December | 2023 | Fishing Report

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

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FROM (NEAR) RUSSIA WITH LOVE — 64 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

December 11th, 2023December 11th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, December 11, I fished with returning guests, Dwight and Duayne Stone. Dwight is retired from the restaurant business and now resides in Georgetown, Texas, and is hosting his brother who retired as a state trooper up in Alaska. Duane resides near Glennallen, Alaska.

Joining Duane was one of his grandsons, 19-year-old Alex Buck. Alex works construction, and on his family farm about 20 miles from his grandfather.

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 Dec. 13 & 14

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Duayne Stone, Alex Buck, and Dwight Stone with a few of the 13-inch class white bass we took by moving constantly this morning under low-wind and bright sky conditions.

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 11 Dec. 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

We were met with bright, sunny, low-wind conditions this morning, and although we found fish all morning, the fish were none too enthusiastic about biting.

Having lived through plenty of days like this already this winter, I knew that moving frequently would be necessary to put together a decent catch.

I have found that under less than ideal weather conditions, the white bass’ most aggressive response will take place in the first few minutes spent atop any given school. After that, interest level simply flattens out, and eventually tapers to nothing. The trick is to keep moving to stay on top of active fish found upon arrival.

With this is our game plan, we managed a catch of 64 fish, including 62 white bass, one largemouth, bass, and one short hybrid striper. All but three of the white bass were of legal size with our top 10 or 12 hitting the 13 inch range.

At no time this morning did we experience helpful bird activity. There was a 25 minute window where a large group of birds sitting on the water began to flit nervously with occasional birds diving on top of fish driving shad to the surface, but this was very scattered bird activity with very limited fish activity beneath.

If you look at the list of areas we had to hit this morning, and the number of fish taken at each, you’ll see what I mean. We had to move the boat 11 different times today — this is usually more like 3-5 times under better weather conditions.

All but two of our fish came using white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope, and also using the thumper to consolidate fish as well as a metronome to avoid retrieving our lures to quickly or too slowly, while using the slow-smoking tactic.

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 64 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile measured on 07 Dec., was:

0 feet, 60.4F
5 feet, 60.4F
10 feet, 60.4F
15 feet, 60.4F
20 feet, 60.4F
25 feet, 60.4F
30 feet, 60.3F
35 feet, 60.3F
40 feet, 60.1F
45 feet 59.8F
50 feet, 59.6F
55 feet, 59.4F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 12:20P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 32F

Elevation: 15.79 feet low, 40 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 58.2F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE2-3 at trip’s start and until ~10A, then rising to SSE5-6 thereafter.

Sky Condition: Bright blue, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 3% illumination.

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 714 – 5 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1141 – 2 fish downrigging #13/14 Pet Spoons

Area 1743 (2 hops) – 14 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 1280 – 10 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area B0107G – 7 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 346 – 3 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area B0013C – 12 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 1543 – 7 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 1012 (2 hops) – 4 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

The Tale of Daddy, King Daddy, and Forbes — 60 Fish @ Lake Belton

December 9th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, December 9, I fished with three generations aboard. Some time ago, Mrs. Sommer Johnston made all the arrangements for her dad, Shawn Isdale, her husband, Dallas Johnston, and her son, four-year-old Forbes Johnston, to spend this Saturday morning together out on Lake Belton.

Shawn runs a well-known chiropractic business in Harker Heights, TX. Dallas is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and now works with his father-in-law, and little Forbes is big brother to a two-year-old sister, with another sibling on the way.

Here is how the fishing went…

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

Next available dates are Dec. 13 & 14

PHOTO CAPTION: Hybrid were very active this morning as a mild, dry cold front pushed in from the northwest. We landed a total of 19 hybrid stripers, of which 15 were 18″ or greater (the legal limit if the fish were kept).

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Dallas and Forbes Johnston, and Shawn “King-Daddy” Isdale with a sampling of the white bass we took mainly off bottom before and after the hybrid went crazy under birds. Most of our white bass came on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.

