ABOARD THE BOAT TODAY:  This morning I was joined by Sun City Rod & Gun Club members Dale Borchardt, Ed Hojnacki, and Mike McBride, all retirees living in Georgetown, TX.  The trip was coordinated by member Pat Patterson, who did not attend.

DATE: 15 May 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE: Friday, 21 June (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Mike McBride, Dale Borchardt, and Ed Hojnacki with a few of the 156 fish they landed just hours before grey skies and southerly winds gave way to another round of flooding rains in the watersheds of both Lake Belton and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir.

PHOTO CAPTION: Dale landed this bonafide trophy white bass while fishing an MAL Heavy with silver body and chartreuse tail horizontally using a sawtooth method.  The fish measured 16.50 inches and was released in good condition.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW I FISHED:  Based on yesterday’s successful scouting efforts, we continued fishing on windblown areas in the still semi-clear water on the lower end of Stillhouse in small clearings between the weeds which were growing on the land, and the inside edge of the hydrilla.  My crew fished MAL Dense Lures vertically with a smoking tactic first at each location, then, when the bite cooled off, followed up with MAL Heavy Lures fished horizontally with a sawtooth method.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We used the new MAL Dense with silver body (shown above) for vertical work, and the MAL Heavy with silver body and chartreuse tail for horizontal work today.  Find these lures at the Liberty Mart Exxon uphill from Temple Lake Park on Lake Belton, or go here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 156 fish caught and released (5 largemouth bass & 151 white bass)

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The lower third of Stillhouse was in “okay” shape today, but, additional flooding rains fell between 1-6P; the impact of those rains will be felt over the next several days.

2) Much of the hydrilla has begun to droop in over 26′ and is now just in a tangled mat about 2-2.5′ thick.

3) Fishing in “clearings” between the hydrilla and the terrestrial vegetation on the windblown side produced consistently.

4) The splasher earned its keep today, drawing fish in from around the boat.

5) Best bite was in the first 2.75 hours, then began to taper by 9:45A

6) The flooded vegetation has made finding fish using side-imaging very tough.  We had to drive over most fish today with DI and/or 2D to get a bead on their location.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: 

Not measured today on Stillhouse Hollow.  Surface temp. was 75.0

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:05A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 65F

Elevation: 5.04 feet high and slowly rising, with a 789 CFS release going on.

Water Surface Temp: 75.0F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: S7-12 all morning

Sky Condition: Grey skies all morning; no fog or mist.

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 59% illumination.

GT = 30

ABOARD THE BOAT TODAY:  This morning I fished alone with the intent of scouting that portion of Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir which still has semi-clear water.

DATE: 15 May 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE: Friday, 21 June (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:  The MAL Dense – the only lure I used today as I checked multiple areas, caught five fish at each, and moved on to check other areas.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW I FISHED:  The purpose of this morning’s trip was to find concentrations of white bass so as to come back with clients and put them on fish with confidence even as Stillhouse is in the process of flooding.  I used down-imaging and 2D sonar to find fish in and around hydrilla which in large part negates the use of side-imaging for fish which are very tight to the bottom.  Once found, I raced the MAL Dense from the bottom toward the surface using a “smoking” tactic to tempt the fish I found.  I located seven areas holding fish, caught five fish at each, then departed to find more fish.  I fished in the first 4 hours following sunrise, as I would with clients.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We used the new MAL Dense with silver body 100% of the time today.  Find these lures at the Liberty Mart Exxon uphill from Temple Lake Park on Lake Belton, or go here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 35 fish caught and released (1 largemouth bass & 34 white bass)

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The lower third of Stillhouse was in “okay” shape today, but, additional flooding rains are due on the afternoon of 16 May.

2) Much of the hydrilla has begun to droop in over 26′ and is now just in a tangled mat about 2-2.5′ thick.

3) Fishing in “clearings” between the hydrilla and the terrestrial vegetation on the windblown side produced consistently.

