CLIENTS:  This morning was a continuation of the 13-month-long study comparing sizes and weights of white bass taken from Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir and Lake Belton.  Joining me to help collect fish by catching them with rod and reel were a foursome of returning guests: Stiles and Sarah Parker, and their teenaged niece and nephew, Cassie (13) and Derek (16) Chasteen.  The researchers aboard this morning included Professor Jason Locklin and Caleb Fry from Temple College.

ABOUT THE WHITE BASS STUDY:
Through April of 2026, researchers will be measuring and weighing the white bass captured by my clients to consider establish a baseline of fish quality on both lakes.  If you come out fishing with me to help collect these fish, you will get $50 deducted from your fee in exchange for allowing researchers to accompany your party on my boat.  We have designated one sampling day per lake, per month through April of 2026. We will still be catching and releasing all fish.

REMAINING OPEN DATES:

There is at least one date remaining open from Aug. to Nov. 2025, and from Jan. to April 2026

DATE: Thursday, 19 June 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING:  23 June (AM) 

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

PHOTO CAPTION: From left:  Sarah and Stiles Parker, and their niece and nephew, Cassie and Derek Chasteen, took 101 fish during their 4-hour morning trip on Stillhouse Hollow, further assisting with data collection for the comparative study being conducted on white bass populations at Lake Belton and Stillhouse Hollow by Temple College researchers.

PHOTO CAPTION: Stiles is all smiles!!  That’s a 16.75″ white bass.  It fell for an MAL Heavy worked with a sawtooth method in just over 30 feet of water.

FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

The high winds we’ve experienced since midday Tuesday finally relented overnight and we had winds S8-13 this morning which was just enough to keep the water rippled and keep everyone cool enough to enjoy this outing.

We saw the most aggressive feed over the course of our first hour on the water, but caught fish steadily for the entire four hour trip.

As we first got going, smoking MAL Heavy Lures vertically in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope aided by a splasher got the job done well as we saw the fish moving rapidly along and parallel to the bottom.  Slowly this eased up and, as everyone else continued working vertically, I suggested to Stiles that he begin experimenting with a horizontal, sawtooth retrieve based on how I saw the fish beneath us behaving, and what I was observing on side-imaging.  He began to connect more routinely than the others, so, I then had everyone else join in fishing MAL Lures with the sawtooth method until the fishing at this area slowed further.  We then “mopped up” with downriggers by running 3-armed umbrella rigs equipped with #13 Pet Spoons over isolated pods of fish until even that halted.

We moved on and essentially repeated this process at a similar area, only the overall duration of the bite here was shorter.  By the time these fish quit, we had about an hour left in our trip.

The final batch of fish I found was in some timber, so downrigging and the sawtooth method were off the table.  We exercised some patience, waiting for solid groups of fish to pass by so the competition factor amongst the individuals in those groups would kick in and provide opportunities to connect vertically with the smoking method.

This approach accounted for 101 fish this morning, including 98 white bass, 2 largemouth bass, and 1 freshwater drum for a grand total of 101 fish landed.

OBSERVATIONS:

1. As the water warms, the fishing gets a bit tougher day by day.  Fewer fish are making use of the bottom, and the abundance of young-of-the-year shad is tough to compete with.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time: 11A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F

Elevation: 1.34′ low with a 0.03′ fall in the last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 83.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Between S8-13 all morning

Sky Condition: Light blue, cloudless skies all morning

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 40% illumination.

GT = 115

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