CLIENTS: This morning, Wednesday, May 7th, I was joined by three generations of anglers — all first time guests. Martin Matelski arranged this trip back around Christmas as a gift to his grandson, Knox Graebar (age 12). Knox’s mom, Courtni, joined in at the last minute
DATE: Wednesday, 07 May 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: 23 May (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 24 May (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Martin and Cournti Matelski and Knox Graebar worked MAL Heavy Lures vertically all morning for a 126 fish catch following heavy rains which saw Stillhouse rise over a foot in the past week.
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
In the wake of yesterday morning’s heavy thunderstorms, which dropped almost 2.5 inches of rain on Stillhouse Lake, the water was rising, and the damp ground was ripe for the production of fog. We got some very light fog just before sunrise – just enough to feel the sensation of drizzle on your skin. As the sun rose, although completely obscured by gray cloud cover, the drizzle stopped, and we never did have any additional precipitation.
The heavy cloud cover made for a slow brightening of the skies this morning and the bite got off to a slow start. We hit two areas and got the cold shoulder despite the presence of fish. Around 7:35 we got into our first group of fish in 23 feet of water, and, from that point until 10:10 AM, we enjoyed a consistent bite with fish aggressive enough to chase a smoked MAL heavy upwards off bottom.
Fortunately, Knox was a very fast learner, he intuitively understood what he was seeing on the LiveScope, and how fish were responding to what he was or was not doing. I wasn’t worried about Martin — he operated independently on the forward, starboard side LiveScope. Courtni was the cameraman, and joined in on the fishing about mid-trip and held her own from that point on.
Things were going great until exactly 10:10 AM. At that time, our northeast breeze stopped and was replaced by a wind from due north at about 5 mph harder and with a noticeable temperature drop. The fish responded negatively to this. We went about 20 or 25 minutes without a bite until that wind slowed down and the temperature rebounded a bit. All the fish we encountered from about 10:40 to 11:10 AM (when they quit) were suspended up off the bottom and barely moving horizontally.
The MAL Heavy with silver blade and chartreuse tail worked with a vertical “smoking” tactic accounted for 100% of our fish this morning.
By 10:10, although there were fish still suspended and clearly showing on LiveScope, they were nearly immobile and would no longer respond. We called it a day right there with 126 fish landed, including 4 freshwater drum and 122 white bass up to 14.5 inches.
RESULTS: 126 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
OBSERVATIONS:
- Threadfin shad spawn was back on after brief interruption due to a cold front Sat. – Mon., 3 – 5 May.
- No helpful bird activity.
- Fish enthusiastically pursued MAL Lures both vertically from 7:30A to 10:10A, then slowed in the final hour.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
This was the previous water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow measured with a FishHawk TD device around 11:15AM, Friday, 02 May…
This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:40AM on Thursday, 24 April
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:00A
End Time: 11:10A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F
Elevation: 3.11′ low (a 0.03′ rise in 24 hours)
Water Surface Temp: 72.1F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: ENE8-9 and slowly easing back to ENE4-5 before shifting, building and getting colder at 10:10, going N10-12
Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover all morning with light fog at (obscured) sunrise
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 79% illumination.
GT = 155
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
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