CLIENTS: This morning, Friday, September 26, I ran a “Kids Fish, Too!“ trip for three brothers – – Jared (11), Stone (9), and Brenek (7) Shipman and their grandfather, Joe Mallory. Joe helped me help the boys be successful, but did not fish.
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.
TODAY’S DATE: Tuesday, 30 September 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Monday, 22 September (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jared (11), Stone (9), and Brenek (7) Shipman and their grandfather, Joe Mallory with a few of the white bass the boys landed by downrigging and “smoking” MAL
FIND CORK RIGS, SANDY SANDWICHES & OTHER WHITE BASS/HYBRID LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
This trip comes 48 hours following the first significant cold front of the fall 2025 season. For reasons I have touched on in detail in previous posts (mainly the very great mixing of the water from top to bottom thanks to the July 4 flooding, and the rather minor difference in temperature from top to bottom in as much as 65 feet of water), I have already seen evidence of the rapid disintegration of the thermocline. This is a very welcome event, as it has immediately opened up use of the bottom of the lake in depths greater than were oxygenated and usable by fish just a week ago. There is now light at the end of the tunnel from the grind the past 7 weeks or so have been.
We put in about 90 minutes’ worth of downrigging followed by another 75 minutes working MAL Heavy lures vertically using a smoking tactic. The downrigging accounted for 19 fish consisting of a mix of white bass and hybrid stripers. All fish came on #12 Pet Spoons on the starboard ‘rigger and #13 Pet Spoons on the portside ‘rigger.
Another nine fish were taken by the boys smoking the MAL Lures. The boys had never been on a boat before and had no experience using the MAL Lures with a smoking tactic, so, their catch of nine in a little over an hour was actually pretty good.
The bite begin to wane noticeably once the northwesterly wind which peaked at 12 mph began to fade. The cloudless skies and decreasing winds allowed the heat from the bright sun to begin to soak in, and I knew it was time for a change.
We ended up the trip fishing up shallow for sunfish. This allowed me to end the trip on a positive note with the boys all landing a few fish and throwing some of their snacks to the ducks before we called it a good morning right at 10:30 AM with a total of 36 fish landed.
The sunfish were taken on slipfloat rigs with small weights, small hooks, and small worm segments. The boys landed three species of sunfish, including bluegill, green, and redear.
RESULTS: 36 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: Belton is 0.06′ high with a 0.03 fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 43 CFS.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: Taken around 6:35AM, Friday, 26 September …
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:55A
End Time: 10:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F
Elevation: Belton is 0.06′ high with a 0.03 fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 43 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 81.7F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: NW12, decreasing to NW4 by 10:30A
Sky Condition: Post-frontal clear, bright blue skies
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 21% illumination.
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area vic B0156C thru 302 – downrigging Pet Spoons – 19 fish
Area vic 302/B0159C – 8 fish smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area vic 682 – 1 fish smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area B0289G – 34 panfish on slipfloat rig and bait
Scouted areas 2253 and 152/346 successfully following clients’ departure
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