GULLS AND HANDWARMERS MADE OUR MORNING — 101 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, November 15th, I fished returning guests Jim Downing and his aunt, Sally Hardeman.  Stepping aboard my boat for the first time was Jim’s wife, Tiffany.

Our target species was white bass on Lake Belton.  As we headed out, I wasn’t super-certain on what our rapid cooldown had done to the fishery … but, we soon found out.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Sally Hardeman, and Tiffany & Jim Downing dressed in layers and showed up well-prepared for a chilly morning on Lake Belton which produced 101 fish for them.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Tuesday, 15 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

As I launched, it was 39F and there was a bite to the ~13mph wind still blowing from the NW following the strong front which pushed in on Veterans’ Day and has since been reinforced by more cold, Canadian air.

It was also obvious that the lake’s normally clearish-green water was a bit more colored thanks to runoff from Friday’s rains, high winds, and additional light rains yesterday.  The water has also cooled fairly quickly — about 3-4F on the surface since Friday when the front now influencing our weather first pushed through.

Our first hour was pretty quiet.  We found only small group of fish and found them unmotivated to chase and bite.

Things really kicked off around 8:15A.  At this time I spotted a tentative flock of gulls looking hard at a specific patch of water — not flying in a straight line and covering ground as they do when just patrolling for food.

I found a few fish in this general area and got us set up to fish while keeping a close eye on that flock of gulls.  As anticipated, those gulls soon began to get more animated and, after a few more minutes, they began striking the water’s surface, indicating that white bass were aggressively herding shad up to the surface.  We moved in and started catching.  The catching ebbed and flowed but never stopped until right around 11A.

We wound up putting exactly 101 fish in the boat.  Our sole tactic was “smoking” using the MAL Original with white tail.  We did have to adjust speed from time to time, but the fish, despite the water’s cooldown, were still quite turned on to this technique.

In all, we found and fished under 3 distinct flocks of gulls, using their presence to get close to the fish, then using sonar to find the “spot on the spot”.

Our 101 fish tally included 7 largemouth bass, 1 freshwater drum, and 93 white bass.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 101 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1)All of this morning’s fish were found with the aid of gulls.  2) The water has been made dingy by the recent rain and winds. 3) The fishing started later today — around 8:15A.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7A

End Time:  11:20A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 39F

Elevation: 13.20 feet low, 0.04′ rise in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 64.8F

Wind Speed & Direction:  NNW13-14 at trip’s start, settling back to NNW12 after the first 75 minutes.

Sky Condition: 60-80% white cloud cover on a fair sky most of the morning.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 60% illumination.

GT =  90

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0083G (39 fish), B0075C (27 fish), 1483 (38 fish), 1152/355 (7 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

IN THE COLD FRONT’S WAKE — 200 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, November 12th, I fished with new clients Brandon Ray of Belton, TX, and Tom Buckner of Corpus Christi.

The two first became acquainted when Brandon, then a college student pursuing his master’s degree at A&M Corpus, served as mate on a sportfishing charter boat Tom captained on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Brandon now works in the construction industry and Tom is nearing retirement from teaching physics at a parochial high school.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Tom Buckner’s 16.75″, was among the top 10 white bass I’ve had a client land from Lake Belton in 17 years guiding and in 30 years of fishing that body of water.  That’s a 14-incher next to by comparison.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Tom Buckner and Brandon Ray enjoyed “pole-to-pole” action this morning thanks to a steady NW wind in the wake of a strong cold front’s passage around 10A yesterday, complete with a tornado, multiple hailstorms, multiple severe thunderstorms and some much-needed runoff-producing rains.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Saturday, 12 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

Man were the fish turned on by the weather which followed the passage of a cold front yesterday!

The winds kept right on blowing overnight and well into the morning right at 13-14 mph.  My experience in dealing with the autumn cold fronts tells me that the fishing will normally be excellent right up until the winds peak; once the wind velocity begins to taper, so does the bite.  Once the winds die, the bite does likewise, normally until a southerly breeze returns.

