“KIDS FISH, TOO!” TRIP — 36 FISH, LAKE BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Thursday afternoon, 26 May 2022, I ran a “Kids Fish, Too!” trip with Aiden (age 7) and Ryan (age 4) Beitzel, chaperoned by their parents, Michael and Jennifer.

Michael is an anesthesiologist training for a 1-year period here in Central Texas before heading to West Texas to work in that field.

Michael contacted me some time ago about getting his boys out fishing.  When I learned the trip would include a 4-year-old, I immediately suggested that we hold off until sometime in the period between late May and early September when the fishing is both more varied and more kid-friendly.

That paid off today.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 12th – 14th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left:  Ryan (age 4), Jennifer, Michael, and Aiden (age 7) Beitzel with two of the 36 fish the boys landed during their 3-hour “Kids Fish, Too!” trip intended just for younger, elementary-aged kids.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (PM), 26 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

“Kids Fish, Too!” trips are very different from my standard white bass fishing trips.  First, they include only the kids doing the fishing.  Any adults who come along have previously agreed that they are there to help me help the kids be successful.  Next, these trips are no longer than 3.5 hours in length, versus 4+ hours for standard trips.  These trips focus on keeping the kids engaged as long as possible, versus focusing on high fish counts; this requires multiple techniques be employed and that we move about frequently to build in transitions which hold kids’ attention.  Finally, these trips are less expensive, at $195 for 2 kids versus $275 for 2 adults.

Prior to the Beitzels arrival, I scouted around, found a suspended school of white bass over ~52 feet of water which responded well to the commotion I created while sampling their interest level.

Once the family arrived, we got right out on these fish and caught 8 white bass in short order.  Ryan really was not interested in fishing at this point, and the novelty of the smoking tactics we were using wore off on Aiden fairly quickly, as is typical for someone his age.

We moved on and searched for sunfish.  After coaching Aiden (as Ryan was still not interested in sunfishing yet) on how to set the hook with the bream rods we were using, he began to catch bluegill and longear sunfish consistently.  Knowing that Ryan would enjoy this if he’d just give it a try, dad and I coaxed him into landing a sunfish which we’d already hooked.  That was all it took to interest Ryan — he then joined in and helped us land a total of 17 sunfish before the novelty of that approach wore off.

We moved onto our final stop of the evening, knowing we would likely not be there very long as the kids were starting to fade in the 90+ F afternoon heat with little wind to soothe.

We landed a final 11 additional white bass using the same smoking tactics we had employed earlier with MAL Dense lures tied on.

Right at the 3 hour mark we all agreed that fishing any longer would turn a great experience into a not-so-great experience.  We packed up, headed in, and wrapped up the afternoon with a total of 36 fish landed by Aiden and Ryan.

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 36 fish catch included exactly 19 white bass and 17 sunfish (bluegill and longear).

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 TALLY:  36 fish caught and released

 OBSERVATIONS:  For the first time this spring I found active, totally suspended fish holding away from heavily sloped bottoms.  I found two such instances this morning, both on topography being impacted by the wind, and another such instance this afternoon.

 WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 4:45A

End Time:  7:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 93F

Elevation: 4.29 feet low, 32 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 77.5F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SW2-5 all afternoon

Sky Condition: Post-frontal bluebird skies

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 15% illumination.

GT = 20

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0128G (whites), Area 492 (sunfish), Area B0150C (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)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

KIDS FROM THE COUNTRY – 340 FISH @ Lake Belton

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Thursday, 26 May 2022, I fished with a crew of newbies.

Back around Christmas, 12-year-old Cayson Nowell’s grandmother, Connie Stermer, gave him a fishing gift certificate good for up to four anglers.

With school letting out for the year for Cayson and his buddies yesterday out in east Bell County, he invited along Ryan Dutton, Pryce Rabroker, and Bo McGinniss.  Cayson’s dad, Keith Stermer, chaperoned the whole crew.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 12th – 14th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Ryan Dutton, Cayson Nowell, Pryce Rabroker, and Bo McGinniss with a few of the 14+ inch white bass they landed in their 340 fish haul.

PHOTO CAPTION:  Closeup of the MAL Lure’s barbless hook.  If you already own an MAL Lure and want to make it barbless, it is better to mash down the barbs than to replace the hook, as hook replacement requires a split ring which lengthens the lure’s overall dimension and increases the likelihood of “blade strikes”.  I do offer the MAL Heavy (only) with barbless hooks already affixed.  See link below.

 WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

 WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (AM), 26 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

We experienced quite a rebound from yesterday’s tough, frontally-influenced and very windy fishing.

I suspect that with water temperatures being high and fish metabolism increasing, this morning’s strong bite was the result of fish “making up for” depressed feeding activity yesterday.

We caught fish from start to finish, save for a ~20-minute span between 9:40A and 10A when one group of fish we were on gave up and I had to set out and find another group of fish.

With four energetic teens onboard and full sun shining, I brought a different set of rods this morning, all rigged with the MAL Heavy Lures with white tails and barbless hooks.  I was anticipating a high fish count based on weather, and, I just wasn’t sure of the boys’ experience level, so, as a precaution, I went barbless.

If you are a guide reading this, believe me when I say barbless hooks are much, much easier on you, your clients, and your fish, even if you are not focused on catch-and-release.

The main “adjustment” with barbless hooks is being sure to swing the hooked fish from water to boat quickly and in one smooth motion.  Fish left dangling in the air are typically the ones that come off the hook unintentionally.  Other than that, the speed at which the hooks can be removed really helps me get my clients back down on fish so they can “make hay while the sun shines’.

Teens so easily perceive what is going on with the Garmin LiveScope’s video monitor that it is almost second-nature to them, requiring very little explanation from me on what is being portrayed.

This, plus the fact that all four boys routinely fish for largemouth bass, sunfish, and catfish in stock tanks near their homes, meant that the learning curve was not steep at all this morning.

We got right down to catching and never looked back.

The fishing was very straightforward once I found fish.  We Spot-Locked on them, dialed in the LiveScope, dropped MALs vertically, and “smoked” them toward the surface to get bit.

Each time we arrived at a new location (we fished 5 distinct areas), the fish would get quite frenzied for a while, then eased back.  The boys understood what I needed them to do when we saw the fish gear down a bit, which was to back off on their retrieve speed once they got the MAL Lure’s blade spinning.  This kept them from reeling faster than the fish were willing to pursue.

Being a strong proponent of not “leaving fish to find fish”, we fished each group of fish we found until they lost interest.  The fact that every group we found had very few short fish in it made this an easy decision to make.

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 340 fish catch included exactly 337 white bass, 1 freshwater drum, and 2 largemouth bass.

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 TALLY:  340 fish caught and released

 OBSERVATIONS:  For the first time this spring I found active, totally suspended fish holding away from heavily sloped bottoms.  I found two such instances this morning, both on topography being impacted by the wind.

 WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time:  11:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F

Elevation: 4.29 feet low, 32 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 76.5F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SW8 at trip’s start, increasing to SW14 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Post-frontal bluebird skies all morning

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 15% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1604, 1482, B0063G, B0127G, BG0026

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

ACCESS DENIED! — 72 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Wednesday, 25 May 2022, I fished with long-time client Dr. Jim Wood, and newly elected Justice of the Peace Larry Wilkey (Bell Co., Precinct 3, Place 2).

The two got to know one another through Dr. Wood’s long-time role as a Temple Police Department volunteer reserve officer prior to Larry’s retirement from TPD.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 12th – 14th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Dr. Jim Wood and Justice of the Peace Larry Wilkey with a few of the mature white bass we had to work for this morning, following the passage of a major late-spring cold front.

PHOTO CAPTION: With the shad spawn now nearly completely over, I’ve changed my baits over to the MAL Dense with white tail (versus the chartreuse tail I’ve used during the spawn).  As the spawn winds down, the colors of the mature threadfin shad grow more muted and stay that way until early April the following year.  It’s a small detail, but, “matching the hatch” is a fishing fundamental.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 25 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

Bottom line: we had a tough morning.  We experienced a major weather change overnight with the entire atmosphere of Texas dropping about 20 degrees in just 3-4 hours.  With this cool down came ~2 inches of rain area-wide, and a stiff north-west wind in the front’s wake.

That wind was the big story for us.  As I studied the forecasts (multiple versions) last night, most had the wind velocity pegged at 14-16mph from the NNW.  This makes for a bumpy ride from Point A to Point B, but it is fishable.  We had those predicted conditions for about our first 75 minutes, then it really got rough.  So rough, that, for both comfort’s sake and safety’s sake, I decided to pull us off of our fish and search waters I’d not been fishing lately in order to avoid such high winds (which were all of 17-19 mph with higher gusts at this point).

