IT WAS CHILLY, MY BROTHER! — 48 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Saturday, 25 Feb., I fished with the Walthall family from near Lorena.

Jay and Nikkie just came along as spectators on this “Kids Fish, Too!” trip which was just for their boys, Clayton (almost 12), and Levy (age 10).  This was in celebration of Clayton’s forthcoming birthday in early March.

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone.  Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Here is how the fishing went …

 

PHOTO CAPTION: I think this photo perfectly captures the morning.  Clayton’s face (front left) communicates some discomfort from the cold, while his brother’s beams with excitement over the fish they worked hard to capture.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Saturday, 25 February 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

We are truly on the cusp of the spring fishery really turning on.  The primary thing I see happening right now which convinces me of this are the already large schools of white bass “massing” into even larger schools of several hundred fish each and using the edges of the Leon River channel as a migration route.  I’ve now witnessed six occurrences of this in my last three outings.

This morning, given the cold conditions (41F when we linked up) and the boys’ limited experience with this sort of fishing, we kept it super-simple and worked white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically 100% of the time using a “slow-smoking” tactic.

All but one of the locations we worked attracted fish by virtue of topography.  The one exception was where we found a school of many hundreds of fish suspended over 55+ feet of water moving very slowly upstream along the old river channel.  These fish were not really interested in feeding, but, when enough of them were in close proximity to one another and the boys worked their slabs just right, we could provoke “competition bites” or “reflex bites”.

Here is a link to my tutorial on using the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab with a slow-smoking tactic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

Our 48 fish tally included 3 freshwater drum, 1 largemouth bass, 2 legal hybrid striped bass, and 42 white bass, of which 39 were legal (over the 10″ minimum).

TALLY: 48 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: A flock of ~20 terns led the way to our first area this morning, and a larger flock of ~70 terns pointed the way to the  large, migratory school of white bass mentioned above.

Temperature profile taken on 23 Feb:

0 feet, 57.4F
5 feet, 57.4F
10 feet, 56.9F
15 feet, 55.3F
20 feet, 54.3F
25 feet, 53.7F
30 feet, 53.2F
35 feet, 52.5F
40 feet, 52.3F
45 feet, 52.0F
50 feet, 51.9F
55 feet, 51.9F
60 feet, 51.7F
65 feet, 51.7F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8A

End Time: 11:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 41F

Elevation: 13.90 feet low, ~.01′ 24-hour fall, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 54.6F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW8-10 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% moderate grey cloud coverage all day

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 32% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

N/A

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area 1552 (2 hops), 17 fish

Area B0197G (large migratory school), 24 fish

Area B0149C, 5 fish

Area vic 717, 2 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

THEY CAME EARLY & STAYED LATE — 155 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This past Thursday, 23 Feb., I fished a full-day trip with George and Barbara Portele from Montgomery, TX, near Lake Conroe.

The couple are very good temperate bass anglers and have ample opportunity to pursue white bass, yellow bass, and hybrid striped bass on their home lake.  George told me he’d always wanted to give Lake Belton a try, and I was honored to be the one he chose to give him and his wife the grand tour.

I couldn’t ask for better clients.  They came early, stayed late, willing accepted my coaching, fished hard, and didn’t give up until we’d hit our morning goal of 50 fish, and our afternoon goal of 100 fish!! We fished 4 hours in the morning, took a 2-hour, off-the-water lunch break, and then met up again for another 4 hours in the afternoon, concluding right at dark.

The fishing has begun that sharp increase thanks to a week-long warming trend which looks like it will continue right on into next week with highs in the 70’s called for each of the next 5-6 days.

Peak spring dates are just about gone.  Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: George and Barbara Portele traveled in from Montgomery, TX, to spend a full day in pursuit of white bass on Lake Belton.  They landed 155 fish.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Largemouth bass and freshwater drum served as “bonus fish” throughout the day.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Thursday, 23 February 2023 (Full day)

HOW WE FISHED: 

I am excited about what lies ahead after experiencing what we did on Lake Belton today.  Things are definitely starting to happen as spring approaches.

