CLIENTS: After laying low over the Memorial Day weekend I was back on the water this morning and found the lake nearly deserted. Between folks going back to work and a violent wind/thunderstorm overnight, very few were out and about early this morning.
Joining me were Doug Staines, originally from Canada and now living near Lake Belton, and his about-to-turn-fourteen year old grandson, Noah Keeter.
DATE: Tuesday, 27 May 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: 12 June (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 14 June (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: Noah Keeter landed the first fish of his life this morning — and it was a beauty. His first fish was a white bass which measured 15.00 inches! Noah’s grandfather, Doug Staines, kept the trip a secret right until they pulled into the boat ramp parking lot.
PHOTO CAPTION: The MAL Heavy Lure continues to produce while being fished vertically through suspended white bass.
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
Despite a rise of 1.01 feet in a 24-hour period, the white bass continue to suspend just above the developing thermocline, as do the baitfish they feed upon. Fishing was very straightforward this morning.
I relied primarily upon 2D sonar to find small pods of white bass suspended above the developing thermocline, then Spot-Locked on them and put the splasher to work to draw fish in toward the boat where we could watch their behavior on Garmin LiveScope and present to them very precisely.
The fishing improved in the 7-8 AM time frame, peaked from 8-10 AM, then began to settle back in the final hour from 10-11 AM.
Once again (going on three weeks now) the MAL Heavy was the only lure I had tied on for my clients. They worked these lures vertically all morning using a “smoking” tactic, and, at one location where side-imaging revealed fish to our port side for a while, they used the sawtooth method to present these same lures horizontally with good success.
When all was said and done, the pair landed 115 fish, of which 114 were white bass with 1 freshwater drum thrown in for good measure.
For his efforts, Noah will receive a TPWD “First Fish Award”.
RESULTS: 115 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SMOKE” AN MAL LURE VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE HORIZONTALLY USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial
OBSERVATIONS:
- White bass are clearly disassociating from the bottom, choosing instead to suspend.
- Despite a rise of over 1′ in 24-hours due to heavy rainfall on Monday, May 26, the fish were still plenty turned on this morning.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
This was the latest water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:30AM on Tuesday, 27 May…
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7A
End Time: 11A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F
Elevation: 3.51′ low with a 0.02′ drop in the last 24 hours
Water Surface Temp: 79.2F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: Light NE breeze at 2-6 all AM
Sky Condition: Bright blue with less than 5% cloud cover all morning.
Moon Phase: New moon at 1% illumination.
GT = 20
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