CLIENTS: This morning, Thursday, July 31, I fished a birthday trip for father-and-son team David and Oliver Flores in celebration of Oliver‘s forthcoming 14th birthday this Saturday.
The two fish together a few times per month, primarily from the shoreline.
TODAY’S DATE: Thursday, 31 July 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Tuesday, 05 Aug. (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 09 August (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: In celebration of Oliver’s forthcoming 14th birthday, he and his dad, David, went fishing! They split a catch of 42 fish in four hours’ time under clear, hot, bright, and dry conditions.
FIND CORK RIGS & OTHER WHITE BASS/HYBRID LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
Today’s weather was a slightly breezier rendition of yesterday’s weather. It was dry with low winds from the west, with light blue skies which remained cloudless throughout the morning.
We began our morning keeping an eye out for topwater at sunrise, but none materialized.
We then began downrigging to both catch fish and find concentrations of fish which we could stop for and work MAL Heavy lures through more thoroughly. After about three iterations of this, accounting for 26 fish, it was clear that each of the areas we looked at held significantly fewer fish than they did yesterday (and for quite some time now). Feeling that things were not going to improve, I changed up our tactics and we headed for much deeper, clearer water, keeping an eye out for mid-morning topwater action with spotting conditions being ideal.
We found small pods of white bass working on the surface over a fairly expansive area. We worked Cork Rigs for these fish, and David and Oliver added another 14 fish to our tally as these very aggressive, competitive fish came hunting for the source of the noise the popping corks were making. When this action died around 9:50, the morning bite was just about over.
We picked up just two additional fish downrigging, both as singles, but found no consistency nor any additional organized schools of fish from that point on.
This morning’s tally was 42 fish, all white bass, and all released in good condition. Interestingly, these fish came off the very bottom and from the very top with no suspended fish caught all morning (although there was certainly plenty of suspended bait).
RESULTS: 42 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 3.17′ high with a 0.42′ fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 2,995 CFS.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: Taken around 6:15AM, Wednesday, 30 July …
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:35A
End Time: 10:45A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 77F
Elevation: 3.17′ 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: S4-11 all morning
Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover on a clear blue sky
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 42% illumination.
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area 163 thru 526 – 26 white bass by downrigging to find fish, then casting MAL Heavys to work them over
Area vic 1586- 14 white bass on topwater on Cork Rigs
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