PHOTO CAPTION: Shawn Isdale with one of four hybrid of this size he took during a 2-hour feeding spree on Lake Belton

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 09 Dec. 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

After just a bit of ribbing about how the Army-Navy game should go today, we got down to business and went over the essential tactics for the morning. Our first 45 minutes was a bit slow as light westerly winds had just begun blowing , and as we battled some gray cloud cover which prevented the brightening of the morning sky.

Within 45 minutes, the winds had increased and began swinging northerly, the temperature began to drop just slightly, and the cloud cover dissipated. This all occurred as a mild, dry, cold front began to push into Central Texas.

Up to this point my crew had landed 6 fish and missed another three. As this twist in the weather materialized, the fish and the birds went crazy for about two hours. During this time, both white bass and hybrid striped bass pushed shad relentlessly for over 3/8 of a mile occasionally slowing a bit, but otherwise cruising at about 2.5mph.

I observed boats running to the visible bird activity, stopping, then catching just a fish or two as the main body of fish blew past and kept doggedly pursuing the shad into the wind.

Having encountered this scenario plenty of times in the past two weeks, I felt the single best approach in terms of putting the greatest number of fish in the boat was to put dual downriggers down equipped with number 14 Pet Spoons and keep these about two feet shallower than whatever level the majority of the fish showed at on colored sonar and down-imaging.

The action was nonstop and got a bit crazy at times with a four-year-old on board to keep an eye on, multiple simultaneous hook ups, wind blowing at an increasingly fast clip, and other weekend boats to keep an eye on.

By the time this frenzy died at around 10:15 AM, we had put an additional 38 fish in the boat including 15 legal hybrid up to 4.5 pounds.

Using the birds as a barometer of fish activity, it was pretty apparent when the action died. Seeing this, I immediately took us back to vertical jigging using a smoking tactic with 5/8 ounce, white Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs, and we put a final 16 additional fish in the boat during our last hour on the water.

I was pretty impressed with how engaged little Forbes stayed. The variety of tactics we used and the consistent action was helpful in keeping him engaged, and he also got some special assignments, including checking to see that the aerator was in operation, using the bait net to return all small white bass to the water, turning the thumper on and off, and reeling in any fish that were too big for his Daddy and his “King-Daddy“ to handle.

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 60 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile measured on 07 Dec., was:

0 feet, 60.4F
5 feet, 60.4F
10 feet, 60.4F
15 feet, 60.4F
20 feet, 60.4F
25 feet, 60.4F
30 feet, 60.3F
35 feet, 60.3F
40 feet, 60.1F
45 feet 59.8F
50 feet, 59.6F
55 feet, 59.4F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:40A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F

Elevation: 15.69 feet low, 40 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 58.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: W5 at trip’s start, building and shifting to NW13 by trip’s end as a mild, dry cold front moved in.

Sky Condition: About 60% grey cloud cover for the first 45 minutes, then clearing to 0% cloud cover as the front moved in.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 13% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 714 – 6 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 1548 thru B0243G – 38 fish downrigging #13/14 Pet Spoons, incl. 9 legal hybrid

Area 1552 – 8 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 472 – 8 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

SOLDIERS’ KIDS INVOLVED IN FISHING FUN (SKIFF) – 70 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

December 8th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Thursday morning, December 7, I ran a SKIFF trip for Mr. Nick Stowman, and his son, Mordecai.

Nick is a bona fide disabled combat veteran who was injured multiple times when vehicles he was in were struck by IED‘s (improvised explosive devices) as he served as a scout in the U.S. Army. Nick served 4 1/2 years.

Mordecai, age 13, is one of three siblings, and the most “outdoorsy” of the three.

ABOUT SKIFF: This fishing trip, like all SKIFF trips, was provided to this military family at no charge. 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, namely The McBride Foundation and Subaru. 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 Cavazos in Bell County, TX, year ’round. Call or text 254.368.7411.

