CLIENTS: This morning I welcomed Mrs. Heather Haines and two of her three children aboard — 5 year old Thaddeus, and 3 year old Teagan.  The kids’ father, U.S. Army Captain Harrison Haines is a field artillery officer currently deployed to South Korea.  This trip was provided at no charge via the SKIFF program.  This was the 21st such trip provided to military families this year.  Mrs. Haines learned of the SKIFF program through her friend, Trinity Howard, whose kids got to fish earlier this week.

 

ABOUT SKIFF:  SKIFF trips have been provided to military families at no charge since May of 2009.  SKIFF is funded by donations from Austin Fly Fishers, The McBride Foundation, & Austin Subaru.  S.K.I.F.F. provides kids of military members separated from their families by duty commitments with the opportunity to fish.  SKIFF trips are also provided to Gold Star families who have lost their service member.  In mid-2019, SKIFF began providing trips to kids of bona fide disabled veterans.  I conduct these 3.5 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir year ’round.  Call or text 254.368.7411.

 

DATE: Thursday, 03 October 2024 (AM)

 

NEXT OPEN DATES: Next open dates: 11 & 12 Oct. (AMs and PMs)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left:  Thaddeus, Heather, and Teagan Haines with some whopper 10″ white bass the kids caught all by themselves on this Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) trip.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

 

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:    

As Heather and I compared notes, we agreed the kids were unlikely to make the normal 3.5 hours SKIFF trips are planned for, given the kids’ ages.  So, I planned to introduce the kids to several things briefly before the novelty wore off altogether.

First came sunfishing with telescoping bream rods at two distinct locations with a nice boat ride inserted between the two.  That yielded 27 fish.

Next, we fed the ducks.  Then, we broke out the snacks while pulled up on the shoreline.

Then came a round of downrigging for singles, doubles, and triples using Pet Spoons behind 3-armed umbrella rigs.  That yielded 18 fish.

We closed out the trip around the 2.5 hour mark after Spot-Locking atop an active group of fish we came upon while downrigging.  We worked MAL Originals with chartreuse tails on light spinning gear very successfully.  That effort netted another 27 fish.

Thaddeus caught on quickly to just about everything, while Teagan seemed more taken with peripheral issues, especially using my bait net to “help” return caught fish to the water.

Heather told me that Thaddeus was up most every hour of the night before this trip asking her if it was time to go yet!!!

The kids landed a total of 72 fish for their efforts.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We used bait under floats for sunfish, downrigged #12 Pet Spoons, & smoked MAL Originals vertically this morning.   Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

TALLY: 72 fish caught and released, including 27 sunfish, 3 short hybrid, and 42 white bass.

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The number of bottom-oriented schools of white bass now found in deep water AND showing a willingness to remain stationary long enough to allow for presentations to be made for substantial lengths of time have increased sharply; these fish are there to stay, likely until the water temps drop below 60F.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Saturday, September 28…

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:55A

End Time: 10:35A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F

Elevation: 1.48′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours (w/ inflow from Proctor)

Water Surface Temp: 81.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW3-7

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

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 0% illumination.

GT = N/A

 

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area 499 & B0289G – sunfish on slipfloats for 27 fish

Area  vic B0022C – downrigging for 18 fish with #12 Pets

Area 791 – smoking MAL Originals for 27 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 #austinsubaru

CLIENTS: This morning I welcomed aboard Mr. David Goode, founder of Goode Towing & Recovery, based in Killeen, TX.  David brought out his adult grandson, Jeffrey Bauser, and three of his employees — Mark Price, Rick Alvey, and Ryan Ellis.  David’s company was founded 1986, and they provide light, medium, and heavy duty towing, roadside assistance, storage, and heavy equipment transport. (https://goodetow.com/)

 

DATE: Wednesday, 02 October 2024 (AM)

 

NEXT OPEN DATES: Next open dates: 17, 18 Oct. (weekday AMs and PMs), 19 Oct. (Saturday AM)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Jeffrey Bauser, Rick Alvey, Mark Price, Ryan Ellis, and David Goode with 10 of the 314 fish they caught and released from Lake Belton on this warm, dry, early October morning.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

 

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:    

It was a “one trick pony” this morning, and that pony ran long and hard!!   After meeting and greeting David’s crew of five just before 7:30, we went over the outlook for the morning, and, as soon as the sun rose, we headed out in search of fish, thankful that a breeze was already coming out of the NW.

We found our first solid school of white bass at 7:48 and, from then until we quit under hot, calm conditions right at 11:30, the fish never quit biting aggressively.

We fish six areas today, and, at every one of them, we left fish biting after I felt the fish had gone “past peak” in their level of aggression.  These six areas produced 39 fish, 7 fish, 45 fish, 130 fish, 29 fish, and 62 fish respectively.

Every last fish was caught on an MAL Original with chartreuse tail worked with a vertical “smoking” tactic with between 5 and 7 cranks off bottom, depending on fish energy level.  Garmin LiveScope was used throughout in order to see where fish were suspended in the water column (if they weren’t on bottom), and to see when fish were chasing a lure as it was being retrieved.

We enjoyed “just enough” wind to keep the fish biting and keep us comfortable until around 10:10, after which the winds went calm and it got hot quickly.

 

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We smoked MAL Originals vertically 100% of the time this morning.   Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

TALLY: 314 fish caught and released, including 3 largemouth bass, 4 freshwater drum, 1 blue catfish, 9 short hybrid, and 297 white bass.