4) The splasher earned its keep today, drawing fish in from around the boat.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: 

Not measured today on Stillhouse Hollow.  Surface temp. was 75.0

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 10:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 65F

Elevation: 4.52 feet high and slowly rising, with a 789 CFS release going on.

Water Surface Temp: 74.8F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE6-12 all morning

Sky Condition: Partly cloudy with 50% white clouds on a blue sky, transitioning to 80% grey coverage by trip’s end

Moon Phase: First quarter moon at 50% illumination.

GT = N/A

JOINING ME TODAY: Returning guest Chris Coufal and first-time guest, Chris’ 14-year-old daughter, Kendall Coufal.

DATE: 14 May 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE: Friday, 21 June (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:  Chris Coufal and his daughter, Kendall, fished very technically today, and landed 55 white bass for their efforts.  We did not see an abundance of fish this morning, but, they really worked their MAL Dense Lures in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope very effectively to catch a great percentage of those fish we did find.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Georgetown

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:  We targeted white bass on an all catch-and-release basis this morning focusing on slowly tapering bottoms in 26-34 feet of water using a vertical “smoking” tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope while Spot Locked courtesy of my Minn Kota Ulterra. Reeling the bait upwards to intersect the forward path of the fish we spotted on LiveScope so as to provoke a response was absolutely key as the majority of the fish we encountered were suspended and moving.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We used the new MAL Dense with silver body 100% of the time today.  Find these lures at the Liberty Mart Exxon uphill from Temple Lake Park on Lake Belton, or go here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 55 fish caught and released (100% white bass)

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Incredibly, I did not see a single school of shad on sonar in our 4.5 hours on the water.

2) Georgetown is very clear with hydrilla growing in patches in water as deep as 26′

3) I found no sizeable schools of bottom-oriented white bass with side-imaging today; all fish found were in small group schools of 5-10 fish holding barely off bottom and were spotted as I went directly over them with 2D and DI sonar.  I suspect this is due to Georgetown’s limited flat topography and the amount of hydrilla present in under 26′ of water.

4) The splasher earned its keep today, drawing suspended fish in from around the boat.

5) Many of our catches came as doubles as the commotion created by one hooked fish temporarily excited other nearby fish, provoking them into chasing the other angler’s lure and also getting hooked.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: 

Not measured today on Lake Georgetown.  Surface temperature was 73.7F.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F

Elevation: 4.97 feet low with a .04′ rise in the last 24 hours with 0 flow.

Water Surface Temp: 73.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW4-6 all morning

Sky Condition: Bright blue, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 40% illumination.

GT = 85

CLIENTS: Returning guest Frank Sumner and first-time guest Blaine Windel.

DATE: 13 May 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE: Friday, 21 June (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Frank Sumner (tan shirt) and Blaine Windel each landed multiple hybrid striped bass using the MAL Dense horizontally with a “sawtooth method” in ~28-30′ where we could find clear water.

PHOTO CAPTION: White bass were caught both vertically and horizontally today as they came in to investigate the splasher and the commotion Frank and Blaine created with their presentations.

PHOTO CAPTION: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shut Westcliff Park down as we departed around noon today as the rising water moved above the concrete boat ramp onto the asphalt parking lot.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:  We targeted white bass on an all catch-and-release basis this morning focusing on slowly tapering areas in 16-32 feet of water using a vertical “smoking” tactic when fish were most prevalent beneath the boat as they came in to the splasher, and using a horizontal “sawtooth” tactic as side-imaging revealed fish on the port or starboard as we otherwise fished vertically on Spot Lock.  Fishing in clear water was essential.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  Frank and Blaine used the new MAL Dense with silver body 100% of the time today.  Find these lures at the Liberty Mart Exxon uphill from Temple Lake Park on Lake Belton, or go here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 55 fish caught and released (7 legal hybrid, 5 short hybrid, 1 largemouth bass, & 42 white bass)

OBSERVATIONS:

1) There remained only a portion of the main basin unaffected by the influx of dirty water.