Here is how the fishing went…

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

Next available dates are Dec. 13 & 14

PHOTO CAPTION: Mordecai Stowman came up with our largest fish of the trip. This 5.25 pound hybrid striped bass was one of nine legal hybrid we took under the best weather conditions we’ve had for fishing in quite a spell.

PHOTO CAPTION: U.S. Army veteran Nick Stowman with one of the chunky hybrids he and his 13-year-old son landed. These fish were gorging on 3.25″ long threadfin shad.

PHOTO CAPTION: When the hybrid action settled down, we turned out sights on white bass and had to visit only two areas to stay in plenty of action as we “slow-smoked” Hazy Eye Slabs to catch these bottom-hugging fish.

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 07 Dec. 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

We finally had some weather I could get excited about today. We had a balmy south wind return, taking temperatures into the 60s by the end of our four hour trip after a 46° start. We also were blessed with gray cloud cover all morning at approximately 90% coverage.

Birds worked long and hard this morning and were present, at least sporadically, from 7:50 AM through our wrap-up at 11 AM. We used downriggers to fish below the most aggressive bird activity and were rewarded with nine legal hybrid striped bass as we trolled using number 13 Pet Spoons on one three-armed umbrella rig, and number 14 Pet Spoons on the other.

When the bird activity waned, we reverted to what has been standard operating procedure now that the water has dropped below 60° – that is slow smoking vertically with a Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (white, 5/8 oz.). We used these slabs in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope, and found the fish more responsive than at any point in the last two weeks.

We had to hit only one location to take our 44-fish count up to 70 before calling it a day right at 11 AM.

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 70 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile measured on 07 Dec., was:

0 feet, 60.4F
5 feet, 60.4F
10 feet, 60.4F
15 feet, 60.4F
20 feet, 60.4F
25 feet, 60.4F
30 feet, 60.3F
35 feet, 60.3F
40 feet, 60.1F
45 feet 59.8F
50 feet, 59.6F
55 feet, 59.4F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 46F

Elevation: 15.68 feet low, 40 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 58.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE10-13

Sky Condition: About 90% grey cloud cover all morning

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 29% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1205 thru 1275 – 44 fish downrigging #13/14 Pet Spoons, incl. 9 legal hybrid

Area 1549 – 26 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

MOM: “THIS WAS AS FUN AS SHOPPING!” — 65 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

December 6th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, December 6, I fished with returning guest Josh Torres, this time accompanied by his family, including his wife, Rebecca, his daughter, Madeline (15), and his son, Oliver (11).

I first got to know Josh through Mr. Tony Bagliore when the two of them were in the Austin concrete business several years ago. Tony routinely brought both clients and employees out fishing with me.

Here is how the fishing went…

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

Next available dates are Dec. 13 & 14

PHOTO CAPTION: As they always do this time of year, quality largemouth bass begin showing up as bycatch out in deep water. We often catch them incidentally as we work slabs for whites and hybrid, with most being caught on the stinger hook, not on the treble hook.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: That’s Madeline, Josh, Rebecca, and Oliver Torres enjoying a break from work and homeschooling today to spend some family time out in God’s creation.

PHOTO CAPTION: Although it didn’t last long, bird action led the way to a quick catch of six legal hybrid, a few shorts, and additional white bass as we downrigged with Pet Spoons to keep pace with these fast-moving, shad-eating predators.

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday, 06 Dec. 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Fishing has definitely gotten tougher with the water temperature now below 60° but, solid catches can be had with consistent effort and good technique — and that is exactly what the Torres family supplied this morning.

Everyone stayed enthusiastic, their technique was solid, and everyone watched the Garmin LiveScope monitors closely to know when high percentage opportunities presented themselves.