We scratched up a few fish here and a few fish there — most were suspended fish which were on the move and which were drawn by the commotion we created, but, we did not find large congregations of bottom-oriented fish which it takes to produce a steady take of fish for a prolonged period of time.

Unfortunately, this high-wind scenario persisted through about 10AM, which, over the past several weeks now has been the time that the morning bite has begun tapering off.  We just couldn’t get to where I knew the fish were during the key time of morning.

Regardless, around 10A, the winds scaled back a bit, and I ran us right back out into more open water in order to try to make up for some lost time.

The fish were far from enthusiastic, but, we did find heavy concentrations of them in three areas, allowing us to nearly double our catch of 41 fish at 10AM to a final tally of 72 fish by 12:10P, as I extended the trip a bit.

The smoking tactic put all of our fish in the boat, but, we had to be careful about reeling too quickly upwards once we got the MAL Dense Lures’ blades spinning, so as not to outrun the more lethargic fish we were encountering.

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 72 fish catch included exactly 70 white bass and 2 largemouth bass.

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY:  72 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:  We had a morning low of 63F this morning thanks to a powerful, rain-producing cold front which moved through overnight dumping ~2″ of rain area wide.  Belton immediately rose 0.2 feet and continues to rise from its recent low of 4.37 feet below normal.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time:  12:10P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F

Elevation: 4.17 feet low, 0.2’ rise in last 24 hours, 32 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 76.5F

Wind Speed & Direction:  NW14 at trip’s start, peaking at NW17-19 with higher gusts from 8-10A, then settling back to NW14-16 through noon.

Sky Condition: Grey skies for ~75 minutes, then clearing to bright skies with 0 cloud cover

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 23% illumination.

GT = 115

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0075C, 1552, 083/958, 0150, and B0068G/1209

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

THE WHITE BASS BROTHERS — 200 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Tuesday, 24 May 2022, I fished with long-time clients Joe, Jack, and Jamie Oliver, all brothers who grew up around Lake Belton.

Joe is a retired coach and school district superintendent, Jack owns an electrical contracting business near Marble Falls and dabbles in real estate, and Jamie just recently retired from counseling and moved back to the Belton/Temple area.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 12th – 14th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Joe, Jack, & Jamie Oliver took fish after fish today for a final tally of 200 caught and released.  The grey skies and wind had the fish cranked up pretty good until around 10AM.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: We used the MAL Dense with chartreuse tail in deep water exclusively today as higher winds at sunrise eliminated any visible, shallow topwater action.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday (AM), 24 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

Fishing was solid this morning, albeit a bit one-dimensional.  Thanks to a stiff pre-dawn breeze out of the ENE around 12 mph, there was no topwater action to be found as was the case yesterday morning under balmier conditions.

So, after about 20 minutes spent looking for topwater action, we headed out deep, found fish consistently, and fished effectively with MAL Dense Lures used vertically with a “smoking” tactic.

I continue to have the MAL Dense with chartreuse tails tied on to match the vivid yellow tails of the spawning threadfin shad.  On that topic, the spawn has now just about run its course, with only dribs and drabs of fish hitting the shoreline to spawn — gone are the 45 to 60 minute-long, unbroken waves of fish which were commonplace just a few days ago.

With a cold front on the way and storms due to spark up as it passes through, we kept a wary eye on weather radar for the entire trip, but, never had a drop of rain fall on us over the full 4-hour duration.

The fish bit well through ~9:55AM, then downshifted to nil over the following hour.

By 9:55, we’d landed 181 fish.  We were only able to muster an additional 19 fish in that final hour from 9:55 to 10:50 to bring our final count to 200 fish, with fooling the last 6 fish being quite the feat as the whites got very lethargic very quickly.

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 200 fish catch included exactly 198 white bass, 1 sub-legal hybrid striped bass, and 1 largemouth bass.  Once again, fewer than 20 of our white bass were short.

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY:  200 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:  Water temperature profile comparing this morning with last Thursday (on 19 May, prior to the arrival of our current cold front on Saturday, 21 May:

24-May 19-May
0 feet 77.9 0 feet 78. 8
5 feet 78.1 5 feet 78. 8
10 feet 78.1 10 feet 78. 6
15 feet 78.1 15 feet 78.4
20 feet 78.1 20 feet 78.1
25 feet 77.9 25 feet 77. 9
30 feet 76.7 30 feet 76. 8
35 feet 72.2 35 feet 72.2
40 feet 67.4 40 feet 68.2
45 feet 66.0 45 feet 64.5
50 feet 63.8 50 feet 62.2
55 feet 61.7 55 and 61.8

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time:  10:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 4.37 feet low, 0.05’ fall in last 24 hours, 32 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 77.9F

Wind Speed & Direction:  ENE12 at trip’s start, slowly shifting toward the S and building to ESE14 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Fully greyed skies all morning.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 32% illumination.