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The number of bottom-oriented schools of white bass now found in deep water AND showing a willingness to remain stationary long enough to allow for presentations to be made for substantial lengths of time have increased sharply; these fish are there to stay, likely until the water temps drop below 60F.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Saturday, September 28…

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 1.45′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours (w/ inflow from Proctor)

Water Surface Temp: 80.2F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW0-7.

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

Moon Phase: New moon at 0% illumination.

GT = 0

 

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area vic B0199C –  smoking MAL Originals for 39 fish

Area  vic B0302G –  smoking MAL Originals for 7 fish

Area 1740 – smoking MAL Originals for 45 fish

Area 714 – smoking MAL Originals for 130 fish

Area B0306G – smoking MAL Originals for 29 fish

Area B0096C – smoking MAL Originals for 62 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 #austinsubaru

CLIENTS: This morning I welcomed Mrs. Trinity Howard and her five children aboard … EllaGrace (7), Kennedy (6), Jaxon (4), Mason (2), & little Mackenzie (7 months).  The three eldest kids fished with me while mom looked after the younger two.  The kids’ dad, U.S. Army Specialist James Howard, is an infantryman currently deployed to South Korea.  He has served for nine years, including prior service in the U.S. Marine Corps.  This was the 20th SKIFF trip of the 2024 season.

To her (great) credit, Trinity has been holding down this 5-kid household (with dogs and fish included) single-handedly for 8 months now, after hurriedly moving from Georgia to Texas only to have her husband deploy while she was “very pregnant”.  With no friends yet made at their new post, and no one to watch the other four kids, she opted for a home birth for Mackenzie (now 7 months old) with the aid of a mid-wife.  Wow!  Did I mention she homeschools?  Wow again!!

ABOUT SKIFF:  SKIFF trips have been provided to military families at no charge since May of 2009.  SKIFF is funded by donations from Austin Fly Fishers, The McBride Foundation, & Austin Subaru.  S.K.I.F.F. provides kids of military members separated from their families by duty commitments with the opportunity to fish.  SKIFF trips are also provided to Gold Star families who have lost their service member.  In mid-2019, SKIFF began providing trips to kids of bona fide disabled veterans.  I conduct these 3.5 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir year ’round.  Call or text 254.368.7411.

 

DATE: Tuesday, 01 October 2024 (AM)

 

NEXT OPEN DATES: Next open dates: 11 & 12 Oct. (AMs and PMs)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Kennedy (6), Jaxon (4), and EllaGrace (7) with a few of the 100 fish they landed on Lake Belton.  The kids fished for sunfish with bait, then we targeted white bass via downrigging, then with MAL Original Lures worked vertically.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

 

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:    

Fishing with young kids demands a few things:  keeping it interested by building in transitions, keeping fish coming over the side of the boat routinely, and keeping an eye out for when the kids have reached their limit.

This morning was particularly challenging with my three anglers ranging from 4 (the youngest I normally allow onboard) to 7 (the age at which some kids can function pretty autonomously).

We began our trip fishing for sunfish with telescoping bream poles up in shallow water to ensure some “instant gratification” and to make sure the kids were successful right off the bat.  The kids landed 30 sunfish, including 28 bluegill and 2 green sunfish.

Next, after seeing some light topwater action out over open water, I ran to it, put downriggers down, and helped the kids add another 16 fish to their tally.  This included one largemouth bass, two hybrid striped bass, and 13 white bass caught as singles, doubles and triples on downrigged 3-armed umbrella rigs equipped with #12 Pet Spoons.

After a shoreline snack break, we moved to yet another area and employed our third and final tactic for the day — working MAL Originals vertically up off the bottom through heavily schooled white bass using a “smoking” tactic.  By now, Kennedy had dropped out of the batting order (as she was recovering from a bit of a bug she’d caught last week).  So, now I had EllaGrace to my right working an MAL Lure like a pro, and Jaxon to my left on the starboard gunwale very enthusiastic, but with limited manual dexterity and strength.  So, I just let EllaGrace do her thing while I dropped the MAL Lure to bottom, reeled it up until a fish struck, then handed it off to Jaxon to reel in with the rod propped up in the downrigger’s rod holder so all he had to do was turn the reel’s handle.

We arrived at that final area with 46 fish in the boat, and those two kids landed an additional 56 fish in short order.

By 10:38, the kids had landed exactly 100 fish.  The light breeze we’d enjoyed had gone flat, the temperature was rising, and the kids were spent.  We called it a great morning right there and enjoyed the breeze created by the boat’s movement across the water as we made our way back.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We smoked MAL Originals vertically this morning.   Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

TALLY: 100 fish caught and released, including 1 largemouth bass, 28 bluegill, 2 green sunfish, 5 short hybrid, and 64 white bass.

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The number of bottom-oriented schools of white bass now found in deep water AND showing a willingness to remain stationary long enough to allow for presentations to be made for substantial lengths of time have increased sharply; these fish are there to stay, likely until the water temps drop below 60F.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Saturday, September 28…

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8:00A

End Time: 10:38A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 1.43′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .01′ fall in last 24 hours (w/ inflow from Proctor)

Water Surface Temp: 79.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW0-6.

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

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 1% illumination.

GT = N/A

 

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area 011 – sunfish on slipfloats for 30 fish

Area  vic B0022C – downrigging for 16 fish with #12 Pets

Area 1389 – smoking MAL Originals for 64 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 #austinsubaru