CLIENTS: This morning, Saturday, October 4, I fished with U.S. Army Chaplain, Aaron Means and his two kids, 16 year old Karleigh, and 14 year-old Landon. CPT Means won this trip in the form of the gift certificate I had donated to the (then) Fort Cavazos Spouses’ Club fundraiser back in the spring of this year.
The Means are originally from Ohio but, like most Army families, have moved around a good bit. Chaplain Means has been in Ft. Drum, NY, Ft. Benning, GA, and Afghanistan, to name a few.
TODAY’S DATE: Saturday, 04 October 2025 (PM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Monday, 06 October 2025 (PM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Aaron, Karleigh, and Landon Means landed 26 white bass and 34 blue catfish during their four-hour morning trip on Lake Belton.
FIND CORK RIGS, SANDY SANDWICHES & OTHER WHITE BASS/HYBRID LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
A long run of late summer weather is still gripping Central Texas, and although we enjoyed one cold front two Wednesdays ago, we have not seen the substantial cool down we typically do by this time of year, and the fishing for white bass is still pretty tough. I planned this morning to pursue white bass via downrigging early on during the low-light period just before, during, and after sunrise. We picked up 10 fish in the first 80 minutes or so in under 30 feet of water using the three-armed umbrella rigs equipped with #12 Pet Spoons.
After this low-light bite died down, I moved us to another underwater feature and found enough fish present while downrigging to stop and use MAL vertically with a smoking tactic assisted by Garmin LiveScope to pick up a few additional fish.
Once these fish shut down we “mopped up“ with downriggers until the white bass settled down for good at about 9 AM. From that point, we started targeting catfish in roughly 35 feet of water. I baited out two areas prior to returning them, then sweetened up these two areas with just a touch of chum upon our return, then used doughbait on treble hooks to actually catch the fish.
Two spots produced a total of 34 blue catfish, with quite a few additional fish hitting, but being missed as my crew went through a bit of a learning curve in detecting the bite, and then correctly reacting with a fast hook set.
When all was said and done, we landed a total of 60 fish, including 26 white bass and 34 blue catfish.
RESULTS: 60 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 0.13′ low with a 0.03 fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 43 CFS.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: Taken on Lake Belton around 6:35AM, Saturday, 04 October …
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:55A
End Time: 11:00A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F
Elevation: Belton is 0.13′ low with a 0.03 fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 43 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 82.6F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: ENE breeze at under 6 all morning, and going nearly calm by trip’s end
Sky Condition: Post-frontal clear, bright blue skies
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 92% illumination.
GT = 20
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
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