It was only necessary to fish 4 areas this morning.  Less moving and looking meant more productive time spent catching.

I was drawn to the last 2 of those 4 areas by bird activity — the first helpful bird activity of the autumn on Lake Belton.  Although there were only 9 gulls working, they worked for a full 2 hours.  Once they left, the fish stayed active for another 20 minutes or so, and then the fishing began a downhill slide

We used the “smoking” tactic described in the video link below to catch 100% of the fish we boated today, varying our retrieve speed as the fishes’ enthusiasm level ebbed and flowed with time of day.

We began the day in under 30′ and used MAL Originals (white tails) for that work, then moved deeper as the sun rose higher and the clouds thinned and used MAL Heavy Barbless lures (chartreuse tails) for that work.

Brandon and Tom landed exactly 200 fish including 190 white bass, 6 hybrid striped bass, 2 largemouth bass, & 2 freshwater drum.  Tom’s largest white bass, which was just shy of 16″, was among the top 10 white bass I’ve had a client land from Lake Belton in 17 years guiding and in 30 years of fishing that body of water.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 200 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1)The first helpful gull action took place this morning with 9 gulls working over a ~80 yard patch of water for ~2 hours.  2) I saw the first evidence of whitetail deer rutting today.  3) a lot of migratory bird activity was going on (Sandhills, gulls, waterfowl, hawks, osprey, cormorants).

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:55A

End Time:  10:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 36F

Elevation: 13.17 feet low, 0.15′ rise in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 67.6F

Wind Speed & Direction:  NNW13-14 & steady

Sky Condition: 60% white cloud cover on a blue sky at sunrise, tapering to cloudless by trip’s end

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 85% illumination.

GT =  109

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1362/B0016G (27 fish, majority smallish), Area B0064G (18 fish), Area B0155G/1942 (14 fish), Area vic 1140/0149 (141 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

Ryan, the 9-Year-Old with a Bucket List! — 91 Fish Before the Storm

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Veterans’ Day 2022, I conducted the 14th S.K.I.F.F. program trip of the 2022 season, welcoming aboard 9-year-old Ryan Howell Jr.

Ryan’s dad, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Howell Sr., has served in the military for 16+ years.  He is currently deployed to Iraq as a military policeman.  Mrs. Meisha Howell arranged for this trip after Mrs. Denise Igo was kind enough to make the Ft. Hood military community aware of this opportunity (thru her Fort Hood Area Events Facebook page) I set aside for the Veterans’ Day holiday when the kids from the Killeen Independent School District would be out of school.

Ryan is quite experienced for his age, having fished with his dad and grandfather quite a bit.  He told me he was really excited when he heard his mom had arranged for the trip because catching white bass was on his bucket list!!

ABOUT SKIFF:  This fishing trip was provided to this military family at no charge.  S.K.I.F.F. stands for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun.  This program began in May of 2009.  It is funded by the donations and fundraising efforts of the Austin Fly Fishers and other organizations they have partnered with.  S.K.I.F.F. provides the children of military personnel separated from their families due to duty commitments with the opportunity to go fishing.  SKIFF trips are also provided, free of charge, to Gold Star families who have lost their service member while he or she was on active duty.  In mid-2019, SKIFF also began providing trips to dependents whose parents are bona fide disabled veterans.  I coordinate and conduct these ~3.5-hour  adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, just outside the gates of Fort Hood in Bell County, TX, year ’round.  Call or text 254.368.7411.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Nine-year-old Ryan Howell Jr. with the first two “Bucket List” white bass he landed as the fish went absolutely wild in advance of a major cold front’s arrival this Veterans’ Day 2022.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Friday, 11 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

The fish were just incredibly aggressive this morning under true “pre-frontal” conditions.  As I arrived at the ramp this morning, it was uncomfortably humid, 70F, and flat calm.  By 9:45A, the temperature would drop to 55F very suddenly with the arrival of a major cold front.  That front’s lead edge caused hail, heavy rain, and severe thunderstorms all across Central Texas for about a 40-minute span.

