CLIENTS:  This afternoon, Monday, November 25, I fished with Mr. Max Jordan’s grandkids, Maeve (age 13) and A.J. Lanham (age 10).  Max lives in Morgan’s Point, TX, near Lake Belton, and was treating the kids to a fishing trip during their weeklong Thanksgiving break from their schools in Austin.

DATE: Monday, 25 November 2024 (PM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2, 3, 4, 6 December (weekday AMs).  Next Saturday opening: 21 December (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: AJ Lantham, Max Jordan, and Maeve Lantham with a few of the mixed bag of white bass, largemouth bass, and freshwater drum they landed on an afternoon trip positively impacted by an incoming cold front.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

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

RESULTS: 73 fish, all caught and released

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We used MAL Dense Lures (w/ chartreuse tails) for 100% of our catch today.  Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Bird activity spiked sharply as a cold front came in

2) A moderately strong, dry cold front began to push in around noon.

2) We stayed on fish for the entire afternoon thanks to frontal conditions.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Monday, 215 Nov….

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1:15P

End Time: 4:00P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F dropping over the course of the afternoon down to 64F

Elevation: 1.48′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 67.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW wind at 13-14 with higher gusts on an incoming cold front

Sky Condition: Cloudless, blue skies

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 26% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area SH0291G – 60 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures (2 short hops)

Area 772 – 13 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

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, Monday, November 25, I fished with a crew of six, all, but one of which had been with me numerous times before. I welcomed aboard the Slimp boys – Calvin (age 6), Townes (age 8), and Hudson (age 15), their dad, Guy, the boys’ cousin, Cam Miller (age 12), who traveled in from the New Orleans area for the holidays, and friend of the family Mr. Jerry Smith. Everything was set up by Don and Connie Bousquet of Belton.

DATE: Monday, 25 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2, 3, 4, 6 December (weekday AMs).  Next Saturday opening: 14 December (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Guy, Hudson, & Calvin Slimp, Cam Miller, Jerry Smith, and Townes Slimp

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

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

RESULTS: 331 fish, all caught and released

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We used MAL Dense Lures (w/ chartreuse tails) for 100% of our catch today.  Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) No helpful bird activity this morning.

2) A moderately strong, dry cold front began to push in around noon.

2) We stayed on fish for a full 4 hours thanks to excellent pre-frontal conditions.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Monday, 215 Nov….

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 11:20A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 1.48′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 67.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm at sunrise, with a light SW breeze gradually shifting due W as a cold front pushed in just after the trip concluded.

Sky Condition: Cloudless, blue skies

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 26% illumination.

GT = 205

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area 034 –  7 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area vic SH0110C –  121 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area 789 – 92 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area SH0286G – 8 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area SH0133C – 103 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

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, Saturday, 23 November, I welcomed Mr. Kelvin Gladden back aboard.  Kelvin has been with me quite a few times, sometimes with friends, and sometimes with family, but, until this morning, never by himself.

As we parted ways during our last trip, Kelvin told me he would like to join me the next time I did a scouting trip.  This morning, as I put some feelers out on Stillhouse Hollow, I conducted the trip as a scouting trip, and invited Kelvin along.

DATE: Saturday, 23 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2, 3, 4, 6 December (weekday AMs).  Next Saturday opening: 14 December (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:  Kelvin Gladden joined me this morning on a scouting trip to Stillhouse.  I hadn’t fished this lake in a while and wanted to get a feel for the fishing before making any further plans on this body of water.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Over the course of a year, I will spend about thirty percent of my time on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, and the balance of my time on Lake Belton.  Whenever I change over from one to the other, I will insert an intentional scouting effort before doing so.

The first thing I do when dedicating time to scouting is to get on the lake and fish over the same timespan which I will be fishing with my clients aboard.  Fish, like all animals, go through daily cycles of feeding and resting.  I want to take note of periods of low, moderate, and high activity levels during my scouting efforts.

