September | 2023 | Fishing Report

Back-in-the-Saddle on Saturdays — 51 Fish @ Belton

September 9th, 2023September 9th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, September 9, I resumed my Saturday fishing schedule and will now continue to offer Saturday trips (as well as Thursday evening trips) from now until Spring Break 2024.

This morning’s trip was a “Kids Fish, Too!“ trip for two buddies, Samuel Shugg (age 11) and his friend, Dein Dodson (age 8).

The boys were accompanied by Samuel‘s dad, Chris Shugg, who came with a valid fishing license, and the desire to help me help the boys be successful.

Here is how the fishing went.…
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Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are Sept. 12-14 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Samuel and Chris Shugg helped Dein Dodson celebrate the capture of this 5.25-pound Lake Belton hybrid striped bass on their Saturday morning “Kids Fish, Too!” trip tailored just for kids.

PHOTO CAPTION: White bass surface action was really hindered by this morning’s heavy wave action, but, we found a mess of them early on which responded well to downrigging. That’s Samuel Shugg on the left and Dein Dodson on the right.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 09 September 2023

HOW WE FISHED:

Before first light this morning, I could see flickers of lightning from the tops of thunderheads building north and east of the DFW area. Those were on the lead edge of a cold front due to enter into central Texas air space around 3 PM today. As a result, we had higher than forecast southeasterly winds at 12 to 15 mph before sunrise.

Unfortunately, those winds, which were much higher than the 7-8 mph winds forecast for the morning, pretty much eliminated the topwater bite this morning.

Given the wind situation, we went with “Plan B“, which was to present shad-imitating #13 Pet Spoons to feeding white bass by way of downrigging.

We used a pair of downriggers, each equipped with three-armed umbrella rigs, to present six baits at any given time. We fished in this manner through around 9 AM during which time the boys caught a mixed bag of 15 legal white bass, 2 short hybrid, 1 legal hybrid, and 2 blue catfish.

Although the bite was never really super strong this morning, it definitely dropped off around 8:30 or so. By 9 a.m., we retooled and headed up shallow to invest our final hour in pursuit of sunfish using fiberglass poles, fixed length lines, and slip floats to present live bait to a mixed bag of sunfish in shallow water. During that final hour, the boys put exactly 31 sunfish in the boat, including bluegill, greens, and long ears.

We wrapped up at the 3.5 hour mark, as is customary for these shorter and less expensive “Kids Fish, Too!” trips.

The boys final count was 51 fish, all of which were caught and released.

TALLY: 51 fish caught and released.

Find the 3-Armed Umbrella Rig here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile shown below was taken on 07 Sep. This will likely represent the hottest condition Lake Belton will rise to, given the forthcoming change of seasons, and predictions for cold fronts and cloud cover this week.

0 feet, 87.0F
5 feet, 86.4F
10 feet, 85.9F
15 feet, 85.6F
20 feet, 85.5F
25 feet, 85.0F
30 feet, 82.9F
35 feet, 76.8F
40 feet, 69.0F
45 feet, 66.8F
50 feet, 65.1F
55 feet, 68.3F
60 feet, 62.9F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:35A

End Time: 10:10A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 81F

Elevation: 17.66 feet low, 56 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 85.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE12-15 all morning

Sky Condition: 30% white cloud cover on a blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 26% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1791 – early AM downrigging

Area 1583- sunfishing in final hour

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

PERFECT STORM FOR TOPWATER — 102 FISH ON CORK RIGS

September 7th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, 07 September, I fished with returning guest James Dubose accompanied by his father-in-law, Brian Markham, who was joining me for the first time.

James, a veteran, now supports Fort Cavazos working as a civilian there in the computer field, while Brian runs his own mobile RV repair service in the RV-saturated area on the Gulf coast near Rockport, TX.

James’ wife (and Brian’s daughter), Ashly Dubose put this whole thing together for the fellows.

Here is how the fishing went…

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Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are Sept. 12-14 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Brian Markham and James Dubose with a sampling of the white bass taken mainly on the surface under low-light conditions using the Cork Rig.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 07 September 2023

HOW WE FISHED:

It truly was a “perfect storm” of circumstances this morning leading to a 100+ fish catch in just under 3 hours’ time.

What do I mean by that?

The weather was right — this high pressure dome causing our heat and drought headaches also makes for incredibly stable weather in which the fish get into a “mode” and do the same things at the same places and times each day.
The wind was right — we had a light SSE chop fueled by a 4-5 mph breeze, so the water was moving, but any fish activity could be readily spotted.
The lake was deserted — hence, no rookie anglers driving right up to the fish using their outboards, no jet skis, no wake boats, no company of any sort to put the fish down prematurely.
My clients could cast well — both Brian and James could cast both far and accurately. This allowed me to give a maximum buffer distance between the boat and the fish which translated to fish which stayed up longer than if they’d been pressured.
My clients were coachable — if I saw something they could do differently or better, I let them know that, and they willingly adjusted.
The shad continue to grow thanks to the extended high water temperatures — this means we could get away using larger lures imitating adult shad and enjoy the extra heft and distance those larger presentations allow for.

