RAY’S INTRO. TO STILLHOUSE — 20 FISH

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 …

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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)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

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