So, since I encourage my clients to book morning trips and, lately, have been fishing with them from roughly 7:30AM to 11:30AM, that is the time during which I will also conduct my scouting efforts.

When I go scouting, I do not go back and fish areas I already have high confidence in, rather, I fish more marginal areas, areas I have not fished in a while, and areas which may be at the beginning or end of the seasonal timeframe during which they normally produce fish.

When scouting, I have already made up my mind that I will catch no more than five fish at a given area before moving on to seek out additional productive areas.  Now, that said, the species I am pursuing are typically white bass and hybrid striped bass.  If you are focused on a species of fish, like largemouth bass, which are not as abundant as white bass, you may cut that maximum catch number back to just one or two.

One of the reasons for limiting myself to catching no more than five fish at a given area is so while fish are in a feeding mode, I can cover as many potential areas as possible by not staying too long at an area at which I have already verified the presence of fish.

Once I successfully locate fish, I will take note of the wind direction, the depth, and the topography in play when those fish were found.  Most times, such information can be helpful in “patterning” other areas with similar orientation, depth, and topography.  This helps me prioritize which other areas I should search first with the limited time I have to accomplish my scouting efforts within the normal four-plus hours over which I would normally be conducting a guided trip with clients aboard.

This morning, Kelvin and I identified exactly 17 areas which gave up at least 5 fish.  As I noted the locations of these fish concentrations, I also noted how much effort was required to catch them, and the size of the fish.

100% of our 88 fish were taken with MAL Originals or MAL Dense Lures with chartreuse tails worked vertically with a smoking tactic aided by Garmin LiveScope and the fish-attracting noise of a splasher.

I noted that areas heavy with bait held greater numbers of white bass, and those white bass tended to be more aggressive (likely because they were competing with schoolmates).

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

RESULTS: 88 fish, all caught and released

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We primarily used MAL Originals in under 30′ & MAL Dense Lures (w/ chartreuse tails) in over 30′ vertically today.  Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) No helpful bird activity today.

2) Southerly winds returned today after two days of slack winds.

2) We found our first fish at 7:43A, and left fish biting at 11:40A

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Friday, 15 Nov….

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 11:40A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 38F

Elevation: 1.41′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 68.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm at sunrise, with a light SE breeze quickly shifting and increasing to SSW14 by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: Cloudless, blue skies

Moon Phase: Last quarter moon at 44% illumination.

GT = 15

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area 034 –  7 fish smoking MAL Original Lures & sawtoothing White Tornados (quality fish)

Area vic SH0110C –  5 fish fish smoking MAL Original Lures

Area 759  –  5 fish smoking MAL Original Lures

Area 789/790 – 5 fish smoking MAL Original Lures (all small)

Area SH0042C – 5 fish smoking MAL Original Lures (small keepers)

Area 778/805 – 5 fish smoking MAL Original Lures (small keepers)

Area 785/679 – 5 fish smoking MAL Original Lures (small keepers)

Area SH0286G to as far east as Area SH0070G in 39 to 41′- 6 fish smoking MAL Original Lures (quality fish)

Area SH0287G – 6 fish smoking MAL Original Lures in 50′

Area vic 259 – 5 fish smoking MAL Original Lures (quickly lost interest)

Area vic 927 – 5 fish smoking MAL Original Lures

Area SH0289G – 7  fish smoking MAL Dense Lures & sawtoothing White Tornados (quality fish)

Area SH0290G – 5 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area SH0049C – 6 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area vic 988 – 5 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area vic 0279 –  6 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures (all suspended in small groups; no heavy concentrations)

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, Wednesday, 20 November, I fished with returning guests Brandon and Wendy Hunt – a very outdoorsy couple heading toward their 25th year of marriage.

The Hunt’s first trip with me was back in June of 2023, so, this fall trip was very different so far as tactics were concerned.

