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