GT = 120

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1012/1552 (46 fish), 150/1298 (114 fish), B0042G (53 fish), 1489/B0005C (21 fish), vic 835 (19 fish)

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

DOGS REALLY DO DREAM! – 203 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Monday, 23 May 2022, I fished with long-time client Dwight Stone, a retired restaurateur from Georgetown, TX, accompanied by first-time guests, the father-and-son team of Jim and Derek Curlee.

Jim is a retired U.S. Army physician now working in his own practice focused on sleep medicine out of his Georgetown-based Georgetown Sleep Center.

Derek serves as Vice President of Business Development of Airrosti Rehab Centers, a healthcare group focused on rapid recovery treatment for soft tissue injuries.

Sleep and dreaming have always intrigued me, so, with an expert onboard, I inquired about some observations I’ve made while watching my 17-year-old female lab mix, Pumpkin.  Every now and then when she’s sleeping, she’ll make some muffled barking sounds and/or act like she’s running while on her side.  I asked Jim if he knew if dogs dream.  He said, in no uncertain terms, that they do.  I was nice to have confirmation on something I’d always wondered about!!

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 12th – 14th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Jim & Derek Curlee and Dwight Stone with a few of the white bass we took with a combination of early sight-casting and later-morning deep-water vertical tactics.

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: We used the lighter MAL Original (top) for topwater work in the first hour of light, then, once the fish went deeper, finished up the morning with the heavier MAL Dense (bottom) used vertically.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday (AM), 23 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

You know it’s going to be a pretty good morning when you stop at a random area to demonstrate the tactics you’d like your clients to use and catch multiple fish during the demo.

I was not real sure what I’d be facing this morning after a major change of weather over the weekend, some pretty weak reports from a few fellows in my “network”, and a wind with a northerly component blowing this morning, all capped off by the threat of some fog.

Those concerns got taken off the table pretty quickly this morning.  After doing the demo of the smoking tactics using MAL Dense Lures in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope, we worked the fish over pretty good in about 22 feet of water until, right around 7AM, we began to witness some light topwater action with pods of white bass pinning mature shad against the water’s surface and feeding on them until the shad sounded.

I switched everyone over to MAL Original Lures (which are lighter, so they still cast far, but don’t sink below the surface feeders when reeled back in at a moderate cadence).

Everyone enjoyed the sight-casting and just watching the white bass gorge themselves as the shad tried valiantly to escape.

By 8AM, the topwater devolved into just an occasional pop-up here and there, all mainly over deeper water, so, we called an end to the topwater hunt and focused from that point forward on finding large groups of bottom-oriented white bass and fishing them with the smoking tactic everyone was now well-practiced on.  By this time, we’d boated 53 fish.

In just shy of three hours, we would go on to land another 150 fish from three locations, all taken using the smoking tactic with the MAL Dense Lures.  The fish activity level began to wane just after 10A, and, by 10:50A, they were done.

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 203 fish catch included exactly 187 white bass, 14 sub-legal hybrid striped bass, and 2 largemouth bass.  Fewer than 20 of our white bass were short.

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY:  203 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:  Picked the season’s first ripe blackberries last night.  First day I spotted widespread open water topwater action.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:35A

End Time:  10:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 4.32 feet low, 0.07’ fall in last 24 hours, 32 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 77.1F

Wind Speed & Direction:  ENE4-5 at trip’s start, slowly shifting toward the S and building to ESE11 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: A thin fog was in place through around 9A, and was then replaced by a thin, grey cloud layer the rest of the morning which kept the sun’s heat off all morning.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 42% illumination.

GT = 20

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0103C thru 1581 (topwater), B0149C, 1171, 1944

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

THANKS, BOSS!! — 201 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Thursday, 19 May 2022, I fished with Aaron Martin, owner of A.M. Designs.

A.M. Designs makes “props” of all sizes out of foam for high school bands, theater companies, businesses, churches, and more.

