CLIENTS: This morning, Tuesday, Dec. 10, I fished with returning guests Jerry Saikley and Jeff Burns. Back on Nov. 23 when I reported about moving operations from Lake Belton to Stillhouse Hollow and conducting a scouting trip in advance of taking clients there, Jerry expressed interest in being part of such a scouting effort.
Since I’ve had no reason to fish Lake Belton since that time, and since most of the fish I was doing on Belton was confined to only one part of the lake, we scouted an area that Jerry and Jeff were not all that familiar with, and which I had not fished in quite a white.
DATE: Tuesday, 10 December 2024 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES: 11, 16, 18-20 December (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jerry Saikley and Jeff Burns hoist a pair of hybrid striped bass taken moments apart from a fast-moving school of fish chasing shad in just under 30 feet of water. The fish both fell for white, 1 1/8 oz. White Tornados during a morning scouting effort.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https:/
Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https:/
RESULTS: 11 fish, all caught and released
LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used MAL Dense Lures (w/ chartreuse tails) and White Tornados (white, 1 1/8 oz.) to make our catch today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/
OBSERVATIONS:
1) A very hard cold front with high winds built in today. Overnight lows around 33F (the lowest since last spring) are expected. This will likely push water temps into the high 50s and further slow the fishing.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Tuesday, 10+ Dec….
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:25A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F
Elevation: 2.12′ low and falling slowly
Water Surface Temp: 62.2F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: NNW12 at trip’s start, increasing to NNW18 with higher gusts thru the morning
Sky Condition: Grey skies until 11A, then quickly clearing from W to E.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 73% illumination.
GT = 5
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area 029 – 5 white bass smoking MAL Dense Lures
Area B0197C – mix of 5 white bass and hybrid stripers 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