Except for a ~30 minute span under active birds during which we downrigged with Pet Spoons, the entire trip consisted of working 5/8 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically using a smoking tactic. Once again in this scenario under birds with hybrid present, if you weren’t downrigging, you were not going to be able to keep up with the speed at which these fish were pursuing shad.

As we fished vertically for bottom-oriented fish, so as to ensure no one was reeling their lures too fast or too slow, I used the dimmer dial on the thumper so as to have it double as a metronome so one handle turn per “beat” would yield an attractive rate of rise for the lures.

All of the fish we encountered (except those under birds which we downrigged for) were very tight to the bottom this morning.

It really made my day when Mrs. Torres, without prompting, let everyone know that she was having as much fun outdoors catching fish with her family as she does when she goes shopping. That is some high praise right there!!

Big picture-wise, symptoms of cooling water are becoming apparent: fish are generally staying very tight to bottom, fish can be found deeper than just a week ago, a lesser percentage of fish tend to respond to presentations, and I am noticing sporadic spikes in fish feeding times … I am seeing fish feed strong for perhaps 15 minutes, then shut down for 20 or 25 minutes, then turn on for another 10 or 13 minutes, and so on.

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 65 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile measured on 01 Dec., was:

0 feet, 60.1F
5 feet, 61.1F
10 feet, 61.5F
15 feet, 61.5F
20 feet, 61.5F
25 feet, 61.5F

30 feet 61.5F
35 feet, 61.5F
40 feet, 61.4F
45 feet, 61.4F
50 feet, 61.1F
55 feet, 60.8F
60 feet 60.6F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 11:25A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 43F

Elevation: 15.66 feet low, 40 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 58.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW8 at trip’s start & until 9:50, then calm for 20 minutes, then quickly changing to E12 for the remainder of the morning

Sky Condition: About 20% wispy thin clouds through 8A, then clearing to cloudless and light blue.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 38% illumination.

GT = 105

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

354/B0054G – 4 fish smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

1298 – 11 fish smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

BG0018CH -25 fish downrigging #13/14 Pet Spoons

1552/B0165G – 18 fish smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

1489 – 7 fish smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

A RUN ON HYBRID STRIPERS — 61 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

December 4th, 2023December 4th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, December 4, I fished with first time guest Mr. Jay McKinney, from Georgetown, Texas.

This was originally supposed to be a father-son trip, but father and son are in the restaurant business and son got a call that a key employee was unable to make his shift so, this morning‘s trip became a solo act. We’re gonna try again on the father-son effort this coming Thursday.

Here is how the fishing went…

—————————————————————————————————–

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

Next available dates are Dec. 13 & 14

PHOTO CAPTION: Mr. Jay McKinney got on a hot streak this morning. He landed 15 keeper hybrid striped bass as we kept pace with a fast moving school of hybrid chasing threadfin shad into the wind at a 2.5 mph pace.

PHOTO CAPTION: White bass, although definitely slowing down, also cooperated this morning.

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 04 Dec. 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

We very much remain under the influence of high-pressure, following Friday’s incoming, mild cold front. We had we had clear skies, cold overnight temperatures, and north-northwesterly winds.

Fishing was improved versus the tough scenario I encountered Friday and Saturday, but the impact of falling water temperatures are definitely kicking in. Fish are generally staying very tight to bottom, a lesser percentage of fish tend to respond to presentations, and I am noticing sporadic spikes in fish feeding times. What I mean by this is that I am seeing fish feed strong for 12 or 15 minutes, then shut down then, 35 minutes later, turn on for another 10 or 13 minutes, and so on.

Our fishing broke down into three segments this morning. There was a slow bite under low light conditions during which time we worked Hazy Eye Slabs vertically. Next, a bit of bird activity kicked in as a large school of hybrid began to chase bait at mid depths and up toward the surface over a widespread area. This was then followed by better fishing for white bass using bottom-oriented tactics thereafter.

