CLIENTS: This morning, Saturday, October 18, I fished (for the second time this week) with brothers Steve and Dave Wise. The two were on the boat with me Wednesday when the party I had scheduled for this morning called to let me know they could not make it. Hearing this, and with Dave having limited time remaining in Texas until heading back to his home state of Minnesota, the two decided to come out with me once again.
This trip was one of 13 monthly trips taking place on Lake Belton from October 20 25 to April 2026 in a study being conducted by Temple Collegeto compare the weights and lengths of the fish on both Lake Belton and Stillhouse Hollow. Representing Temple College this morning was professor Jason Locklin, Caroline, X, and Yesi Y.
ABOUT THE WHITE BASS STUDY:
Through April of 2026, researchers will be measuring and weighing the white bass captured by my clients to consider establish a baseline of fish quality on both lakes. If you come out fishing with me to help collect these fish, you will get $50 deducted from your fee in exchange for allowing researchers to accompany your party on my boat. We have designated one sampling day per lake, per month through April of 2026. We will still be catching and releasing all fish.
REMAINING OPEN DATES FOR DISCOUNTED WHITE BASS STUDY FISHING TRIPS:
January 2026 17th Saturday – Belton – OPEN
February 2026 14th Saturday – Belton – OPEN, 21st Saturday – Stillhouse – OPEN
March 2026 11th Wednesday – Belton – OPEN, 12th Thursday – Stillhouse – OPEN
April 2026 15th Wednesday – Belton – OPEN, 16th Thursday – Stillhouse – OPEN
TODAY’S DATE: Saturday, 18 October 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Tuesday, 28 October 2025 (AM or PM)
PHOTO CAPTION: Dave Wise landed this nice 19.5″ Lake Belton hybrid striper working an MAL Heavy with silver blade and chartreuse tail vertically in the 11 o’clock hour as we fish over ~40 feet of water.
PHOTO CAPTION: The Wise brothers contributed another 40 fish to the white bass study. All fish taken this morning came on the MAL Lure worked vertically.
FIND THE LURES WE USED HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
The fishing this morning was tougher than it had been earlier this week. We had clouds at sunrise which prevented the low light downrigger bite from developing, then encountered very stubborn, reluctant fish throughout the morning. At no time did the fish really get fired up and show a willingness to leave the bottom and suspend in a feeding posture up off of it.
We got an inordinate number of refusals, where the fish would not ignore the bait, but would rather chase it a ways and not hit it, or begin chasing and quickly veer off and head back to bottom.
As I reviewed the common threads linking the fish Steve and Dave did catch today, I found that those fish were most commonly 1) caught within a few minutes of arriving at a new area (novelty factor), 2) were individual fish coming out of a much larger school of fish (competition factor), and 3) were likely in the lead position of a school of fish, moving along the bottom (i.e. not one of the straggling followers in the school).
Steve and Dave made some sound adjustments on the fly to try to make the best of a tough situation. They restrained themselves on hooksetting. They tried to get the blade of their MAL Lures spinning as close to bottom as possible. They kept their MAL Lures moving at as low of a speed as possible while still keeping the blade turning so as to increase their lures’ “loiter time“ in that magical 4 to 5 foot band off the bottom in which a majority of the strikes were taking place. And, they waited until fish approached within 2 feet of their lure before “springing” it up off the bottom in an effort to trigger reflexive strikes.
All fish landed today came on the MAL Heavy or MAL Dense with silver blades and chartreuse tails. We wrapped up around 11:50 AM with exactly 40 white bass, 2 largemouth, and 1 legal hybrid striped bass caught and released.
RESULTS: 43 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 0.50′ low with a 0.02 fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 43 CFS.
- It was tougher today than on Wed. and Fri.; it was also the only morning with starting temps in the 70s with humidity and cloud cover.
- The fish we caught were generally caught 1) within a few minutes of arriving at a new area, 2) were individual fish coming out of a much larger school of fish (a competition factor), and 3) were likely in the lead position of a school of fish, moving along the bottom (i.e. not one of the straggling followers in the school).
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: Taken on Lake Belton around 6:40AM, Saturday, 18 October…
Compare to 2 PM, Sunday, 12 October …
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:15A
End Time: 11:50A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 71F
Elevation: Belton is 0.51′ low with a 0.01 fall in the last 24 hours with USACE releasing 43 CFS
Water Surface Temp: 79.9F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SE6 at trip’s start, building to SE12 by 9:00, then tapering down and shifting SW6-7 thereafter
Sky Condition: 85% light grey cloud cover on a hazy white sky
Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 7% illumination.
GT = 55
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