DATE: Wednesday, 20 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2, 3, 4, 6 December (weekday AMs).  Next Saturday opening: 14 December (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:  This was the “lunch fish” — the largest of the trip — landed at our last stop of the day by Wendy.  That fish was worth a smoked chicken, cornbread, drinks, and more at Miller’s Smokehouse in Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION: Brandon took this Lake Belton hybrid on a 1 1/8 oz. White Tornado (white color) fished with a “sawtooth” retrieve.

PHOTO CAPTION:    Brandon and Wendy’s first two fish of the morning came simultaneously as side-imaging revealed a nice school of hybrid stripers out to our starboard side.  Their well-placed casts with White Tornados were instantly rewarded.

PHOTO CAPTION: Of course no trip would be complete without a few good ol’ white bass.  These were taken on a combination of MAL Dense Lures fished vertically and White Tornados fished horizontally.

PHOTO CAPTION: Wendy landed a bonus smallmouth — her first ever!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

The fish were really hard to pin down today.  Although we enjoyed the arrival of a nice batch of birds with this most recent cold front, the birds were here and then there and then resting and then gone and then over there and then over here again.  As the fish fed sporadically, the bird action just mimicked that fish activity.

It was like a baby fighting sleep — the fish wanted to feed, but the impact of the dropping water temperature kept fighting them from going full bore.

So, we enjoyed better quality fish, but a lower quantity of fish caught versus recent trips with warmer water temperatures.

Side-imaging was indispensable today in helping to find small “wolfpacks” of fish here, there, and everywhere, allowing us to get to them and sit on them for at least a few minutes before we had to move on and find the next school.

When we found fish, we typically fished vertically with MAL Dense Lures (w/ chartreuse tails) for as long as the fish right beneath us stayed interested.  Then, once they dispersed or lost interest, Brandon and Wendy would sling White Tornados out to the port or starboard side of the boat if side-imaging revealed activity there.  If not, we’d idle along until we found more fish to target.

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

RESULTS: 37 fish, all caught and released

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically and  1 1/8 oz. White Tornados horizontally today.  Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) I observed our first extended bout of bird activity today — it was widespread and sproadic, but began at sunrise and was still “trickling” at 1pm.

2) First loons of the fall were observed with this incoming cold front.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Friday, 15 Nov….

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 12:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F

Elevation: 2.54′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 68.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW 12-15 all morning.

Sky Condition: Cloudless, blue skies

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 73% illumination.

GT = 70

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area vic 302 thru 1933 – 14 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures & sawtoothing White Tornados

Area vic 1671 – 10 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area vic 1804 to B0159C – 13 fish sawtoothing White Tornados

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, Saturday, Nov. 16th, I fished with first-time guests Jimmie, Janet, and Kristina McCormack.  I met Jimmie and Janet back earlier this fall when all of us came out to support the Catch A Special Thrill (CAST) event coordinated by Randi Bingham.

Kristina works at a veterinary practice in Salado, so, once her days off aligned with my own openings, Jimmie booked a trip for all three of them.

DATE: Saturday, 16 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2, 3, 4, 6 December (weekday AMs).  Next Saturday opening: 23 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:    From left:  Kristina, Janet, and Jimmie McCormack with Lake Belton white bass caught working MAL Original lures vertically using a “smoking” tactic.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

I was reassured as I kept an eye on the forecast for this morning’s trip in the days leading up to it by the wind speed, wind direction, and likelihood of cloud cover, all adding up to the kind of morning where you just know you will find and catch fish.

As I launched this morning, the SSE wind was already creating minor wave action and a bank of broken, grey clouds was moving in from the SSE.

After covering safety, equipment, and techniques, we prayed and then began the search for fish.

This morning bite was “front-loaded” with the majority of our catching taking place in the first two hours.  When the fish feed this strong for this long, they often tone down significantly and then stay somewhat apathetic for the remainder of the morning, and that is just what we saw today.