Aaron brought with him three current employees and one former employee on a half-day morning fishing trip in pursuit of white bass.

Joining Aaron was Mason Stuart, Travis Reynolds, Coey Malina, and Jesus Suarez.

If you are a boss and would like to treat your employees to something like this, just give me a call!

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 7th and 12th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Travis Reynolds, Mason Stuart, Jesus Suarez, Aaron Martin, and Coey Malina with but a few of the 201 fish haul these fellows caught and released this morning on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION:  The MAL Dense worked like a charm today.  All 201 fish were landed on this bait worked vertically with a “smoking” tactic.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (AM), 19 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

For the second consecutive day I had to adjust my launch location due to the forecast for high winds due to ramp up in the latter half of the morning.

With five anglers aboard, I decided to do a quick “demo” of the smoking tactic with the MAL Dense Lure and the Garmin LiveScope before we got out on top of fish, so that I could help reduce the learning curve a bit and avoid missing fish due to avoidable technique issues.

I get a little ribbing sometimes for having four gunwale-mounted sonar units on the boat, but, when I have a crew of 5 or 6 anglers and everyone has a clear view of the underwater world beneath them, including seeing exactly what their lure is doing as well as fish response to that lure, well, it is beyond worth it at that time.

Such was the case this morning.  I had two men looking together at the aft starboard Garmin unit, one man solo, looking at the forward starboard monitor, and another pair of men looking together at the port side aft Garmin unit (hence, the port side forward unit remained turned off).  Everyone had plenty of elbow room and everyone could see their bait rise and fall 100% of the time.

We fished four areas this morning.  The fishing was best from 7:25 through 9:30, then tapered off quickly from 9:30 through 10:15, and, by 10:30 the fish were done.

I observed very little in the way of spawning shad and I saw no signs of schooling white bass feeding on the surface.

All of our fish was done in 34 to 49 feet of water using the smoking tactic.

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 201 fish catch included exactly 200 white bass, and 1 sub-legal hybrid striped bass.  Of the 200 white bass, only 6 were “short” (under the legal length of 10 inches).

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY:  201 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: For a third day in a row, the shad spawn was present, but much weaker than in the last 2-3 weeks.  We are definitely on the downhill slope of the ‘bell curve’.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time:  10:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 4.19 feet low, 0.04’ fall in last 24 hours, 36 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 78.8F

Wind Speed & Direction:  S9 at trip’s start, building gradually to S16-17 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: A thin, grey cloud layer kept the sun’s heat off all morning.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 84% illumination.

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1012/1259, vic B0037C, B0042G, 835 (2 hops), 1209

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

HOW OLD? CAN’T SAY, EXACTLY. — 106 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Wednesday, 18 May 2022, I fished with returning guests Tom and Tracie Byrd, and Tom’s sister, Patty Williams.  This trip was arranged by Tom in celebration of Tracie’s birthday.  Tom, a former USAF fighter pilot, and Tracie live “in the country” near Georgetown, TX, where they grow hay and have owned and boarded horses.  Patty is enjoying retirement after being a long-time Frost Bank employee.

How old will Tracie be turning on this birthday?  Well, I can’t say exactly, but, I can tell you that when she landed our 73rd fish of the morning, there was a lot of cheering and picture-taking going on!

These are super folks and I look forward to fishing with them each spring!

 

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 7th and 12th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Tom and Tracie Byrd and Patty Williams with a portion of their 106-fish catch.  As the shad spawn appears to be waning, these fish were all taken in deep water on MAL Dense Lures with chartreuse tails.

PHOTO CAPTION: Every one of the 106 fish we landed this morning was landed on the MAL Dense Lure with chartreuse tail.  Even though Lake Belton’s water is clear, I choose the chartreuse tail over the white tail during cloudy conditions and during the shad spawn when the yellow tails of the spawning threadfin shad are a brighter yellow than during the rest of the year.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 18 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

I had to adjust my launch location this morning due to the forecast for high winds.  That turned out to be a good call, because we got every bit of the wind that was forecast, and then some, and, it blew up earlier than forecast.

My plan was to fish open water as long as possible and then fish more sheltered water if/when the wind dictated.  As it turned out, we were able to hang with the wind until around 9:40A, then got to shelter while the getting was good.

Once again this morning, despite wind and cloud cover, I found little in the way of shallow/topwater action in conjunction with the shad spawn, and what spawning I did witness was not as expansive as what I’ve witnessed over the past 3 weeks.  I think it is fair to say we are “past peak” on the Lake Belton shad spawn at this point, thanks, in part, to the unseasonably warm temperatures these past 10 days.