We launched knowing that our trip would likely be curtailed by weather, and I let Ryan know that when we heard thunder rumbling in the west we’d need to pack up.

Well, he was a real trooper, donning some raingear I loaned him, his rubber boots, and some warm clothing beneath to stick it out with me in the blowing rain to cash in on this fantastic fishing.

We stayed as long as I felt was prudent.  About the time we heard the first rumble of thunder way out to the west of us, the National Weather Service sent out a severe thunderstorm warning for a “fan” from Burnett east toward Salado. We were well north of that, but didn’t want to take any chances.  We called it a great day with 91 fish taken in right at 2.5 hours of fishing.

Fishing was super simple, as the fish were present at the first (and only) two places I looked for them.  They were way up off bottom chasing bait hard and therefore showed up on sonar quite well.

We used MAL Originals with white tails to load the boat with 91 fish in a short but sweet, rapid-fire sequence.  The fish were still biting when we left.

Ryan and I fished side-by-side as we watched Garmin LiveScope and landed 77 white bass, and 14 short hybrid striped bass.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 91 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Classic pre-frontal, frenzied feeding activity was observed this morning from (obscured) sunrise until we could no longer safely stay on the water.  The fish were still biting when we departed.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:55A

End Time:  9:40A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F (falling to 55F by 9:45A)

Elevation: 13.32 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 69.1F

Wind Speed & Direction:  Calm at sunrise, then quickly ramping up to NW15-17 as the lead edge of the front blew in.

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover all morning, with rain added after the front moved in.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 91% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1000 (26 fish), Area B0184C (65 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

MOST PRODUCTIVE TRIP SO FAR THIS FALL – 220 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, November 9th, I fished with returning guests PJ Condit and Scott Smith — both pastors serving here in Central Texas. PJ is the lead minister at Community Christian Church in Round Rock, and Scott is the senior pastor at Crestview Christian Church in Copperas Cove.

PJ brought with him two first-time guests including his 17-year-old son, Caleb, and John Byrd who works in the church’s ministry to kids.  Caleb has his sights on petroleum engineering after college, and John retired from a company focused on industrial temperature control devices.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left:  Caleb and PJ Condit, Scott Smith, and John Byrd with a few of the 220 fish they landed on MAL Lures worked vertically under warm, breezy, mostly-cloudy conditions.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Wednesday, 09 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

‘Twas a carbon-copy, cookie-cutter kinda day out there.  Once again, low visibility due to early morning fog, a warm, moist SE breeze, mild temperatures, and abundant cloud cover made today’s fishing nearly identical to the solid results of Monday and Tuesday and the early part of last week.

The fish did the same things in the same places and at the same times as they did since last Friday/Saturday’s cold front passed.  Our results were better simply today because we had more rods working, but the per-man catch of ~50/person over a 4-hour span was in keeping with the results from earlier this week.

When the conditions are right, like they have been these past few trips, fish are just easier to find as they position further from bottom as they feed, thus, there is greater “target separation” between them and the bottom, making them easier to spot, especially at great distances on well-tuned side-imaging.

Once the fish are spotted, I’m using the i-Pilot Link system connecting my Humminbird Solix with my trolling motor to very quickly and accurately position atop these fish, then get baits down to the fish quickly so as to keep their attention and prevent them from moving off.

We relied on MAL Originals with white tails and MAL Heavy Lures with chartreuse tails and barbless hooks (for multiple, quick releases and extra weight to get lures to bottom more quickly), and both performed the same, although everyone had to be careful to leave ~4 feet of line hanging down past the rod tip to prevent lost fish right at the boat.

We used the “smoking” tactic described in the video link below to catch 100% of the fish we boated today, varying our retrieve speed as the fishes’ enthusiasm level ebbed and flowed with light level and time of day.