A few gulls have begun to camp out on Lake Belton, and a few of them plucked shad driven to the surface by hungry white bass below.  This helped shortcut the more time-consuming process of finding fish with sonar, but, the birds only stayed active for a short while, and only fed where fish were near the surface, NOT necessarily where larger schools of catchable fish were located.

My crew of three used MAL Originals to catch all but one of their 71 fish, with Jimmie picking up one white bass on a White Tornado at the very last location we fished as I saw a strong school of white show up on starboard side side-imaging.

Everyone fished their MALs using a smoking tactic, in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.  Now, Jimmie has his own boat and has Garmin LiveScope on it, but, Janet normally fishes in the back of the boat without the benefit of Jimmie’s bow-mounted forward-facing sonar.

After having her “own personal” LiveScope unit all morning, she insisted that she needed one for Christmas!

In the last half of our trip, we continued to find fish rather readily, but, they were in small schools and were just not all that enthusiastic.  Unless multiple fish showed up simultaneously to create a bit of competition, most of the fish did not aggressively chase after the McCormacks’ baits.

We ended the morning with exactly 71 fish, including 5 largemouth bass, 1 blue catfish, and 65 white bass.

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

RESULTS: 71 fish, all caught and released

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically today.  Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The long run of fantastic fall fishing which began in early September has now begun to be impacted by increased frontal activity.  The fishing has now become cyclical, following the arrival and departure of cold fronts.  The more wind, the better.  Fishing will be poor with calm conditions.

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) When fishing slowed, chances of a hookup greatly increased when targeted fish were in groups with multiple other fish, thus creating a “competition bite” or a “greed bite”.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Friday, 15 Nov….

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 55F

Elevation: 2.49′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 70.2F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE6 at trip’s start, increasing to SSE15 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: 70% grey cloud cover on a white, hazy sky

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 99% illumination.

GT = 55

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area B0194C thru B0026G – 42 fish smoking MAL Originals; minor bird activity

Area 1544 – 10 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic 1074 – 4 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0251G – 6 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0319G – 27 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic B0252G/966 –  9 fish smoking MAL Originals

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, Friday, Nov. 15th, I fished with returning guests Rob Ramey and Ricky Guenat, joined by first-time guests Robert Garza and Derek Brown — all business associates in land development and landscape/irrigation firms.

DATE: Friday, 15 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2, 3, 4, 6 December (weekday AMs).  Next Saturday opening: 23 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:    From left: Ricky Guenat, Rob Ramey, David Garza, and Derek Brown with 8 of the 100 fish they landed under tough conditions on Lake Belton this morning.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

As everyone boarded the boat and we got down to the business of fishing this morning, I told everyone the fishing would rise and fall with the wind, and that is exactly how it played out.

In our first hour, we enjoyed the remnant of a NW wind which came in with a dry cold front at midday this past Wednesday.  Despite having little experience with the tactics we’d be using all morning at this point, the 4-man crew landed 23 fish as the wind blew at a time which corresponded with the normal low-light feed white bass go on most days.

As the winds went calm, the fishing died and the handful of birds working in the same general area lighted on the water and rested.  This would usher in a period of about 70 minutes of calm conditions we just had to work through until the winds shifted and returned from the SE.

During the calm, we landed only 6 additional fish which came one at a time.  Finding fish to fish for was difficult, and, when we did find they, they were apathetic.

Finally, around 9:45, the surface of the lake began to ripple and, within 20 minutes, a steady, perceptible SE wind at 3-5 mph was blowing.  Things began to change for the better.

With just 29 fish landed up to this point, I began to see small schools of fish coalescing and patrolling, primarily by using well-tuned side-imaging.

We hit three additional areas before wrapping up at 12:40PM.  Each area produced steadily with fish showing both on bottom and suspended up as far as 1/3 of the way toward the surface as seen on Garmin LiveScope.  Everyone fished MAL Original Lures with chartreuse tails vertically, using a smoking tactic.