It only made sense, then, that all of our fish were taken in deep water today, from 36-42 feet.  All the fish we caught were seen with sonar first, then we Spot-Locked atop of them and worked MAL Dense Lures from the bottom, upwards using a “smoking” tactic while watching Garmin LiveScope to gauge fish reaction to our baits.

Peak time for catching was ~8:35 to 10:00A.  The fish really got reluctant after 10A, allowing only 7 fish to be caught in our final 45 minutes on the water.

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 106 fish catch included 104 white bass, and 2 sub-legal hybrid striped bass.

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY:  106 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: For a second day in a row, the shad spawn was present, but much weaker than in the last 2-3 weeks.  Given today’s grey skies and wind (normally conducive to heavy spawning), I suspect we are now “past peak” on the spawning here at Lake Belton.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:30A

End Time:  10:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 4.15 feet low, 0.04’ fall in last 24 hours, 36 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 76.3F

Wind Speed & Direction:  S12 at trip’s start, building quickly to S17 by 9:40, then gusting higher from that point on.

Sky Condition: A thin, grey cloud layer kept the sun’s heat off all morning.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 92% illumination.

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1374, B0042G/083, B0171G (2 visits), 354

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT — 182 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Tuesday, 17 May 2022, I fished with a crew of four.  Back during the Christmas holiday, James Copeland’s daughter, Allix, got a fishing gift certificate for him from the family.  Today, “Pops”, as the grandkids call him, brought his son, JT, his son-in-law (Allix’s husband) Randle Jackson, and family friend Cody Stanley, out for a morning of catching on Lake Belton.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 7th and 12th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Cody Stanley, JT and James Copeland, and Randle Jackson, each with a (spawned out) 14+ inch white bass we took from our first deep-water stop this morning.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday (AM), 17 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

There was really no shallow water/top water bite this morning, thanks to a slack wind.  I noted a lot fewer shad spawning without wind driving wave action onto the shoreline this morning.  I suspect the lack of shad directly corresponded with the lack of white bass up shallow.  With 4 men casting (well) for ~20 minutes, we only managed 2 strikes and one nice crappie landed on MAL Originals.  With that, we headed out deep and stayed there the remainder of the trip.

For you who follow these detailed accounts, I know this is going to sound like a broken record, but I’m a big believe in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.  The fishing was very straightforward, with the biggest challenge being to find the fish in the first place.  Once found, it was a pretty safe bet that they’d bite, given the weather and time of year.

Well-tuned Humminbird side-imaging, supported by Garmin down-imaging and colored (2-D or “traditional”) sonar helped make the location challenge manageable.

We fished only three deep-water areas this morning; at the third, we “hopped” around a few yards one way and then the other to keep up with  the fish as the bite was waning, beginning around 10AM.

Other than that, we stayed Spot-Locked on the fish and all four fellows did a great job of effectively working their MAL Dense Lures vertically in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope to take fish after fish after fish.  We used only one tactic, and that was the “smoking” method which involves racing the lure upward from a dead stop on bottom so as to make it look like a panicked shad swimming fast and straight for its life.

One other thing the fellows did well at today was resisting the urge to set the hook.  Rather, they kept right on reeling after feeling a fish make contact with their MAL Lure.  This is a critical step some folks never get the hang of.  As fish pursue the MAL Lure, they push a pressure wave ahead of them (that’s like the “bulge” of water in front of a large, moving ship which you often see dolphins “riding”).  That pressure wave will interrupt the spin of the MAL Lure’s blade.  This interruption can be readily felt by the angler.  Most mistake this for a strike, but it is not.  The actual strike comes a split second later.  But, if an angler sets the hook on that first sensation caused by the interruption of the blade’s spin, either a complete miss can result, or, more likely, the fish will be hooked for all of 1 or 2 seconds and then get off because the hook was on the exterior of the mouth, but not inside the jaw so as to encircle bone or cartilage.

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 182 fish catch included 175 white bass, 6 sub-legal hybrid striped bass, and 1crappie.   Of significance was the fact that, of the 175 white bass we landed, ~20 were under the 10-inch limit — this is a strong mature fish to juvenile fish ratio for Lake Belton.

