CLIENTS: This morning, Wednesday, August 6, I welcomed back Gary and Sherrie Delz serving as chaperones to three of their grandchildren. Joining me for the second time this summer was Dylan, age 11, and for their first time aboard I welcomed Harper, age 9, and Liam, age 7 — all siblings.
ABOUT “KIDS FISH, TOO!” TRIPS: Kids Fish, Too! trips are intended just for the kids. They are considerably less expensive than standard trips ($195 for up to 2 kids vs. $295 for up to 2 adults; and 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, 06 August 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Thursday, 21 Aug. (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 30 August (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Gary, Harper (9), Dylan (11), Sherrie, and Liam (7) Delz with a few of the white bass we took early on in the trip under low light conditions while downrigging before switching over to panfishing up shallow.
FIND WHITE BASS/HYBRID LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
After seeing the results for white bass steadily dwindle as the August heat has begun to pour on and the flow through the dam has much reduced, I planned to head out this morning to hunt for white bass as long as they remained findable and active, then to target sunfish thereafter.
We got going a bit before 6:45 AM, got downriggers in the water, spotted fish in 24 to 34 feet of water using side imaging, marked those fish, then drove back over them with the downriggers and caught them for about 70 minutes’ worth of action resulting in a total of 18 white bass and 3 short hybrid stripers, all coming as singles, doubles, and triples. These were all taken on #12 Pet Spoons fished behind three-armed umbrella rigs.
Once the white bass disappeared, I expanded my search, and, after not finding any additional fish to target within a period I felt was reasonable given my three young anglers’ attention spans, we changed over to fishing for pa fish up shallow by around 8:10 AM.
From this point forward, the kids competed mightily with one another for one of the three $5 dollar prizes their grandparents offered.
Up for grabs was the award for biggest fish, smallest fish, and most fish.
Liam clinched the biggest fish by the time we wrapped up our downrigging efforts with his 15.25-inch hybrid striper. Harper, who also did well on the white bass, was very consistent with her hooksetting, and wound up landing the most fish. Dylan deftly handled his panfish pole and managed to boat a 2.25-inch juvenile bluegill sunfish, thus earning him the smallest fish award.
When all was said and done, the kids had landed a total of 81 fish, including 18 white bass, 3 hybrid, striped bass, and 60 assorted panfish.
I anticipate the white bass fishing will remain very difficult until we get our first taste of fall-like weather starting with a few cold fronts in September. Until then, the white bass fishing is going to be a bit of a grind.
RESULTS: 81 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 1.51′ high with a 0.25′ fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 1,394 CFS.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: Taken around 6:15AM, Tuesday, 05 August …
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:45A
End Time: 10:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 75F
Elevation: 1.51′ high with a 0.25′ fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 1,394 CFS
Water Surface Temp: 86.7F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: S4-6 all morning
Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover on a clear blue sky
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 92% illumination.
GT = 50
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area vic 1804 to B0104C – 21 white bass/hybrids downrigging Pet Spoons
Area 502 – 21 panfish on bait
Area 492 – 12 panfish on bait
Area 166 – 27 panfish on bait
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