At 12:40, David brought in our 100th fish of the morning.  Everyone walked away with firsthand experience on exactly how important wind is to fishing success when pursuing white bass.

Our 100 fish catch consisted of two largemouth bass, three short hybrid striped bass, 1 blue catfish, 1 freshwater drum, and 93 white bass.

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

RESULTS: 100 fish, all caught and released

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically today.  Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The long run of fantastic fall fishing which began in early September has now begun to be impacted by increased frontal activity.  The fishing has now become cyclical, following the arrival and departure of cold fronts.  The more wind, the better.  Fishing will be poor with calm conditions.

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) Intentionally timing the rise of the MAL Lure to intersect a fish’s direction of travel very positively impacted results, especially where suspended fish were concerned.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Friday, 15 Nov….

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 12:40P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 39F

Elevation: 2.47′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 70.2F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW8-9 thru 8:35A, then calm thru 9:45A, then SE5-6 thereafter

Sky Condition: Light blue, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Full moon at 100% illumination.

GT = 155

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area B0025G – 23 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic 1740 – 3 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 1658  – 3 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0185G/B0119C – 23 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0319G – 27 fish smoking MAL Originals (2 short hops)

Area vic B0312G – 21 fish smoking MAL Originals

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, Thursday, Nov. 14, I met Dr. Dustin Marsh, a large animal vet specializing in dairy herd care, at Lake Somerville for an exploratory trip away from my “home” waters of Lake Belton and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir.

Dustin lives in the Bryan, TX, area and so Lake Conroe and Lake Somerville are much more convenient for him to fish, but the learning curve has been steep.  He invited me to help take a fresh look and a fresh approach to fishing Lake Somerville where trolling and the use of Hell-Pet rigs seems to be commonplace.

DATE: Thursday, 14 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2, 3, 4, 6 December (weekday AMs).  Next Saturday opening: 23 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:   Dustin Marsh with a pair of 14 1/8″ white bass — 2 of 77 taken from Somerville Lake on a combination of MAL Originals, White Tornados (white 1 1/8″ oz.), and 3/4 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Somerville

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

As I prepared for this trip, I did a thorough map recon of the lake using Garmin advanced mapping.  I identified 29 potential fish-holding areas.  We met at 6:45A and were scanning for fish with side-imaging within 20 minutes.

At one of the areas I had identified, I saw a few cormorants in the water, as well as a handful of white pelicans.  I kept an eye on them and soon saw that a few gulls were entering the picture, as well.  We slipped into the midst of these birds and found fish in ~15-17′, tightly grouped together and glued tightly to the bottom.

What I observed next was something I’ve only witnessed at Lake Bardwell, but not to the extent I saw it today — that was how the white bass and hybrid striped bass would simply not rise more than ~2.5 feet up off the bottom to chase a vertical presentation.  These fish were aggressive, and moving very quickly horizontally, and they rocketed up off bottom, but, would only go so far.

We caught fish on the MAL Original, but had a lot of partial follows which did not result in a hookup.  So, I switched us over the white, 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs.  These have a small, willow-leaf spinner attached to the treble hook, so, they still offer some flash and vibration, but can be raised off bottom more slowly than an MAL, thus giving the willing fish a chance to catch up with it and still stay within that ~30″ window off bottom.

This lure also features a stinger hook opposite the treble hook.  Approximately 80% of the fish caught on the slab were hooked on the stinger hook.  I told Dustin I don’t care whose slab he uses, but he should make very sure he’s got one of my stinger hooks attached to it.  This hooking ratio for the stinger will only increase as the water temperature continues to drop.

We saw this repeat itself at 4 additional locations, 2 of which I had previously identified during my map recon, and the other two identified after we saw a pattern of behavior gained while fishing the other two areas.