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY:  182 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Shad spawn was present, but weaker today.  This could be due to heat or due to a near calm wind scenario this morning.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time:  10:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 76F

Elevation: 4.09 feet low, 0.02’ fall in last 24 hours, 50 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 77.5F

Wind Speed & Direction:  Calm at trip’s start with light S wind starting around 7:15 and building to S10 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: A thin, grey bank of clouds existed in the eastern sky before and during sunrise, but quickly burnt off, leaving a light blue sky with ~30% white cloud cover the remainder of the morning.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 97% illumination.

GT = 70

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1012/1552, B0075C, B0042G (3 hops)

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

CAT’S IN THE CRADLE — 181 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Monday, 16 May 2022, I fished with father-and-son team Eddie and Tyler Dunn.

Eddie’s been fishing with me for many years now, first coming aboard as the guest of one of his peers in education administration, Joe Oliver.

This morning, Eddie brought his son, Tyler, out with me for the first time.  Tyler expressed many times throughout the trip how, between work, family, and health struggles, he hadn’t spent enough time with his dad in the outdoors in the past 10 years.  Eddie, too, expressed how, as he climbed his own ladder and dealt with his own health issues, he’d missed some opportunities to spend quality time with Tyler.

Today was an inroad to fixing a few of those things that creep into life unnoticed.  Eddie and Tyler put this same date on the calendar again for next year before they headed for home.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 7th and 12th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Eddie and Tyler Dunn with a few of the quality white bass we took all the way from the surface down to 49 feet deep over the course of their 4-hour trip.

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: We used two versions of the MAL Lure today.  The Original MAL (top) was used for sight-casting to fish on top and for blind casting in water under 16′.  It has a smaller brass body (shorter and thinner diameter), throws well, but doesn’t sink too quickly.  Once the fish moved deep, we used the MAL Dense (bottom) which has a larger, lead body designed to get to bottom fast for vertical or horizontal work.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday (AM), 16 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

This morning’s trip broke down into two very different chapters.  Under low-light conditions, we used MAL Originals to sight-cast to white bass herding shad to the surface.  This “boiling” was NOT the kind of long-duration feeding on the surface you see in the summer, rather, only occasionally would a small school of white bass appear at the surface, and then, only for a few seconds.  However, when enough small schools revealed their locations frequently enough, it formed a larger picture and let us know where to focus our efforts and place our casts.

Whenever the fish weren’t physically visible, we worked these same lure in a “sawtooth” fashion in under 16 feet of water and had as much success in that way as we did when the fish were visible.  We took 34 fish in under an hour in this manner.  Once the direct sun broke through, the shad moved deep and the white bass moved out with them.

Chapter two then opened as we followed the fish out deep and fished them with a vertical method.  We caught fish in 26 feet, then in 32 feet, then in 41 feet, and ended up in 49 feet of water at our last stop of the morning.

Each of these four stops panned out the exact same way.  We found fish with DI and SI, Spot-Locked on them, got Garmin LiveScope adjusted, and then watched fish response to our presentations.  We used MAL Dense Lures for their superior sink rate and really cleaned up today with the “smoking tactic” described in the link below.

At one point in time an angler with two friends/family aboard got a little too close for comfort.  I just kept my mouth shut despite the lack of courtesy. They were all jerking slabs off the bottom and catching nothing.  This gave me a good opportunity to see the difference between my client’s results and their results using different tactics over the same school of fish.

On a related note, a long-time client and excellent Lake Buchanan angler, sent me this note late last week saying, “Several changes in our fishing today from last week. This was the first day that I could not catch them as well on the Hazy Eye [slab] as everyone else was on the MAL. Fish made a major move. Was totally striking out for the first couple of hours. But man when we finally found them it was insane.”

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 181 fish catch included 174 white bass, 5 sub-legal hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 1 blue catfish.   Of significance was the fact that, of the 174 white bass we landed, only 4 were under the 10-inch limit — this is remarkable for Lake Belton which is more well-known for numbers of smaller fish.

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY:  181 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Shad spawn was still going strong.  No evidence yet that the warm spell is hindering the normal spring cycle typical for May.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:35A

End Time:  10:35A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 77F

Elevation: 4.07 feet low, 0.07’ fall in last 24 hours, 68 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 75.6F

Wind Speed & Direction:  S10 at trip’s start, decreasing to S8 over the 4 hour span.

Sky Condition: A thin, grey bank of clouds kept the sun at bay for about an hour.  Once the sun cleared that cloud bank, a very thin, white layer of haze built and stayed for the remainder of the morning, keeping it relatively comfortable.