My 4-man crew landed 220 fish including 201 white bass, 17 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, & 1 freshwater drum.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 220 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) a 40 cfs flow continued today, 2) I once again spotted multiple single gulls, but none helped locate fish, 3) the lake is now slowly falling again at a rate of ~0.03′ feet/day.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:55A

End Time:  11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 13.25 feet low, 0.03′ fall in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 68.3F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SE5-6 at (obscured) sunrise, steadily increasing to SE12-13

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover through ~9:45, then partly clearing to ~50% white cloud cover on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 99% illumination.

GT =  P

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0171G (13 fish), vic B0159G (22 fish), vic 0404 (28 fish), 187 w/1 short hop (124 fish), 294/2059 (33 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

I VOTE FOR MORE FISHING — 131 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: This Election Day morning, Tuesday, November 8th, I fished with father-and-son team Wes and Phil Perry of Waco.  Wes’ daughter-in-law, Sara (Phil’s wife), arranged for a fishing gift certificate for Wes back around Christmas 2021 and today was the day Wes chose to redeem it, inviting Phil along to share in the fun.

Phil is retired out of the tech industry and Wes is retired out of the natural gas industry.

Neither fellow had really targeted white bass before, and neither had prior experience with Garmin LiveScope before.  So, this was an eye-opener for both men; both had to unlearn a few things and, in the process, learned a few new things.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left:  Phil and Wes Perry, both new to white bass fishing, were willingly coached today and enjoyed a peak-season 131-fish catch using MAL Original Lures on Lake Belton.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Tuesday, 08 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

I hate for my reports to sound like a broken record, but, the fishing is both excellent and predictable right now!  I’m doing the same things at the same times and in the same places and the results have been solid since late October with things only getting better as the water continues to cool (at a slow rate).

Fish are consolidating into larger and larger groups, which means more competition amongst them when they are found, as well as the ability to stay in one place longer before the fish lose interest.

Once the fish are found, typically with well-tuned side-imaging, I’ll Spot-Lock atop them, then work MAL Originals (with white tails) vertically up off bottom using a smoking tactic for as long as the fish will stay interested.

Three big no-no’s to avoid:  1) hooksetting, 2) reeling the fish in too far, and 3) jerking the lure to a start using the rod’s tip.  Instead, the better options are 1) continuing to reel at a steady cadence even when a strike is felt, 2) leaving the fish hanging ~4 feet down from the rod tip and swinging it quickly and smoothly out of the water and into the boat, and 3) cranking the lure to a start using the reel’s handle.

These are the “coaching” items I try to address early on during each trip.  The earlier in the trip these lessons are learned, the better folks’ results are going to be.  Fortunately, both Phil and Wes were eager to do well and gladly accepted my pointers.

That’s it.  Just getting out there, finding fish and working the white bass plan.

My 2-man crew landed 131 fish including 120 white bass, 7 hybrid striped bass, 2 largemouth bass, & 2 freshwater drum.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 131 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) a 40 cfs flow continued today, 2) I once again spotted multiple single gulls, but none helped locate fish, 3) yesterday’s rains raised the lake 0.06′.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:55A

End Time:  11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 13.22 feet low, 0.06′ rise in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 68.0F

Wind Speed & Direction:  Lightest of breezes from SE1-3 until ~9:30A, then SE3-5 thereafter.

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover all morning; no fog.

Moon Phase: Full moon at 100% illumination with early morning eclipse.

GT =  100

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0026C (18 fish), 0005/717 (32 fish), B0169G (24 fish), B0166G/B0167G (40 fish), B0170G (11 fish), B0059G (6 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

FIRST FOG, THEN FISH, THEN RAIN – 106 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, November 7th, I fished with returning guest Frank Sumner of Killeen, who brought as his guest his brother-in-law, Arturo Maldonado.

