1 blue cat, 3 short hybrid striped bass, 86 white bass, and 2 freshwater drum.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 92 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: The 10A-ish to 11A-ish hour has been consistently productive this week.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 58F

Elevation: 3.27 feet low, 0.02′ fall in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 53.6F

Wind Speed & Direction: S10 at trip’s start, steadily increasing to S14 with higher gusts by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Fully greyed sky this morning with about an hour’s worth of very thin fog

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 99% illumination.

GT = 75

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas fished shallow with MAL Heavy: 1659, 1634, adn B0116C

Areas fished vertically with Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs: B0122C, 376, 327

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

MAEDGENS BEAT THE ODDS — 102 FISH, Spring Break Trip #4

March 17th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: Yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, March 16th, I fished with first-time guests Marshall and Kristi Maedgen, and their kids, Kase (age 15), and Kate (age 13).

The Maedgens were referred to me by Marshall’s dad, Tommy Maedgen, who has fished with me numerous times through the years.

Marshall works in distribution in a large plumbing and HVAC parts company, Kristi substitute teaches in the Salado ISD, and the kids are busy, all-season athletes.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on March 30th and April 4th thru 7th. Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Kate, Kase, Kristi, and Marshall Maedgen with four of the 102 fish they landed on a beautiful, warm, clear Spring Break 2022 day on Lake Belton.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (PM), 16 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

Yesterday’s mild, dry cold front blew through and then blew itself out by sunset yesterday. The post-frontal period with bright skies, calm winds, and cool temperatures began to breakdown around 9A as a light SW ripple began to disturb the lake’s surface. The morning bite lasted through about 11A, then began to taper off sharply.

We got going around 3:30P, which was about 4 hours in advance of sunset.

The winds had remained from due south and were at 12-13 mph with no cloud cover, but with a light white haze making the skies other than the deep “bluebird” blue they had been in the morning.

Afternoon bites tend to be a bit weaker and shorter than morning bites. In fact, I’ve “run the numbers” and found that on days I’ve fished both AM and PM, the PM trips yielded 70% of the morning’s catch. Today was an exception. The Maedgens “beat the odds” and took fish consistently in all four hours of this afternoon’s trip, whereas we lost about 75 minutes to calm, bright, post-frontal weather in the morning.

The fishing was pretty straightforward — once I found fish with a combination of side-imaging, down-imaging and traditional sonar, we Spot-Locked on them and worked vertically for them using white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (5/8 oz.).

Marshall and Kase were most experienced, so, I put them toward the bow on the starboard side, while I stayed standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Kristi and Kate toward the stern on the starboard side so I could help them a bit more. With all five of us abreast of one another, I could keep track of all four of my crew’s slabs and watch fish response to those slabs in real time. This helped me see if anyone was working their bait too fast, too slow, too erratically, etc.

We worked out baits with a “slow-smoking” tactic and the fish responded positively to that time and time again.

As is often the case on afternoons with bright skies, the action peaked in the final 90 minutes, then died hard right as the sun dropped below the horizon.

When all was said and done, we caught and released 102 fish.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 102 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: I observed many “episodes” of bird activity this afternoon, but, upon closer inspection, found all of it was driven by loons.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:30P

End Time: 7:35P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 77F

Elevation: 3.25 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 54.0F

Wind Speed & Direction: S13 @ trip’s start

Sky Condition: Thin white haze on cloudless blue sky

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 96% illumination.

GT = 35

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas vic 1604/B0103C, vic 473, vic 1012, 150, B0171G, 993/B0173C

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

RYAN WASN’T HORSING AROUND!! – 82 FISH, Spring Break 2022, Trip #3

March 16th, 2022March 17th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, March 16th, I fished with first-time guests James and Angie Connolly and their two kids, 13-year-old Ryan and 8-year-old Chloe.

The Connolly’s drove in from Copperas Cove, TX, where the kids are on a weeklong spring break.

James is a U.S. Army veteran, and Angie works at a clinic in Copperas Cove. The family’s favorite pastime centers around horses – they have several which they train and ride, along with a few other farm animals.

Angie booked this trip back around Christmas, but weather and COVID prevented us from getting out on at least three previous attempts. Looking back, none of those dates had weather as nice as today’s was.

Here is how the fishing went …

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My next few openings will be on March 30th and April 4th thru 7th. Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Angie, Chloe, James, and Ryan Connolly with a part of their 88 fish catch.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 16 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

Yesterday’s mild, dry cold front blew through and then blew itself out by sunset yesterday. The post-frontal period with bright skies, calm winds, and cool temperatures began to breakdown around 9A this morning as a light SW ripple began to disturb the lake’s surface.

We caught just a handful of fish right at first light under low-light conditions, then things got tough until that light breeze began to blow.

Once the fish began to bite, the action built to a peak and plateaued for about 75 minutes through around 11A, then began to drop off pretty quickly. By about 11:35 the fish had quit feeding.

With water temperatures still in the low 50s, the fish are still pretty deep and slow. Every place the Connolly’s caught fish I experimented with a faster presentation using an MAL Lure, and the interest just isn’t there quite yet to chase very fast or very far.

Every last one of our fish was taken on a white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab fished with a slow-smoking tactic used in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.

With young kids aboard, I took the time before we found fish to go over the proper technique for using the slab so we could maximize our potential once we found fish.

When all was said and done, we caught and released 82 fish, including 3 freshwater drum, 2 largemouth bass, 4 short hybrid striped bass, and 73 white bass.

Although Chloe caught our largest fish (a freshwater drum running ~3 pounds), Ryan was our best producer. He was totally focused from start to finish, he was disciplined about keeping his retrieve just right, he kept his eyes glued to the sonar, and his results reflected his intensity and intentionality.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 82 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Post-frontal conditions at the start of the morning got us off to a slow start, but, once the SW breeze began to ripple the surface and the high pressure began to break down, the fish began to feed. Here is the temperature profile I took this morning:

0 feet 54.0F
5 feet 54.2F
10 feet 54.2F
15 feet 54.3F
20 feet 53.5F
25 feet 53.2F
30 feet 53.1F
35 feet 52.9F
40 feet 52.3F
45 feet 51.9F
50 feet 51.9F
55 feet 51.9F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 45F

Elevation: 3.25 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 54.0F

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm until 9A, then a light SW ripple began and built to SSW13 by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: Blue bird

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 96% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas vic B0011C, 0409, 308, and 376

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com