CLIENTS: This morning, Wednesday, July 30, I fished a short “Kids Fish, Too!” trip for six-year-old Hampton Kennedy, chaperoned by his grandfather (Graddy) Hamp Kennedy. Hamp, now retired both from industry and from running his own small business, has lived in this area since he was just four years of age.
Hamp called on me after promising to take Hampton fishing at a private pond, only to find the aerator hose in the minnow bucket had come out of the water and all the bait had died enroute. At that point he figured he’d call a professional!
ABOUT “KIDS FISH, TOO!” TRIPS: Kids Fish, Too! trips are intended just for the kids. They are considerably less expensive than standard trips ($195 vs. $295 for up to two kids; more can be added), and typically go a maximum of 3.5 hours versus 4-plus hours for standard trips. On these trips, licensed adults who desire to do so often help me help the kids be successful by baiting hooks, untangling lines, resetting our downrigger spreads, etc. so the kids’ efforts are maximized, but, the adults do not fish themselves.
TODAY’S DATE: Wednesday, 30 July 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Tuesday, 05 Aug. (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 09 August (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: 6-year-old Hampton Kennedy and his “Graddy” Hamp Kennedy ventured out on Lake Belton for a morning of white bass fishing – Hampton stuck with it for about 2 hours in the bright, calm, and warming conditions, which is pretty good for a young man his age.
PHOTO CAPTION: The MAL Heavy once again accounted for the majority of our fish. After we found fish via downrigging and/or side-imaging, we capitalized on the find by working those fish over in detail with these heavy in-line spinners.
FIND CORK RIGS & OTHER WHITE BASS/HYBRID LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
We got started around 6:35 AM once again hoping a little top water action might occur, but there was none in conjunction with the low light period at sunrise. I introduced Hamp to working the MAL Heavy using a sawtooth method, and he and I worked these lures, hooked the fish, and handed them off to Hampton to reel in as this was all a bit too technical for someone who just had his first spinning reel casting lessons yesterday. On two occasions, when the fish we were casting to dispersed, we deployed downriggers with three-armed umbrella rigs terminated with #12 Pet Spoons and within a matter of minutes caught fish, but, more importantly, located additional concentrations of fish, which we could then stop the boat near and cast to.
While downrigging, Hampton managed two singles, a double, and a triple — that’s one fish on each of the umbrella rig’s three baits, all caught simultaneously!
In this manner, Hampton was able to land 38 fish over the roughly 2 hour time span during which he stayed interested. As the novelty of catching fish with these two methods more off and as the sun got hotter little Hampton wore out on us, as 6-year-olds often do at this length of time on the water. I had come prepared to add some variety by heading up shallow to catch a few sunfish, but, Graddy and I knew Hampton was done, and that pressing further would only detract from a positive experience.
All 38 fish landed this morning were white bass.
RESULTS: 38 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 3.59′ high with a 0.42′ fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 2,995 CFS. Next to no topwater action this morning right at sunrise, however, some open-water action began later in the morning, around 10:30A.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: Taken around 6:15AM, Wedneday, 30 July …
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:35A
End Time: 8:40A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F
Elevation: 3.59′ high with a 0.42′ fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 2,995 CFS
Water Surface Temp: 87.6F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: S2-6 all morning
Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover on a clear blue sky
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 33% illumination.
GT = 55
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area B0116C – 29 white bass sawtoothing MAL Heavys, then downrigging after the fish quit
Area vic 165- 4 white bass on downriggers, then stopping and sawtoothing MAL Heavys for 5 additional whites
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