Frank is a veteran, originally from the St. Louis area, now working in the medical field where he serves Fort Hood soldiers.  Arturo, also a veteran, grew up in New York City until age 12, then headed back to his parents’ home island of Puerto Rico, then enlisted in the U.S. Army following high school graduation.  After serving in the infantry, he separated from the military and then worked with military medical records until retirement.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left:  Arturo Maldonado and his brother-in-law, Frank Sumner, with a few of the 106 fish they caught and released using MAL Original Lures (white tail version) on Lake Belton, November 7th, 2022.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Monday, 07 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

Although our trip was 4 hours in length, most of the catching took place between 8A and 10:10A.  We found ourselves on the warm, humid, eastern side of an occluded (stalled) cold front to the northwest of us which resulted in on-and-off showers, some early morning fog, and an otherwise damp, warm, and humid feel to the day with little fluctuation of temperatures, which started around 72F before sunrise and only reached 76F by mid-afternoon.

We fished under a blanket of fog from 7-8A, and only landed 8 fish during that span of time.  Although there was some topwater action during that time — which was easily seen on the slick, calm surface — the fish were well-dispersed and didn’t lend themselves to a typical topwater approach.

Just as the fog began to lift and a SE wind began to blow, the fishing immediately picked up, allowing us a catch of 30 fish at the first place we Spot-Locked on (in only 26 feet of water), and a catch of anther 50 fish at the second place we Spot-Locked on (in 34 feet of water).  This span from ~8A to 9:30 was the best of the best today.

When this area began to fizzle, I went looking for more fish and at the same time noted storm clouds to our SE.  A quick check of WX radar showed a fast-moving band of showers headed our way, so, I changed plans and looked for fish in the nearest likely location closest to our launch site in case we had to make a run for it.

The fishing here was okay, allowing us another 13 fish before the first raindrops fell at exactly 10:10.  From the time the rain began, the fishing tanked, and then only partially recovered after two rain cells dropped rain on us and then passed to the north.  From 10:10 to 11A, we only landed 13 more fish, despite seeing plenty of fish on Garmin LiveScope which simply refused our offerings and moved parallel to bottom quite sluggishly.

100% of our fish today came on the MAL Original with white tail.  8 of the 106 fish were taken by sight-casting to topwater fish under the fog, and the balance were taken racing the lure up off the bottom using a “smoking tactic”.

My 2-man crew landed 97 white bass, 6 hybrid striped bass, 2 largemouth bass, & 1 freshwater drum.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 106 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) a 40cfs flow continued today, 2) I spotted multiple single gulls, multiple flocks of 3 gulls, and one flock of ~12 gulls.  Some were lightly feeding on topwater under the fog from 7-8A.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:55A

End Time:  11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 13.28 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 68.0F

Wind Speed & Direction:  Calm during the first hour with fog, then SE5-7 for ~2 hours, then dropping back to SE1-3 during and after the two rain showers.

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover all morning, plus additional fog at lake level for the first hour.

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 99% illumination.

GT =  25

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0159G/2055, vic 083, vic B0041C, B0158G

 

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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THEY ASKED FOR AN EXTENSION!! — 80 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday morning, November 5th, I conducted the 13th S.K.I.F.F. program trip of the 2022 season, welcoming aboard Julian Aguilar (age 12), Patricia Aguilar (age 9), and their step-brother Jeremiah Hulsizer (age 11).

Jeremiah’s dad, U.S. Army Major David Hulsizer, has been in the service for 22 years.  After initially serving as an enlisted soldier, he commissioned and works in the medical field as a physical therapist.  He most recently deployed to southwest Asia.  Julian and Patricia’s dad, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Jason Aguilar, has served for 14 years as a cavalry scout.  He most recently deployed to Poland.