We also observed (as is often the case with white bass found up shallow) that we would catch fish well right after achieving a Spot-Lock, but that the catching would end pretty soon thereafter.  This is where side-imaging came into play.  We kept SI running as we were Spot-Locked, and I checked it frequently to see if we had any schools of fish on the port or starboard side.  When they showed, we cast 1 1/8 oz. White Tornados (in white color) and worked them with a sawtooth method.

Over the course of 5.5 hours, we landed 77 fish which consisted of a 50/50 split of white bass and hybrid striped bass.  Of the hybrid, only 2 were legal, but of the white bass, only 2 were sub-legal with the best three going 14 1/8″.

Other than this, I was amazed at the lake’s fertility, with catfish and shad showing literally everywhere we searched.

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

RESULTS: 77 fish, all caught and released

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We primarily used Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (white, 3/4 oz.) vertically and white 1 3/8 oz. White Tornados today.  Find all MAL Lures, Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Despite being aggressive, whites and hybrid were reluctant to travel more than ~30″ off bottom.

2) Fish were in shallower water than I anticipated and in shallower water than I am accustomed to fishing; we did not catch a single fish in over 17′.

3) Wind enhanced our bite this morning as it blew N12-13 for the entire trip.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:  N/A

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7A

End Time: 12:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F

Elevation: 2.00′ low

Water Surface Temp: 71.6F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: N11-13 all morning

Sky Condition: Clear, blue, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 98% illumination.

GT = 255

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area SV011 – 54 fish smoking MAL Originals & Hazy Eye Slabs, and sawtoothing White Tornados

Area SV029  – 5 fish smoking MAL Originals and sawtoothing White Tornados

Area SV030 – 4 fish smoking MAL Originals and sawtoothing White Tornados

Area SV031- 14 fish smoking MAL Originals and sawtoothing White Tornados (2 short hops)

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, Wednesday, Nov. 13, I welcomed aboard long-time railroadman Arlis “Bart” Luck for a morning of white bass fishing on Lake Belton.

Bart is now in his 60s and works as a conductor for the BNSF railroad, based out of Temple, TX.  As retirement nears, he has procured a boat and is in the process of feeling out how he might upgrade the various systems on it.  Part of that process was to come out with me and see for himself how some of the modern technologies he has read about actually perform in the field.

DATE: Wednesday, 13 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2-6 December (weekday AMs).  Next Saturday opening: 14 December (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:   Arlis “Bart” Luck of Temple took 56 white bass on a morning which was enhanced in the final portion of the trip by an incoming cold front.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

As will be the case from now until the stable weather of summer comes around again in June, we will be riding the “frontal rollercoaster” as cold fronts come and go and the fishing rises and falls with the winds and barometric pressure these fronts usher in.

This morning we missed out on the best fishing the frontal cycle can supply, as the mild, dry cold front which moved into Central Texas did so right around midday.  So, the fish were kind of apathetic before the front arrived and were on their normal downswing at midday as the “frontal bump” kicked in and re-energized them a bit.

Case in point:  Bart’s final total was 56 fish landed in 5.25 hours of effort.  21 of those 56 fish (37.5%) were landed in the last hour (representing 19% of the trip).  It was during this last hour that the winds, which had been under 10mph and S or SW all morning, changed quickly to WNW and ramped up to 14-15 mph.

The ideal scenario occurs when winds from the WNW or NW are on the rise throughout the morning hours, so the “frontal bump” synergizes with the normal bell-shaped feeding curve of a typical morning.  One can always hope!!

All but three of these 56 fish were taken on MAL Originals (with chartreuse tails) and from less than 32′.

During the slower portion of the trip, we found that by focusing on the few suspended fish presenting higher in the water column than the many lazy fish presenting on bottom, we could elicit more strikes for the time and effort invested.

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

RESULTS: 56 fish, all caught and released, including 4 largemouth bass, 2 hybrid stripers, 1 drum, and 49 white bass

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically today.  Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The long run of fantastic fall fishing which began in early September has now begun to be impacted by increased frontal activity.  The fishing has now become cyclical, following the arrival and departure of cold fronts.  The more wind, the better.  Fishing will be poor with calm conditions.