AM Summary – As has been the case this winter, the bite started off slowly.  We found plenty of fish, but they were not at all enthusiastic.  We caught just 12 fish in our first hour, and had to move a lot, catching just a few fish at each location before they lost what little interest they first showed, but the action rose as the light level and winds increased.  The AM bite peaked right around 10AM.  By 11:45, George and Barbara had landed a total of 55 fish including 51 white bass (all legal), 1 largemouth bass, and 3 freshwater drum. We fished a combination of deadsticked soft plastics when the fish were particularly slow, and changed over to white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs to get the job done when the fish perked up and were willing to chase moving baits.  We used a slow-smoking tactic.  A tutorial video for that method is found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

PM Summary – The afternoon bite was longer and stronger than the AM by far.  The combination of thin, grey cloud cover, wind, and warmth worked to fire the fish up this afternoon.  We found and caught fish all afternoon.  They never got “crazy turned-on”, but the fish bit more aggressively than in the morning.  Most of our fish were caught on a slow-smoked slab (same one as AM), but, with the fish cooperating so well, we “played around” with ice jigs, deadsticked soft plastics, and even broke out the MAL Heavy (white tail) and caught fish on everything we used.  We also benefitted from the assistance of birds (mainly terns) during the middle of the afternoon.  As I saw back on Feb. 7th, right at sunset we witnessed birds working along the side of the channel over a large group of slowly migrating white bass.  These fish were suspended in a 4-5 foot thick band up as high as 18′ beneath the surface.  They were moving slowly and were readily taken working vertically.  We fished until we’d landed 100 fish for the afternoon, and then headed in just before sunset.

Our catch in the afternoon consisted of 5 drum, 1 largemouth bass, and 94 white bass, of which 12 were short.

TALLY: 155 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: A flock of ~40 terns assisted us in finding fish mid-afternoon, and a mixed flock of about 20 gulls and terns assisted in finding a migratory school of fish navigating the channel edge later, toward sunset.

Temperature profile:

0 feet, 57.4F
5 feet, 57.4F
10 feet, 56.9F
15 feet, 55.3F
20 feet, 54.3F
25 feet, 53.7F
30 feet, 53.2F
35 feet, 52.5F
40 feet, 52.3F
45 feet, 52.0F
50 feet, 51.9F
55 feet, 51.9F
60 feet, 51.7F
65 feet, 51.7F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 6:25P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F

Elevation: 13.87 feet low, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 57.4F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: NNE10 at trip’s start, building to NNE14-15 at midday, then tapering back to NNE8 by sunset

Sky Condition: 100% light grey cloud coverage all day

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 14% illumination.

GT = 85

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

AM: Vic 1012, 714, 1483, B0078C, B0149C, 1482, B0005C, 1552/2059

PM: B0193G, B0194G, B0069C, B0195G, mouth of B0097C

 

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

WARM AIR, COLD WATER –51 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This Presidents’ Day morning, Monday, Feb. 20th, I conducted my first fishing trip with clients aboard since rotator cuff surgery back on 13 Jan.

This trip was in celebration of James DuBose’s birthday, and was arranged for by his wife, Ashly.  She worked mightily to keep this trip a secret AND coordinate it at a time when James, his dad (Vernon), and his brother (Chris) would all be available and present, as Vernon and Chris live down by Galveston.

If you follow me routinely, you’ll recall I fished a scouting trip back on Feb. 7th, anticipating a crew of clients on Feb. 9th.  Well, one of those fellows got sick and the trip didn’t happen.  Then, this trip was originally scheduled for last Friday (ambient air temp. 31F, wind chill 22F) and we all felt delaying to this morning was a better bet  — and it was!

At this point, I am full re-opened for business and my booking calendar is up-to-date.  If a date says “OPEN AM” or “OPEN PM”, I am available.  You can always just call or text to check on a date, as well.  Here’s that calendar: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Chris, James, Ashly, and Vernon DuBose with a few of the 51 fish they landed via slow-smoking slabs and dead-sticking with soft plastics and jigheads.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Monday, 20 February 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

I spoke with a lot of disappointed anglers at the boat ramp today — mainly largemouth bass anglers who were beginning to probe up shallow for black bass.  The warm air had everyone hoping that spring was coming on, but, the water temperature told a very different story.  It measured only 52.3 on the surface.  Bear in mind that during our last cold snap (Thur. thru Sat. last week), the air temp only exceeded the water surface temp. after around 3p on Saturday.  Otherwise, that was a full 60 hours of cooling which preceded that.

I started our trip well after sunrise today (at 7:45A) as I’ve found very little in the way of fish or bird activity during the first hour of light since the water temp slipped into the low 50’s earlier this winter.

Even with a later start, we only took 3 fish in the first hour.  By 9:15A, as the wind begin to increase and the sun began to shine more brightly (thru a full 100% coverage of thin clouds), the bite began to come on strong.   The white bass bite definitely followed “bell-shaped” curve today, peaking around 10A, then dropping off about a half hour later.

As we moved around to several areas looking for aggressive fish, we found the fish most aggressive (though still far from truly aggressive) as soon as we dropped baits down to them.  We’d typically take a few fish, then the fish would remain in the area (drawn, no doubt, by the thumper), but turn off to the slab (white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs).  Seeing this, we changed over to deadsticking with a jighead and soft plastic, moved the baits much more slowly, and began catching once again.  We found any suspended fish MUCH more likely to strike than those fish remaining on, or just barely off, the bottom.