ABOUT SKIFF:  This fishing trip was provided to these military families at no charge.  S.K.I.F.F. stands for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun.  This program began in May of 2009.  It is funded by the donations and fundraising efforts of the Austin Fly Fishers and other organizations they have partnered with.  S.K.I.F.F. provides the children of military personnel separated from their families due to duty commitments with the opportunity to go fishing.  SKIFF trips are also provided, free of charge, to Gold Star families who have lost their service member while he or she was on active duty.  In mid-2019, SKIFF also began providing trips to dependents whose parents are bona fide disabled veterans.  I coordinate and conduct these ~3.5-hour  adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, just outside the gates of Fort Hood in Bell County, TX, year ’round.  Call or text 254.368.7411.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left:   Julian Aguilar, Jeremiah Hulsizer, and Patricia Aguilar with a few of the white bass they took on MAL Original Lures under post-frontal conditions which got tougher as the morning moved along and high pressure built in.

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Although I am specifically targeting white bass at this time of year, other species are often caught as we use the MAL Lure, which is a shad-imitating bait.  On this trip, we landed 6 hybrid striped bass, 2 largemouth bass, and 1 freshwater drum.  Julian landed the largest of the 2 largemouth, shown here.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Saturday, 05 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

We had a significant change of weather overnight, and the impact on the fishery was noticeable.  A cold front pushed through right around sunset on Friday.  This cold front dropped our ambient air temperature 30 degrees, shifted our winds, and cleared the skies.

As we got started this morning, we still had winds at ~12 mph from the NW moving the water.  Our first 75 minutes was our most productive, producing about 40% of our fish in 30% of the time we spent pursuing them.

As the morning moved on, the winds got lighter and the skies got brighter, thus making the fishing tougher.  We saw our catch rate steadily drop throughout the 3.75 hours we fished.

Normally, I run kids trips for a maximum of 3.5 hours (versus 4+ hours for adult trips).  Today, at 11AM, and with about 20 minutes left to go before Mrs. Hulsizer was due to pick the kids up, our count stood at 75 fish.  Patricia had it in her mind that she did not want to leave the lake with less than 80 fish, so, she huddled with her brothers and the three of them “lobbied” for an extension to make sure we had enough time to get to the 80 fish mark.

Now, these are kids who have been dropping and smoking MAL Original Lures for 3 straight hours, save for one short trial of downrigging just to provide a bit of variety.  I’d have figured they’d have been ready to pack it up by that time, but they wanted to keep right on fishing!

So, I texted mom, got approval to go a bit longer and we got the count up to 79 with the wind now going nearly calm.  The kids all worked for a good 6-7 fishless minutes before Jeremiah’s LiveScope screen showed a single white bass scream in from left field like a little guided missile to intercept his MAL.  He hooked, fought, and landed that white bass for a total of 80 fish.  With that accomplishment under their belts, we cranked up, headed in, and met mom right at 11:35A.

My 3-kid crew landed 71 white bass, 6 hybrid striped bass, 2 largemouth bass, and 1 freshwater drum.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 80 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) a 40cfs flow continued today, 2) no helpful bird action, 3) the lake rose 0.06′ thanks to brief, heavy, overnight rains on the lead edge of a cold front, and 4) the overnight ambient air temperature dropped 30 degrees, from 78F to 48F in approx. 12 hours.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:50A

End Time:  11:35A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F

Elevation: 13.21 feet low, 0.06′ rise in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 67.9F

Wind Speed & Direction:  NW12 at sunrise and for ~75 minutes thereafter, then rapidly tapering down to NNW2 by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: 25% clouds on a blue sky at trip’s start as the cold front’s winds continued to blow, then going cloudless and bright after the winds began to die around 9:15A

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 90% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0042G (32 fish), B0166G (29 fish), B0167G (14 fish, incl. 6 by downrigging), and B0168G (5 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

WIND & CLOUDS KEPT ‘EM BITING — 182 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, November 3rd, I fished with returning guests Gary Jones, Pat Mullins, Harry Adams, and Guy Fowler.  Joining me for the first time on this trip was Mac Purifoy.