The fish first showed on the surface at 6:47AM and went strong until 8:15. After that, there was an additional 35 minutes of sporadic action before the fish vacated the surface by 8:50A. We had the boat back on trailer by 9:30A following this “Beat the Heat Special”, 3 hour long trip.

All but 7 of the 102 fish were taken on the Cork Rig with the largest streamer option (#2 white/grey) I offer. The men landed 3 fish on MAL Heavies in the roughly 10-minute span of time between 8:15 when the aggressive activity stopped, the fish sounded, and just before the fish began to “popcorn” feed. The balance were taken on Pet Spoon-equipped downrigggers.

Of the 102 fish landed, 6 were short hybrid, and the other 96 fish were all legal white bass with the best 10-15% going over 13-14″.

TALLY: 102 fish caught and released.

Find the Cork Rig here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: I spotted additional flocks of migrating teal this morning. The water temperature profile taken around 9:45 after my clients had departed was as follows:

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:35A

End Time: 9:20A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 81F

Elevation: 17.54 feet low, 56 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 87.0F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE4-6 all morning

Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover on a slightly hazy blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 44% illumination.

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0197C to B0039G to B0100C, and Area B0107G – early morning, low-light topwater action

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

To Make Hay While the Sun Shines, Catch Fish While it Doesn’t! — 74 Fish

September 1st, 2023September 1st, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Friday, September 1, I fished with returning guest, David Vahrenkamp, joined by three first time guests Jonathon Baumann, Riley Baumann, and Riley’s 11-year-old son, Jackson, all distant relatives of David’s.

This was all a part of a long weekend devoted to fishing, golfing and dining, in celebration of David’s birthday.

Here is how the fishing went…

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Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are Sept. 5-7 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jonathon, Riley, and Jackson Baumann and David Vahrenkamp with a sampling of the white bass taken mainly on the surface under low-light conditions using the Cork Rig.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jonathon Baumann with our sole legal hybrid striped bass which crushed a #13 Pet Spoon downrigged just above the thermocline.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday, 01 September 2023

HOW WE FISHED:

As has been the case for quite some time now, this morning’s fishing was very front-loaded, with the majority of the catching taking place in the first 90 minutes of the trip and under low light conditions as the white bass herded shad against the surface and fed upon them aggressively, thus revealing their location despite a bit of chop on the water.

As I noted earlier this week, the shad growth rate in this protracted summer heat has been substantial, and I’m finding now that downsized baits are no longer mandatory as they had been throughout the month of August.

My four anglers lined up abreast of one another, either on the port side or the starboard side and cast perpendicular to the side of the boat out into the surface feeding white bass. I put them within range by drawing near using the outboard, then closing the last 80 to 100 yards using the trolling motor.

Until you actually try this yourself, you will not appreciate how many fish the outboard motor spooks if you try to get close to topwater fish using the outboard.

This morning the top water action went from 6:54 AM to about 8 AM and then rapidly fell off over the next 15 to 20 minutes. During this time my crew put 59 fish in the boat. It would take another 2.5 hours to catch an additional 15 fish which all came just one at a time on downriggers as the white bass really settled down after binging at sunrise.

Those fish taken on downriggers were taken using three armed umbrella rigs. I equipped one with number 12 Pet Spoons, and the other with number 13 Pet Spoons.

Those fish taken early on top water all came on my hand-made Cork Rigs, which utilize a weighted popping cork to help take a light, shad-imitating streamer out to a much greater distance than with any other means.

Our 74 fish catch consisted of two hybrid striped bass, of which one was legal, two freshwater drum, five blue catfish, with the remaining 65 fish all being legal sized white bass with the top eight or ten eclipsing the 13 inch mark.

TALLY: 74 fish caught and released.

See a tutorial on the Smoking Method here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on the Sawtooth Method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

Find the Cork Rig here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: I spotted the first migrating teal flock of the season this morning. Here was the water temperature profile taken on 31 August this week:

0 feet, 86.8F
5 feet, 86.8F
10 feet, 86.8F
15 feet, 86.8F
20 feet, 86.8F
25 feet, 86.2F
30 feet, 83.3F
35 feet, 75.6F
40 feet, 68.2F
45 feet, 65.6F
50 feet, 64.5F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:35A

End Time: 10:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F

Elevation: 17.19 feet low, 56 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 86.8F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE6 at trip’s start, fading to light and variable by 8:25

Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover on a slightly hazy blue sky.

Moon Phase: Full super blue moon at 100% illumination.

GT = 85

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1292 thru B0031C – early morning, low-light topwater action

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

Fishing Report

Holding The Line Guide Service

Month: September 2023

Back-in-the-Saddle on Saturdays — 51 Fish @ Belton

PERFECT STORM FOR TOPWATER — 102 FISH ON CORK RIGS

To Make Hay While the Sun Shines, Catch Fish While it Doesn’t! — 74 Fish