Without Garmin LiveScope, our catch would have been half of what it was this morning, as the detail it provided allowed everyone to present their baits with great precision on a consistent basis to these reluctant, cold fish.

I know everyone, including myself, is getting that spring itch, but that water temperature has to temper our expectations to avoid disappointment.

Our tally of 51 white bass consisted of 3 short fish, and 48 legal-sized fish.  This was a 3.25-hour trip.

TALLY: 51 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:  No helpful bird activity.  No fish dripping eggs or milt from the 51 whites we landed.  No bycatch of other than white bass today.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F

Elevation: 13.84 feet low, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 52.3F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW winds all morning starting at 10, building to 16

Sky Condition: 100% light white cloud coverage all morning.  Cloud ceiling was high.

Moon Phase: New moon at 0% illumination.

GT = 45

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area 2059 – 33 fish

Area B0165G – 6 fish

Area B0005C- 3 fish

Area 1482 – 3 fish

Area vic B0160G – 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

BACK IN THE SADDLE – 56 FISH, LAKE BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Tuesday, Feb. 7th, I conducted my first fishing trip after being off the water for exactly one month thanks to a rotator cuff injury on Dec. 20th, and surgery on that left shoulder on Jan. 13th.

This was a “shake out the cobwebs and scout for some fish” kinda trip, and my “adult babysitter” was Mr. Ronnie Trower of Texas Boat World fame.  He kindly accompanied me as I (at a pace slower than normal) worked through launching and prepping my boat before our trip and then loading my boat back onto the trailer following the trip.

At this point, I am re-opened for business and my booking calendar is up-to-date.  If a date says “OPEN AM” or “OPEN PM”, I am available.  You can always just call or text to check on a date, as well.  Here’s that calendar: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION:  After a 30 day layoff due to a torn rotator cuff, I hit the water today to do a shake-down on the boat and tackle, and identify fish-holding areas for my clients scheduled this Thursday.  Mr. Ronnie Trower came along in case I got myself in a bind.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Tuesday, 07 February 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

Since the point of this trip was to get back on the water and locate fish for my first guided party this coming Thursday morning, we agreed we’d limit our catch to roughly 4 fish at any given area and then move on so we could identify a plethora of fish-holding areas while also sampling size and fish interest level at each area which produced.

In all, we found fish at 11 distinct areas holding fish this morning and spotted birds working fish at a 12th area which we did not fish.  There was a very sharp distinction between the two sorts of areas we found fish in.

The first general location was tight to bottom on breaklines in distinct schools, as would be expected of wintertime whites on topographic features.

The second general location was parallel to and just off of the main river channel.  These fish were present in great numbers and were primarily suspended.  I suspected at first that these might be schools of the very first spawners nosing upstream into the light current still running through Lake Belton (24 cubic feet per second), however, not a single fish oozed milt or eggs, nor had any abdominal bulge indicating developing eggs or milt.

The fish on bottom were temperamental, typically responding well as soon as our presentations arrived at bottom, then losing interest quickly.  We caught these on Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (white, 3/8 oz. and 5/8 oz.) using a combination of easing, slow-smoking, and occasional snap-jigging.

The suspended fish near the channel were aggressive when they were seen moving horizontally on sonar and, during such times, would hit a slab worked with a slow-smoking tactic.   However, if the fish were not moving, they would typically only respond to a dead-sticked soft plastic with jighead positioned horizontally.

We saw three such groups of suspended fish, each indicated by gulls.  The bottom-huggers were found exclusively via sonar

Our tally of 56 fish consisted of 4 freshwater drum, 3 hybrid striped bass (2 legal), and 49 white bass.

TALLY: 56 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:  Multiple large schools of suspended fish located adjacent to the main channel were found today.  Haven’t seen this behavior until now this winter.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 12:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F

Elevation: 13.9 feet low, 0.02′ rise in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 52.3F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm to SE3 winds all morning

Sky Condition: 100% grey skies with occasional light rain showers all morning.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 97% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area B0191G – 7 fish (suspended near channel)
Area B0186G/B0012C – 4 fish
Area Vic 354 – 2 fish
Area B0190G – 4 fish
Area vic 1012 – 1 fish
Area vic 714 – 3 fish
Area vic 344 – 6 fish
Area vic 1541 – 6 fish
Area vic B0161C/B0020C – 6 fish
Area, 2052/1934 – 4 fish
Area B0192G  – 13 fish (suspended near channel)

 

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