CLIENTS:  This past Thursday, June 12, I welcomed aboard the father-and-son team of Maurice and Alaric Caudillo.  Maurice was right upfront with me letting me know he and his son had very limited prior experience, and that part of the goal of the trip was to learn more about the sport.  The two had landed  exactly one stingray together while fishing the Texas Gulf coast prior to this trip.

This transparency was super helpful to me in helping me decide what to do in order to help put them on fish.

Maurice is a U.S. Army veteran, having served in the Field Artillery Branch working with the Patriot Missile system, and is originally from a small town in Kansas.  Alaric attends public school in Killeen and enjoys playing basketball and video games.

DATE: Thursday, 12 June 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING:  18 June (AM) – Discounted by $50 as part of a 2-lake study on white bass population and quality

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 12 July (AM)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:    Maurice Caudillo and his 9-year-old son, Alaric, landed 110 fish in four hours on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir under grey sky conditions.  They caught 100 white bass in the first 3.25 hours, then we went up shallow and worked for sunfish to close out the trip.

 

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:

As I mentally prepped for this trip, I reminded myself to keep it simple and effective.  As I welcomed Maurice and Alaric aboard, I covered the fundamentals — how to hold a spinning rod, how to open the bail, how to reel smoothly with just 2 or 3 fingers on the reel’s handle, etc.  Slowly, after I saw they grasped the basics, I added more advanced concepts — how to interpret Garmin LiveScope, how to “lead” fish moving from one side of the screen to the other so as to get their baits right in front of the fish, how far to reel hooked fish in, how to listen for the drag being pulled, and more.

We experienced a “bell-shaped” feeding curve this morning which ramped up from 7 to 8A, peaked between 8A and 10A, then quickly tailed off by 10:15A.  By this time, the pair had worked (literally, as Alaric’s right wrist was aching by now!) to land exactly 100 fish, including several “schoolie” largemouth bass, and a whole lot of white bass working their MAL Heavy Lures vertically using a smoking tactic.

Once the white bass fishing slowed back to the levels we saw between 7 and 8A, I took the two up shallow to target sunfish.

One of the main reasons I did this was to show them a technique they could easily and inexpensively duplicate while fishing from the shoreline, be it at Lake Belton, Stillhouse, or any of the ponds on Fort Hood.  The other reason was to keep fish coming in over the side of the boat to ensure Alaric stayed engaged right until we finished up.

I searched out areas with a combination of rock, wood, and aquatic vegetation and had them present bait under light balsa slip floats.  Alaric quickly got the hang of the “roll cast” to place his bait where he wanted it, and the pair landed another 10 sunfish (all bluegills) in the time we had remaining.

Men oftentimes overestimate their abilities when communicating with me as a fishing guide which doesn’t do either of us any good.  Maurice was honest about his inexperience, and that helped me help them have a memorable, productive outing together.

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1. White bass are clearly disassociating from the bottom, choosing instead to suspend.
2. The season’s first summertime “schoolie” largemouth are beginning to show.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7A

End Time: 11A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 1.60′ low with a 0.44′ rise in the last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 82.5F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Steady SE5-6

Sky Condition: Grey skies with 100% light grey cloud coverage.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 98% illumination.

GT = 45

 

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