Moon Phase: Full moon at 100% illumination.

GT = 55

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 483/011, B0037C (three hops), 835

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

SUBTLE CHANGES AS SUMMER DRAWS NEAR – 186 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Thursday, May 12th, I fished with long-time clients Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen of Temple, TX.

Sylvia retired from the USDA and Tommy worked for many years for Exide Battery.  The Maedgen’s are “think ahead” kind of folks.  They like to catch fish, they are good at it, and they plan their trips well in advance to secure dates at peak times of the season.  This, plus their flexible “retiree” schedules, pave the road to fishing success.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next openings will be on July 6th and 7th.  Weekday mornings are always best.  Saturdays are available for on-the-water sonar training sessions (only) until after Labor Day when I’ll again offer Saturday morning fishing trips (until mid-March 2023).

PHOTO CAPTION:  Bell County Master Gardener Sylvia Maegden was also a Master Angler this morning, taking our largest fish of the trip.  This 4.75 pound hybrid striped bass swallowed her MAL Dense Lure as we fished in 36 feet of water.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  The Maedgens “fish smart”, booking their trips months in advance, planning around peak fishing conditions and, as a result, enjoy much better than average results.

PHOTO CAPTION: The fish just tore things up today!  This was Sylvia’s lure which accounted for two of our three legal hybrid and her fair share of the 186 fish boated today.  Paint or no paint, the MAL Dense Lures did their job today.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (AM), 12 May 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

We enjoyed a nice “bonus” this morning!  Right as the Maedgens stepped aboard just a few minutes prior to our scheduled 6:45AM start time, we made a beeline for some surface activity I’d spotted with my spotting scope in the lull between getting the boat all prepped for fishing and the Maedgen’s arrival.

As we approached the “scene of the crime” white bass continued to pin shad up against the surface, thus announcing their location inside a small “pocket” in under 13 feet of water.  I equipped Tommy and Sylvia with 8′ St. Croix spinning rods with large arbor reels and light, 10-pound test braid all matched to maximize casting distance and allow us to stay as far away from the fish as we could so as not to spook them.

I had MAL Original Lures (the lightest in the MAL family) already tied on in anticipation of this.

We enjoyed right at an hour-plus of both sight-casting and blind-casting to these fish, racking up a total of 44 fish before the clearing clouds and brightening sun chased the white bass and shad out of the large, pocket-like cove they’d been holed up in.

From this point forward, this trip was a “cookie-cutter” version of what my trips have been over the last several weeks  … we found fish in deep water, heavily schooled together, and primarily with side-imaging.  We marked them, parked on them, and fished them with MAL Dense Lures worked vertically with a “smoking tactic” enhanced with Garmin LiveScope.  I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get the spinner blade spinning as close to bottom as possible, and to avoid a reflexive hookset.  Setting a hook with MAL Lures like you would with a soft plastic bait for largemouth bass is a ticket to frustration — many fish will be unnecessarily lost this way.

As we sat on Spot-Lock, I kept my side-imaging (Humminbird Solix 15) playing so I could watch for schools of white bass moving out to my left and right.  Whenever we saw more fish out to our port or starboard than we saw beneath us, we’d fire a few casts out to them and worked our lures back.  By doing so, we drew these fish in closer to us and helped “merge” the various schools.  Actually catching one or two by throwing horizontally was just icing on the cake.  This method involved a “sawtooth” retrieve.

A complete description of the vertical “smoking:” method is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Our 186 fish catch included 182 white bass, 3 legal hybrid striped bass, and 1 sub-legal hybrid striped bass.

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY:  186 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: I’m afraid this prolonged spell of unseasonably warm temperatures is going to bring on the tough summer conditions sooner than later.  The topwater action I saw today was longer and closer to the surface than I’ve observed yet this spring.  I also noted that the fish were a bit reluctant to pull up high off the bottom into the lower third of the water column through the 9 o’clock hour, despite good wind and sky conditions.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:40A

End Time:  11:40A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 3.93 feet low, 0.04’ fall in last 24 hours, 36 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 76.7F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSE8 at trip’s start increasing to SSE13 with no gusting

Sky Condition: Moderate grey cloud cover only for an hour today, then partial clearing to ~60% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 83% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas SHAD031 (pocket), B0075C, vic B0118C, B0012C, 1374, 344

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps