A “Thierry” About Why the Fishing Was So Good — 202 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS:  On Tuesday afternoon, November 26, I fished with Mr. Larry Macie, his wife, Sabine, their daughter, Diana, and Diana’s 14-year-old son, Thierry.

Larry is a U.S. Army veteran now living in Nolanville, Texas. Sabine, originally from Germany, is retired from post-op nursing. Diana is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force currently stationed in Los Angeles, California, and Thierry is working his way through school.
Larry and family were referred my way by Mark & Patty Cullison who fished with me earlier this month.

DATE: Tuesday, 26 November 2024 (PM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 6, 9-13 December (AM)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left:  Thierry, Diana, Sabine, and Larry Macie with some of the 14-15+ inch long white bass they took from over 50 feet of water as the skies cleared and winds slowed following the passage of a cold front 24 hours before.

PHOTO CAPTION:  When a 5+ pound freshwater drum latches on to your MAL Lure and you’re fighting it with a rod, reel, and line intended for white bass, you’ve got a tussle on your hands.  The net comes out and we handle these carefully to be sure they make it into the boat for photos like these!

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

As was the case this morning, I was concerned about our winds going calm and bringing the excellent bite we have been experiencing to a temporary halt. I had lunch on the boat in the roughly 2 hour break between my a.m. and p.m. trips and did see the winds go flat during that time, but, as 1:15 PM rolled around, a gentle breeze from the ESE began and never stopped the entire time, although it never got very strong, either.
With the bright, low-wind conditions, my gut told me we needed to look for fish as deep as I could find them as that extra depth seems to serve as a buffer under less than ideal conditions.
Indeed, we fished most of this trip in 48 to 53 feet of water and did quite well.
Only one bait and one technique was required. We used the MAL Dense with a silver body and chartreuse tail to get deep quickly. Once these lures hit bottom, I had everyone crank them upward at a moderate cadence, while watching Garmin LiveScope to see if fish were pursuing from up off the bottom, and also to see if there were suspended fish they could work their lures past.
Using this tactic, Larry and his family managed a catch of 202 fish before we wrapped up a bit early and headed in before the sun set and the ride back in got too chilly.
This 202 fish catch consisted of a few largemouth bass, a few freshwater drum, with the lion’s share consisting of mature, quality 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: 202 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 PM bird activity.

2) Fishing as deep as I could find fish took the edge off the low wind conditions we faced.

 

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, 25 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: 1:15P

End Time: 4:50P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 1.50′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 67.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: ENE 3-6 all afternoon

Sky Condition: Cloudless, light blue skies

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 18% illumination.

GT = 55

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area SH0292G – 174 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area SH0294G – 24 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area SH0296G – 4 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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