Whenever we found white bass heavily schooled on bottom, the slow-smoking tactic still performed best, although I did try easing and some dead stick presentations, as well. As for the hybrid under birds, if you weren’t downrigging, or at least flatline trolling, you were not going to be able to keep up with the speed at which these fish were pursuing shad.

I used twin downriggers, each equipped with a three-armed umbrella rig. One rig had number 13 Pet Spoons and the other had number 14 Pet Spoons. Our better quality fish came on the number 14s.

Jay landed three sets of triples and each of those included two keeper hybrid. He then landed singles and doubles of keeper hybrid, amassing a final tally of 15 keeper hybrid during the short span of bird activity.

Our fishing today took place in 28 to 34 feet of water when the fish were on bottom.

We wound up with a grand total of 61 fish including 1 freshwater drum, 2 largemouth bass, 15 keeper hybrid, 3 short hybrid, and 40 white bass, 37 of which were legal.

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 61 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile measured on 01 Dec., was:

0 feet, 60.1F
5 feet, 61.1F
10 feet, 61.5F
15 feet, 61.5F
20 feet, 61.5F
25 feet, 61.5F

30 feet 61.5F
35 feet, 61.5F
40 feet, 61.4F
45 feet, 61.4F
50 feet, 61.1F
55 feet, 60.8F
60 feet 60.6F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 43F

Elevation: 15.56 feet low, 47 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 59.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW8 at trip’s start, rising to NNW12-13 by mid-morning, then dying to NNW6-8

Sky Condition: Bright, cloudless, bluebird skies all morning

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 57% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

B0075C – smoking Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs for white bass

150 – smoking Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs for white bass

1749 upwind to the NW for ~1/4 mile

1489 – smoking Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs for white bass

B0196C/B0196G – smoking Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs for white bass

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

A “WHOLE FAMILY” PERSONAL BEST — 42 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

December 3rd, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Saturday, December 02, I fished with Mr. Jarrid Lovenburg and his three kids, Chloe (age 12), Joshua (age 10), and Richard (age 8).

When Jarrid contacted me by phone several weeks back, he let me know how he’d tried to put the kids on fish on multiple attempts but only Chloe had managed to come up with a single crappie.

What this family may have lacked in experience, they made up for in enthusiasm, and even a bit of grit. Despite the 43F start, everyone stuck it out with just a shirt and a hoodie on under conditions which called for much more clothing than that.

Here’s how the fishing went…

—————————————————————————————————–

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

Next available dates are Dec. 13 & 14

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Joshua (10), Jarrid, Richard (8), and Chloe (12) with a few of the white bass they landed later in the morning working Hazy Eye Slabs vertically through schooled fish on bottom.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pentupled up! Jarrid and Richard reel five fish in simultaneously as we downrigged Pet Spoons through scattered, fast-moving white bass and hybrids. Jarrid landed three fish and Richard caught two.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jarrid Lovenburg looks like a proud pop as he and his daughter, Chloe, landed hybrid stripers at the same time.

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 02 Dec. 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

With no major change of weather since Friday, I anticipated continued, tough fishing this morning, but prepared to make the most of what I’d witnessed on the water on Friday.

First, I anticipated that some bird activity would point the way to very scattered, early morning action for white and hybrids. For this reason, I brought downrigging gear to enable us to scour a lot of water quickly and “U-turn” back over schools of fish sighted on and waypointed with side-imaging.

This turned out well for a number of reasons. First, it allowed us to take advantage of this scattered fish activity while at the same time allowing the kids to remain bundled up with their arms crossed or hands in pockets during the first, coldest hour of the morning while still taking fish consistently.

We landed 18 fish in this manner, including 4 hybrid using #13 Pet Spoons on one downrigger and #14 Pet Spoons on the other. The birds we keyed off of were moving at about 3 miles per hour headed into the wind. I kept our trolling speed down to 2.4 mph by deploying the trolling motor sideways to create drag, and by trimming the outboard so as to thrust more upwards instead of directly rearwards.