2) USACE is releasing @4,200 CFS and has dropped the lake 4″ in 2 days, but, more rain is on the way.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device before sunrise on May 13th …

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 11.55 feet high and rising despite an ongoing release at 4,109 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 74.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW2-6 all morning

Sky Condition: Fully greyed skies all morning with thin fog in the first hours

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 31% illumination.

GT = 5

CLIENTS: Returning guests Marcus Mitchell & Mike Owens

DATE: 10 May 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE: Friday, 21 June (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Mike Owens and Marcus Mitchell with a few of the white bass we had to search high and low to find.  Dirty water throughout the reservoir and a high north wind impacting what clear water remained hindered our efforts this morning as USACE continues to dump water at around 4,200 CFS.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED: We searched the 25′- 40′ depths primarily on the still-clear, windward (south) side of the reservoir being heavily impacted by the north wind blowing 20mph straight-line with higher gusts. We relied on a smoking tactic with MAL Dense Lures (new silver-bodied version) to catch all of our fish this morning.

TALLY: 24 fish caught and released (23 white bass & 1 freshwater drum)

OBSERVATIONS:

1) There remained only a portion of the main basin unaffected by the influx of dirty water.

2) USACE is releasing @4,200 CFS and has dropped the lake 4″ in 2 days, but, more rain is on the way.

2) Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured before sunrise on May 6th …

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 67F

Elevation: 10.8 feet high and fallinging, 4104 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 72.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: N13-20 all morning

Sky Condition: Rapid clearing to blue, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 7% illumination.

GT = 50

WHO I FISHED WITH:

PHOTO CAPTION: Justices of the Peace Larry Wilkey (left) for the Temple area and Dan Hause for the Lampasas area landed a mix of white bass and hybrid striped bass as the USACE began releasing water from Lake Belton today.  The lake went as much as 11+ feet above full pool beforehand.

PHOTO CAPTION: This is a shot of the new MAL Dense with its nickel-plated lead body, shown above a white powder-coated MAL Dense.  This new version i 0.88 ounces, sinks very quickly when getting back to bottom is critical, and gives a more subtle, less “showy” appearance than the white or chartreuse bodied MAL Dense versions do.  They, literally, just got posted on my online store this Tuesday.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 09 May 2024 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

This is great news as it may allow for continued access, but, in the short term, it was another environmental change for the fish to contend with.

TALLY: 50 fish caught and released 

OBSERVATIONS:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured before sunrise on May 6th …

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:10A

End Time: 11:10A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 77F

Elevation: 11 feet high and rising, 4104CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 72.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE2-7 all morning

Sky Condition: Mostly cloudy all morning with occasions breaks letting direct sun through

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 3% illumination.

GT = 45

WHO I FISHED WITH:

PHOTO CAPTION: This is a shot of the new MAL Dense with its nickel-plated lead body, shown above a white powder-coated MAL Dense.  These new versions are 0.88 ounces, sink very quickly when getting back to bottom is critical, and give a more subtle, less “showy” appearance than the white or chartreuse bodied MAL Dense versions do.  They, literally, just got posted on my online store today.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 07 May 2024 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

TALLY: 331 fish caught and released 

OBSERVATIONS:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured before sunrise on May 6th …

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 8 feet high and rising, 27CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 72.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE6-12 all morning

Sky Condition: Mostly cloudy all morning with occasions breaks letting direct sun through

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 1% illumination.

GT = 165

WHO I FISHED WITH:

PHOTO CAPTION: As of 5PM, May 6, 2024, Lake Belton is over 5.85′ high, with additional flood water still pouring in.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 06 May 2024 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

TALLY: 213 fish caught and released 

OBSERVATIONS:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured before sunrise on May 6th …

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 4.15 feet high and rising, 33 CFS flow (a 6+ foot rise in the past 24 hours!!)

Water Surface Temp: 70.5F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SE7-8 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% grey skies all morning with light, occasional mist.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 4% illumination.