Gary, Pat, Harry, and Guy originally came out with me in May of 2021 after Gary was high bidder on a gift certificate I had donated to the Ralph Wilson Youth Club fundraiser.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left:  Gary Jones, Pat Mullins, Mac Purifoy, Harry Adams, and Guy Fowler enjoyed a morning of fishing (and poking fun at one another!) on Lake Belton in pursuit of white bass.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Although I am specifically targeting white bass at this time of year, other species are often caught as we use shad-imitating lures.  On this trip, we landed 7 hybrid striped bass, 3 largemouth bass, 1 smallmouth bass (caught by Harry Adams, above), and 4 freshwater drum.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Wednesday, 02 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

Overnight cloud cover and SE winds brought warmer, more humid conditions this morning, with a 70F, pre-sunrise air temperature.  Mist fell intermittently over the first two hours of the trip.

The grey skies and balmy winds kept the fish biting throughout the morning, although there was a bit of a slowdown between 10:15 and 11:00A when a short break in the clouds brought some brightening and a decrease in wind speed.

By noon, we had landed exactly the same number of fish we’d landed yesterday by that time — 182 fish.  I gave everyone the option of sticking it out until we’d boated 200 fish, but at least one of the fellows had an appointment which beckoned, so we wrapped up right at the 4-hour mark.

Fishing MAL Original Lures with white tails was a sure bet once again today.  Fish are definitely moving onto bottom topographies in great numbers with each passing day as the cooling of the water column (via the process of turnover) continues.  Just about everywhere I searched held at least a few fish this morning.

Using the MAL Original with a smoking tactic was all that was required.  At our first stop, I tried to identify any shortfalls in technique which anyone had, help overcome them, and, from that point on it was all gravy.

My 5-man crew landed 167 white bass, 7 hybrid striped bass, 3 largemouth bass, 1 smallmouth bass, and 4 freshwater drum.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 182 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) a 40cfs flow resumed today, 2) no helpful bird action, 3) here is the temperature profile I measured this morning:

0 feet 69.2F
5 feet 69.2F
10 feet 69.1F
15 feet 69.1F
20 feet 69.1F
25 feet 69.1F
30 feet 69.1F
35 feet 69.0F
40 feet 69.0F
45 feet 68.6F
50 feet 68.2F
55 feet 67.9F
60 feet 67.2F
65 feet 63.3F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:50A

End Time:  12:05P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 13.24 feet low, 0.04′ fall in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 69.2F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSE12 for all except a 45-minute span from 10:15 to 11A when the winds dropped to SSE8.

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover for all except a 45-minute span from 10:15 to 11A when the skies cleared to 60% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 74% illumination.

GT =  340

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0078C (55 fish), 1152 (30 fish), B0005C (25 fish), B0165G (30 fish), B0164G (24 fish), 1374/835 (18 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

FIRST 200 FISH TRIP SINCE THE SPRING

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, November 2nd, I fished with returning guests Dr. Jim Wood and Sky Sparks on Lake Belton in pursuit of white bass.

This trip came together at the last minute when the gentleman due to fish with me called in sick.  I posted the opening on Facebook just after noon yesterday and, 20 minutes later, Jim called and booked the trip.

This was our first 200 fish trip since the spring.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Dr. Jim Wood and Sky Sparks with a handful of the 200 fish they landed on a nearly-deserted Lake Belton which started out cool and damp under fog.

PHOTO CAPTION: Sky landed our largest fish of the morning — a 3.5 pound hybrid striper which took the same MAL Original with white tail which all other fish were taken on this morning.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Wednesday, 02 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

I was a bit concerned this morning as we got going due to a pretty persistent fog over the lake; foggy conditions often lead to slow fishing, but, foggy conditions are often accompanied by calm conditions, and that was not the case this morning.  A nice, 8mph SE wind was blowing before sunrise and kept blowing right up until we finished up just after noon.

The fishing this morning was as simple as shampoo, rinse, repeat.  I found the fish, parked over top of them, had Jim and Sky drop MAL Originals with white tails down and crank them back up through the fish.  The fish were fired up and took care of the rest.

