CLIENTS:  This morning, retired U.S. Air Force veteran Mike Stock, a former A-10 pilot, joined me once again for a morning of white bass fishing.  Last time, some of the airmen from his unit joined him; this time his middle two (of four) sons, Gavin and Tyler, accompanied him.

Mike has now transitioned into a commercial pilot’s role, Gavin is Texas A&M bound in August, and Tyler is working his way through high school.

Rumor has it Mrs. Stock may join us in the fall!!

DATE: Friday, 30 May 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING:  12 June (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 14 June (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left:  Tyler, Mike, and Gavin Stock with a few of the hefty white bass they took working MAL Heavy Lures vertically under grey cloud cover after an overnight cold front’s passage.

 

 

 

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:

The impact of last night’s wet cold front’s passage had me a bit concerned this morning.  Normally, increasing wind velocity from a northerly direction after a front moves through is a good thing, especially as skies clear.  This morning, we had the wind, but the skies remained leaden grey.  Our first solid group of fish showed up at 8:15AM and we’d only landed on other fish prior to these fish getting turned on.

The key to our success today was “sitting still“.

Most of you reading this know that white bass, and other temperate bass (stripers and hybrid striped bass) are very much attracted to commotion.  This is why devices like splashers and thumpers have become so popular in the pursuit of these species.

Temperate bass are also a schooling species.  When you find one, others (often many others) are sure to be around.

By sitting in one spot, all of the commotion I can create with my boat via use of a splasher (my choice in the warm months from early April to mid-December), and the additional commotion created by my clients as they work their lures through the water column, and the additional commotion created when fish are hooked, landed, and released, all work together to draw other fish from around the area to directly beneath my boat.

Once there, these fish can be tracked via Garmin LiveScope and then targeted and caught by my clients.

Failure to sit still presents these already scattered fish with a moving target they will never really home in on.

So, the upshot here is: once you find fish, stay put, create commotion, and allow the fish to come to you.

From time to time, even when the fishing is going great, there will be lulls in the action.  Avoid the temptation to move too soon.  I will normally give it four to five minutes of inactivity after a strong bite before I will consider leaving an area which has been producing well for me.

All the fish my clients landed this week were caught quite simply with just one lure and using just one tactic.  I had only the MAL Heavy with silver blade and chartreuse tail tied on for my clients this week (and for the previous two weeks), and they fished this lure vertically by dropping it to bottom (or to a depth about four feet below suspended fish which were positioned well up off the bottom) and then cranking it six handle-turns upward while observing Garmin LiveScope for a positive reaction by the fish showing on the monitor.

We ended this week up with 587 fish landed over the course of 4 trips; an average of 146 fish/trip.  Every last fish was caught as I’ve described above and on the MAL Heavy Lure.

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1. White bass are clearly disassociating from the bottom, choosing instead to suspend.
2. Despite a rise of over 1.20′ in 48-hours due to heavy rainfall on Monday, May 26, the fish were still plenty turned on this morning.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:55A

End Time: 11:12A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 2.16 low with no rise for the first time in four days following Memorial Day’s heavy rainfall

Water Surface Temp: 79.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Steady NE breeze at 10-12 all AM

Sky Condition: Moderate grey cloud cover at 100% all morning.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 17% illumination.

GT = 50

 

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