Once the bird action died, we went looking elsewhere for schooled, active fish. Fortunately, the bit of sun coming through the clouds began to take that cold bite out of the air, and the kids were now able to hold a spinning reel without getting any colder.

I trained everyone up on the Slow Smoking tactic, and we were off to the races. Over the last half of the trip, the kids and their father put an additional 24 fish in the boat as they raised their white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs off the bottom toward the surface to goad fish into following and striking.

We wrapped up the trip at 11:30 as the bite died to nil. The Lovenburg family put together their best ever family outing with 42 fish landed including 4 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, 1 freshwater drum, and 36 white bass.

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 42 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile measured on 01 Dec., was:

0 feet, 60.1F
5 feet, 61.1F
10 feet, 61.5F
15 feet, 61.5F
20 feet, 61.5F
25 feet, 61.5F

30 feet 61.5F
35 feet, 61.5F
40 feet, 61.4F
45 feet, 61.4F
50 feet, 61.1F
55 feet, 60.8F
60 feet 60.6F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:10A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 43F

Elevation: 15.56 feet low, 47 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 60.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW8 at trip’s start, rising to NNW12-13 by mid-morning, then dying to NNW4-5 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: ~60% thin grey cloud cover all morning.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 75% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1378 thru B0100C provided downrigging action for scattered, fast-moving hybrids and whites

Areas B0004C and B0198G

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

A TOUGH AFTERNOON TO MATCH — 34 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

December 3rd, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Friday afternoon, December 1, I fished with first-time guests, father-and-son, Wayne and Chris Franklin from the Georgetown area.

Wayne is a U.S. Air Force veteran who specialized in logistics, and Chris is employed in the fuel distribution industry. The pair was very capable with spinning gear and took quickly to the smoking tactic we employed this afternoon.

If you read my morning report for this day, you’ll know the fishing was tough in the a.m., and the p.m. trip was really no different.

Here is how the fishing went…
—————————————————————————————————–

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

Next available dates are Dec. 13 & 14

PHOTO CAPTION: Chris Franklin took this Lake Belton hybrid striper on a 5/8 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slab during a 25-minute “mini-feed” as both fish and bird activity spiked, corresponding with an uptick in the wind.

PHOTO CAPTION: Wayne Franklin took this hybrid during the same spree in which his son, Chris, landed one.

PHOTO CAPTION: Father-and-son landed some quality white bass along the way, as well.

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday, 01 Dec. 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Having observed the fish behavior under cold front conditions this morning, I knew not to go here, there, and everywhere, hoping to find a large school of active fish, but rather focused on making the most of the smaller packs of fish I could find.

In this way, we spent more time with lines in the water pursuing fish — fish which still really took a lot of convincing.

If I would have done one thing differently in the morning (now with hindsight being 20/20), it would have been to fish for the smaller groups of fish we found, catch a few, and move on to the next group instead of consuming the time I did looking for schools of fish with great numbers of individuals in them, hoping the “competition factor” would provoke more fish to bite. We really didn’t find many large schools, and, even when we did, these fish were no more aggressive than those in the smaller schools.

For every 20 or 30 fish we spotted on LiveScope drawn into the commotion we were creating by jigging and by using the splasher, we would get one or two interested fish to pursue and then some percentage of those to actually strike.

At one point when the nearly slack winds turned northerly around 3:30 PM, we experienced a slight uptick in the fishing and birds began to work briefly. But, after 25 minutes or so both the birds and the fish quit, and it was back to the slow status quo right up until sunset.

Using a slow smoking tactic with white, 5/8 ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slab, my two-man crew wound up with 34 fish in the boat including two hybrid striped bass, one largemouth bass, two freshwater drum, and 29 white bass.

If there was one consolation, it was that these folks were experienced anglers and understood how weather, especially cold front weather, can impact the fishing.