We enjoyed the fastest action in the first hour, but the entire morning was very productive.  No helpful bird action quite yet, in fact, I spotted only one ringbilled gull all morning.

At 11:55A, our count had climbed to 182 fish.  I told the fellows that we’d give it until 12:15 or 200 fish, whichever came first.  Well, those two events coincided and, with the bite then really slowing down thanks to calming winds and brightening conditions, we called it a good trip right then.

We stopped fishing when the 200th fish came over the gunwale. Of those, 16 were hybrid striped bass, 4 were freshwater drum, 2 were largemouth bass, and the remaining 178 fish were white bass.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 200 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Lake Belton is now dropping slowly once again at a rate of about 0.03 feet per day (that’s 1 foot every 33 days) after a small bump from recent rains.  Fortunately, the dam has been shut, so there is no loss other than from pumping and evaporation now.  No bird action.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:50A

End Time:  12:15P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 53F

Elevation: 13.22 feet low, 0.04′ fall in last 24 hours, 0 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 67.5F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSE8 right up until ~11:45 when rapid clearing and warming took place, accompanied by calming winds

Sky Condition: 100% foggy for ~2 hours, then slowly clearing to 100% grey cloud cover until ~11:45A, then rapidly warming and clearing to ~25% white cloud cover.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 64% illumination.

GT =  85

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0078C (78 fish), vic B0081C (39 fish), 300/B0158G (23 fish), B0164G (60 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

LIKE DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN — 124 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, November 1st, I fished with a 4-man crew of returning guests, hosted by David Vahrenkamp from Target Solutions.  Joining him were father-and-son team AJ and Jackie Shiller of Killeen, and Jerry Worley from the Worley Insurance Agency in Harker Heights.

David has been hard at work in Florida assisting in hurricane recovery efforts as part of his job, and wanted to spend some time decompressing in the outdoors before picking up where he left off now that he has returned to Texas.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: AJ Shiller, David Vahrenkamp, Jackie Shiller, and Jerry Worley with a few of the 124 Lake Belton white bass they landed on MAL Original Lures with white tails during a moderately-paced morning bite.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Tuesday, 01 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

This morning’s fishing was remarkably similar to yesterday’s in that as long as the wind blew, we caught fish.  We had a nice westerly breeze for the first two hours this morning and, during that time, caught fish at a fast clip.

Around 10A, the light cloud cover cleared, the wind died to nearly calm, and the atmosphere quickly heated up.  From this time until a light breeze resumed around 11A, we picked up just a handful of fish here and there.

Once that light breeze resumed around 11A, the fishing picked back up and allowed us a steady pick of fish for the next hour, adding 42 final fish to our count

100% of our fish were taken fishing MAL Originals with white tails vertically using a smoking tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.  Fortunately, all four anglers had fished with me using this tactic and this bait previously, so, after a bit of a review, there really was no learning curve and everyone got right down to catching.

In all, we landed 124 fish, including 6 hybrid striped bass, 4 largemouth bass, 1 smallmouth bass, and 113 white bass.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 124 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Lake Belton is now dropping slowly once again at a rate of about 0.03 feet per day (that’s 1 foot every 33 days) after a small bump from recent rains.  Fortunately, the dam has been shut, so there is no loss other than from pumping and evaporation now.  No bird action.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:50A

End Time:  12:00 Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 53F

Elevation: 13.18 feet low, 0.03′ fall in last 24 hours, 0 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 67.8F

Wind Speed & Direction:  WSW6 at sunrise and until ~10A, then calm for about an hour, then starting back out of the WSW at 2-3 for our final hour on the water.

Sky Condition: ~30% white cloud coverage for the first 2 hours, then clearing to <10% coverage

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 53% illumination.

GT =  100

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas B0159G (47 fish), B0078C/B0081C (20 fish), Area vic 512 (the majority of 33 fish), and B0163G (24 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