CLIENTS: This morning, Tuesday, July 29, I fished with returning guests Caleb Fowler, now a college student at Texas Tech in Lubbock, and his cousin, Henry Niemeier, a high school sophomore here from Chicago visiting extended family.
The boys’ interest in fishing was first fueled by their grandfather, Steve Niemeier, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. When he passed, he’d already had this date booked to spend on the water with these two grandsons of his.
TODAY’S DATE: Tuesday, 29 July 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Tuesday, 05 Aug. (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 09 August (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Henry Niemeier and his cousin, Caleb Fowler, the grandsons of Lisa and Steve Niemeier, enjoyed a solid morning of summertime white bass fishing on Lake Belton using the sawtooth methods with MAL Heavy Lures to land 87 white bass.
PHOTO CAPTION: The MAL Heavy did the heavy lifting today. It casts long, sinks quickly, spins freely, and stays near the bottom which the white bass are glued to during daylight hours in these summer months.
FIND CORK RIGS & OTHER WHITE BASS/HYBRID LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
We got going around 6:35 AM, hoping to see some top water action just before, during, and after sunrise, but what little materialized only remained on the surface for seconds at a time.
We began catching fish right at sunrise as schools of frequently moving white bass began to chase shad in between 11 and 20 feet of water.
We used one lure with one technique for this scenario, and that was the MAL Heavy (with silver blade, silver body, and chartreuse tail), worked with the sawtooth method to keep it near the bottom and traveling roughly parallel to the bottom throughout each retrieve.
We moved multiple times as side imaging revealed the fish crosswind from us were either present or had moved on. Late in the 8 o’clock hour, the southerly wind at 5 to 7 mph actually went slack and the bite went slack with it. We retooled with a pair of downriggers and continued catching fish by running these downriggers within a foot of these fish which were hugging bottom. The downriggers were equipped with three armed umbrella rigs, which were terminated with #12 Pet Spoons.
Once the wind came back, the bite bounced back and we were able to close out the trip by continuing to cast with MAL Heavy Lures using the sawtooth method. I let the boys know we would have about an hour of fishing left around 9:35 AM. It was then that Henry, really feeling the heat, and soaked with sweat, said he’d like to give it about another 20 minutes and call it good. We fished until exactly 9:50 AM and wound up landing exactly 87 fish, all of which were white bass this morning.
Henry is not really a man of many words, so, when in the middle of a run of silence, he blurted out “Women fear me; and fish love me!”, Caleb and I just burst out laughing. I told him then and there that that expression was going to become the title for today’s fishing summary.… and so it is.
RESULTS: 87 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: Lake Belton is now 4.04′ high with a 0.41′ fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 3001 CFS. Next to no topwater action this morning.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: Taken around 6:15AM, Monday, 21 July …
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:35A
End Time: 9:50A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 75F
Elevation: 4.04′ high with a 0.41′ fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 3001 CFS
Water Surface Temp: 84.8F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: S5-7 all morning
Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover on a hazy sky
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 24% illumination.
GT = 100
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area vic 657 – 12 white bass sawtoothing MAL Heavys
Area B0116C – 12 white bass sawtoothing MAL Heavys
Area vic B0171C – 25 white bass sawtoothing MAL Heavys
Area vic B0114C – 38 white bass found by downrigging and capitalized on by sawtoothing MAL Heavys
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