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 34 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile measured on 01 Dec., was:

0 feet, 60.1F
5 feet, 61.1F
10 feet, 61.5F
15 feet, 61.5F
20 feet, 61.5F
25 feet, 61.5F

30 feet 61.5F
35 feet, 61.5F
40 feet, 61.4F
45 feet, 61.4F
50 feet, 61.1F
55 feet, 60.8F
60 feet 60.6F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1:15P

End Time: 5:20P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F

Elevation: 15.56 feet low, 47 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 60.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Light and variable for the first two hours, then increasing and shifting to N8 thereafter

Sky Condition: Under 10% thin, white cloud cover all morning

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 83% illumination.

GT = 65

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

No areas produced an abundance of fish this morning; fish were scattered and tough.

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

FISHING TURNED TOUGH — 32 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

December 2nd, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Friday morning, December 1, I fished with returning guests Gary and Rachel Davidson of Kerrville, Texas.

This husband and wife team are excellent multi-species anglers and pursue white bass and hybrid striper on Lake Buchanan in ways nearly identical to those I employ on Belton and Stillhouse.

I had been looking for an opportunity in this peak fall bite to get them on the water for a high numbers trip, and thus, we watched the weather for an incoming cold front. Back on Monday when we chose this date, this morning looked promising, and I knew it would probably be the last cold front prior to the water hitting that magic 59 to 60° mark at which the white bass really throttle back.

We made our plans, and, honestly, the day turned out to be disappointing. Here is how the fishing went…

—————————————————————————————————–

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

Next available dates are Dec. 13 & 14

PHOTO CAPTION: Rachel and Gary Davidson of Kerrville worked hard for the fish they landed on a tough Lake Belton outing.

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 01 Dec. 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

With each new forecast this week, it was apparent this “front” was going to be mild and dry, and, indeed, it fizzled and turned out to be a little more than a wind shift.

Regardless, we still had a north wind right at 12 to 13 mph for the first two hours of the morning.

I got more encouraged when I saw that a substantial number of birds were working, but, when we got baits down to these fish, two things were immediately apparent. First, the fish were extremely scattered and second, they were glued to bottom and quite reluctant to chase.

All morning we had no problem whatsoever finding fish, but we would have to raise 20 or 30 disinterested fish to get one aggressive enough to follow even a short distance and hit a slab. I even tried some deadsticking while Gary and Rachael continued slow smoking or easing a slab, and the fish responded in much the same way to the soft plastic and jig head I was experimenting with.

The Davidson’s used the white, 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slab — with a twist. Whenever LiveScope showed little, they used a short hopping motion to bounce the slab off bottom a few times to create some commotion; when fish came in (typically along the bottom), they’d then begin reeling the lure smoking-style.

At no time did we catch more than four fish at any given stop, and, even after extending the trip for over an hour, we landed a grand total of just 32 fish with 1 drum, 1 largemouth, and 30 white bass in the mix.

As I have made mention of in many of my winter season reports, 60° is the point at which I change over from my splasher to my thumper, and the point at which I will no longer realistically expect to use the MAL Lure for any significant portion of any trip until spring. I will now also keep my longer, 8-foot spinning rods on the boat so we can execute the easing tactic, which is a bit slower than the slowest smoking tactic.

All in all, a tough day, but at least it was spent with good folks!

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 32 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile measured on 01 Dec., was:

0 feet, 60.1F
5 feet, 61.1F
10 feet, 61.5F
15 feet, 61.5F
20 feet, 61.5F
25 feet, 61.5F

30 feet 61.5F
35 feet, 61.5F
40 feet, 61.4F
45 feet, 61.4F
50 feet, 61.1F
55 feet, 60.8F
60 feet 60.6F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:10A

End Time: 12:35P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 49F

Elevation: 15.38 feet low, 47 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 62.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW12-13 for the first two hours, then tapering steadily down to NNW5 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Under 10% thin, white cloud cover all morning

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 83% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

No areas produced an abundance of fish this morning; fish were scattered and tough.

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com