GT = 5

WHO I FISHED WITH:

PHOTO CAPTION:   I did not practice catch-and-release in this situation.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday, 03 May 2024 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

As we wrapped up, Gardiner motioned for me to meet him at the cooler he had in the back of his vehicle.  He and his wife run a Wagyu beef operation near Iola, TX, and he was kind enough to bring me with some  burgers and nicely marbled ribeye and chuck eye roll!!

TALLY: 120 fish caught and released 

OBSERVATIONS:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured before sunrise on April 30th …

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 6.62 feet low and rising, 33 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70.5F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SE8-9 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% grey skies all morning with light, occasional mist, followed by a light rain beginning as we departed.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 28% illumination.

GT = 50

WHO I FISHED WITH:

This morning, Thursday, May 2, I fished with returning guest Ray Andrews, accompanied by his father, Raymond, and his brother-in-law, Will, both first-time guests.

Raymond and Will were invited down from West Texas to celebrate Raymond‘s retirement after 20 years in the trucking industry, which followed 30 years in the roofing business.

Today’s results were spectacular!

Here is how the fishing went…

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 02 May 2024 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

We met up at 7:30 AM after hard rains passed through in the early morning hours, dropping roughly an inch of rain area wide. We sat on the boat ramp for about 30 minutes waiting for showers which had redeveloped briefly to come to an end. We launched and ran to our first fishing area with a light sprinkle still falling, then did not have another drop of rain fall on us for the following four hours through noon.

I was encouraged at finding fairly heavily schooled white bass on bottom in what looked like a feeding mode while the skies were still quite dark thanks to cloud cover at both high and low levels following the rain cells’ passage.

I Spot Locked on these fish and all three fellows got their first crack at using the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in conjunction with LiveScope. They worked through all the normal learning curve issues and caught a few fish at this location before those fish lost interest fairly quickly.

As I cranked up to begin searching for a second group of fish to fish for, I spotted four laughing gulls off in the distance. I just kept an eye on them because they seemed reluctant to leave the area I’d spotted them in. Soon, one of them, then another, then all four begin to tighten their flight pattern over this particular area, then, another dozen birds join them, and before long it was “game on”. The entire flock was routinely diving and plucking shad off the surface.  Those shad were being driven there by white bass below them in about 30 feet of water.

From that time until we wrapped up at noon with the fish still biting, we were able to catch aggressive white bass continuously under birds in three distinct areas.

My crew landed their 100th fish at exactly 9:30, their 200th fish at 10:22, their 300th fish at 11:23, and finished up at noon with 363 fish grand total.

Ray, the only one of the three who had fished with me previously, had prior experience using an MAL Lure.  As soon as I saw how aggressive the fish were, I got him changed over to the MAL Heavy with chartreuse tail and then, as time allowed, I got Will transitioned over, as well. Raymond was just fine continuing to fish vertically with his slab which he was enjoying consistent success on, so, for the last 3/4 of the trip we fished two anglers with the MAL Heavy and Raymond between the two of them with the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.

Arranged this way, I was able to assess how these lures fished against one another, and I am certain that the MAL drew a greater percentage of better quality white bass, which stands to reason, as its profile is almost twice that of the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.  It also has a #4 treble vs. the smaller #5 treble on the slab, so, some small fish strike and cannot get their mouths around the hook.

We wrapped up this trip with 363 fish landed, including four freshwater drum, one short hybrid striper, and 358 white bass.

TALLY: 363 fish caught and released 

OBSERVATIONS:

I saw abundant open water topwater action this morning for the first time.  There has been some here and there, but this morning, it was consistent, and widespread.  Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured before sunrise on April 30th …

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8A

End Time: 12:00P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 5.74 feet low, 33 CFS flow (an 8.16″ rise overnight)

Water Surface Temp: 70.5F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NE9 at trip’s start in the wake of passing rain cells, then slowly shifting E, then ESE11-12

Sky Condition: 100% grey skies all morning following early morning heavy rains which cleared the area by 8A

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 39% illumination.

GT = 113