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) By focusing on the few suspended fish presenting higher in the water column than the many lazier fish presenting on bottom, we could elicit more strikes for the time and effort invested.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Saturday, 10 Nov….

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 12:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 60F

Elevation: 2.39′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 71.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SW5-6 until ~11A, when frontal WNW winds pushed in suddenly at 13-15mph

Sky Condition: Light blue, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 86% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area vic 1291 – 14 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic 1916  – 12 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0003G – 4 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic 409 – 5 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0314G – 21 fish smoking MAL Originals

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 past Tuesday morning, Nov. 12, I welcomed aboard returning guest Frank Sumner, accompanied by first-time guest Mike Tracy for a morning of all catch-and-release white bass fishing on Lake Belton.

Frank is a retired U.S. Army veteran and a faithful member of, and volunteer at, New Beginnings Church, an Assembly of God church located in Harker Heights, Texas.

Due to the forecast for very low wind velocity following a cold front’s passage this past Friday/Saturday, I postponed my trip on Monday, and, about an hour into this trip, wondered if I should have done likewise.  Here’s how it went…

DATE: Tuesday, 12 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2-6 December (weekday AMs).  Next Saturday opening: 14 December (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:   From left: Frank Sumner and Pastor Mike Tracy with a few of the 93 fish they landed working shad-imitating baits vertically and horizontally on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION: This is what I am looking for before directing my clients to switch from vertical presentations over to a horizontal “sawtooth” method using White Tornados.  Literally hundreds of white bass were out to the portside of the boat within easy casting range.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

As the wind went, so went the fishing this morning.  We caught not a single fish in our first hour as the surface remained glassy and calm … I simply found no fish to fish for.  Entering into our second hour, the wind began to stir from the SE (it was forecast to be SE6-7 all morning).  We began to find fish in the 30′ range, and we began to catch them fishing MAL Originals vertically with a smoking tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.

As the winds built, the bite improved and we began to see more fish beneath us and out to our left and right as we remained in place.  Soon, the fish beneath us began to come up off bottom and feed throughout the water column, and large, roving schools could be seen on side-imaging.

As I saw these schools, and knew they were directly in-line with the transducer on my transom, I directed the fellows to cast White Tornados out into them and work them with a sawtooth method successfully.  These lures are designed to get to bottom VERY quickly (at 1 3/8 oz.) and have their blade spin reliably without too much effort on the angler’s part.

As the bite peaked in this area, about 4-5 gulls took notice of the occasional shad skipping out of the water as white bass chased them to the surface.

As the wind died down, the bite died down, but by this time Mike and Frank had landed 49 fish.

We moved on and found another, smaller, less aggressive school of fish on bottom, also in the 30′ range.  This yielded another 14 fish.

After this area settled, I noted the wind was picking up again, so, we revisited the first area which had produced so well.  It yielded another 30 fish, allowing these fellows to really make good on a day which started poorly.

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

RESULTS: 93 fish, all caught and released

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP:  We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically, and White Tornados (white, 1 3/8 oz.) horizontally today.  Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The long run of fantastic fall fishing which began in early September has now begun to be impacted by increased frontal activity.  The fishing has now become cyclical, following the arrival and departure of cold fronts.  The more wind, the better.  Fishing will be poor with calm conditions.

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Saturday, 10 Nov….

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:40A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 54F

Elevation: 2.39′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 72.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm at trip’s start & for 1 hour, then going quickly SE6-7 thereafter

Sky Condition: Light blue, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 86% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area 1177/B0119C   – 49 fish smoking MAL Originals & sawtoothing White Tornados

Area vic B03119C/1506  – 14 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 1177/B0119C (second visit)  – 30 fish smoking MAL Originals

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