Scouting Paid Off — 331 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

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:

The scouting efforts I put in on Saturday paid off handsomely today. During that scouting effort, I identified 17 areas each of which very quickly provided at least a five fish catch. This morning, I fished  four of those areas and one area I had not scouted. In four hours’ time, the four boys landed exactly 331 fish with Guy and Jerry only joining on the fun now and then.
100% of our fish were caught using the MAL Dense Lures with chartreuse tail used with a smoking tactic.
The boys simply let their lures down to the bottom, spotted fish suspended up off the bottom on Garmin LiveScope, and endeavored to reel their lures up so as to intersect with the forward path those fish were swimming in. Thanks to an incoming cold front, the fish were in overdrive, and typically turned on the afterburners to chase after the kids’ lures .
I chose the MAL Dense because it is the heaviest of all MAL lures, featuring a lead body versus the brass body that all other MALs have. Because I anticipated fishing in as much as 50 feet of water, and because I wanted to be sure the boys could feel the bottom, I opted for this version of the MAL.
There were no helpful birds, and an abundance of bait at any given location just about guaranteed success. This is a very sonar intensive proposition on Stillhouse right now.

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….

0 feet 67.9F
5 feet 67.9F
10 feet 67.9F
15 feet 67.9F
20 feet 67.9F
25 feet 67.9F
30 feet 67.9F
35 feet 67.9F
40 feet 67.9F
45 feet 67.8F
50 feet 67.2F
55 feet 66.4F
60 feet 66.1F
65 feet 66.0F

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

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