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