CROSSOVER SKILLS PAID OFF — 125 FISH

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS:  This morning, Tuesday, December 31, I fished with Mike and Brenda Hauser of Harker Heights, TX.  Both are U.S. Army veterans having served in a number of capacities during their military careers.  The Hausers are kayak flyfishing enthusiasts, so, many of their skills crossed over to what we did on the water this morning, thus reducing their learning curve and improving their results.

 

DATE: Tuesday, 31 December 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:   6-8 January (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  The Hausers hold four of the five Stillhouse Hollow white bass they landed this morning which exceeded 15 inches.  In all, they landed 125 fish including 5 largemouth bass, 1 freshwater drum, and 119 white bass, all on MAL Dense Lures fished vertically.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

The first daylight period with NNW winds following the passage of a dry cold front yesterday really helped get the fish and birds fired up this morning.  That, plus a lack of holiday boat traffic (which surprised me) allowed for great, undisturbed fishing this morning as the loons, gulls, and fish really put on a show.
The fishing was quite straightforward — I found fish relying primarily on side-imaging, Spot Locked atop the fish, kept the fish interested with a splasher, and tempted them by reeling MAL Dense Lures (silver bodies/chartreuse tails) either away from those fish on bottom, or right past those fish which were suspended.
The Hausers were no strangers to fighting and landing fish from their flyfishing background, and, anytime I saw an adjustment was necessary based on changing fish behavior, they made those adjustments very, very well.
Our first two hours were most productive as the NNW wind was rising.  The wind levelled off around 12-13 mph by around 9:20, and the fishing stayed consistent until around 10:50, when they began to slack off, finally quitting their morning feeding by 11:35 or so.

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: 125 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 Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) This was the first daylight period following the arrival of a dry cold front which came in overnight.  As is typical for this weather scenario, the fish and birds were both fired up this morning, and particularly aggressive in the first two hours as the NNW winds were increasing.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Monday, 30 Dec …

0 feet 60.6F
 5 feet 60.6F
10 feet 60.6F
15 feet 60.6F
20 feet 60.6F
25 feet 60.6F
30 feet 60.6F
35 feet 60.6F
40 feet 60.6F
45 feet 60.6F
50 feet 60.4F
55 feet 60.4F
60 feet 60.4F
65 feet 60.3F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:25A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 54F

Elevation: 2.27′ low (with a 0.02′ fall in the last 24 hours) with a 1 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 60.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW5 at trip’s start, gently increasing to NNW13 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Cloudless, light blue sky

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 1% illumination.

GT = 45

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 210 – 26 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures (2 short hops)

Area vic 772 – 12 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area vic 207 – 27 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area 464/SH0067G – 10 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area 879 – 19 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area vic 972 – 6 fish smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area SH0303G – 25 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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