Four Boys Land the First Fish of their Lives — 80 Fish

CLIENTS:  This past Saturday afternoon, Feb. 8, I welcomed two sets of brothers and their moms aboard for the 2025 season’s second Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) trip.

Joining me were Alex and Devin Yang, the sons of Warrant Officer 1 Yining Yang and his wife, Ziyu.  The boys are 12-year-old twins.

Also joining me were Tim and Ryan Chen, the sons of Specialist Kenny Chen and his wife, Leann.  The boys are ages 15 and 12, respectively.

Both fathers have been recently deployed to eastern Europe

ABOUT SKIFF:  SKIFF trips have been provided to military families at no charge since May of 2009.  SKIFF is funded by donations from Austin Fly Fishers, The McBride Foundation, & Austin Subaru.  S.K.I.F.F. provides kids of military members separated from their families by duty commitments with the opportunity to fish.  SKIFF trips are also provided to Gold Star families who have lost their service member.  In mid-2019, SKIFF began providing trips to kids of bona fide disabled veterans.  I conduct these 3.5 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir year ’round.  Just call or text 254.368.7411 to set one up.

 

DATE: Saturday, 08 February 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:  18-21 February (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Ryan Chen, Alex Yang, Tim Chen, and Devin Yang all proudly display a few of the 80 fish they landed during their 3.5-hour “SKIFF” trip provided at no charge to military kids during times of separation from their parents.  Before this trip, none of the boys had ever caught a fish before.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

This afternoon trip came on the heels of a tough morning trip wherein the majority of the catching took place in the first 90 minutes of light.  After high winds and bright skies dampened the fishing by mid-morning, I was not sure what to expect this afternoon.
I came prepared to do some flatline trolling for suspended fish up off bottom making use of the much warmer layer of surface water created by this 8-day warming trend, and I came prepared to take advantage of a sunset bite (which I saw multiple times while conducting sonar training for several individuals last week).
Once again, the results this evening were skewed, with the majority of our catch coming as the sun got low enough in the sky that there was a felt reduction in heat and light.
We fished from 2:30P to 6P.  The boys landed 14 fish in the first two hours, all taken on crankbaits fished on line-counter reels so once we figured out a depth which was productive, we could get the lures reliably back to that depth.   I kept the lures working about 12′ beneath the surface to get bit.
Remember, none of the kids had ever landed a fish before, so, when that first crankbait rod connected, pandemonium erupted on the boat with the boys’ mothers possibly even more excited than the kids.
That scene would repeat many times as each of the boys landed three fish as we fished in this manner before the low-light evening bite kicked in.
In the final 90 minutes, we really made up for some lost time.  I search for and found schools of white bass moving from the channel up onto deep, adjacent flats to feed. We made just two stops, got the thumper going (doubling as a metronome so the boys would not reel too fast or too slowly), and these fish came to and stayed beneath our Spot-Locked position very well, allowing the boys to put another 66 fish in the boat before the bite began to wane as the sun set in the west.
This final blast of success came on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab which has just been a sweetheart of a lure for matching shad size this winter, putting several thousand fish from Stillhouse in the boat for me and my clients since mid-November to present, with easily more than 50% of those fish coming on the stinger hook.

RESULTS: 80 fish, all caught and released

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO SNAP-JIG:  Click here for tutorial

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used crankbaits and the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) At times this morning and again this afternoon I saw fish up in the middle of the water column where the water is much warmer than near bottom, thanks to an 8-day warming trend.

2) As was the case in the morning, the majority of our fish this afternoon were caught as the light level was low.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Monday, 03 Feb. …

0 feet 51.7F
5 feet 51.7F
10 feet 51.6F
15 feet 51.4F
20 feet 51.3F
25 feet 51.3F
30 feet 50.9F
35 feet 50.8F
40 feet 50.5F
45 feet 50.0F
50 feet 49.5F
55 feet 49.0F
And here was the reading around 7:00AM on Saturday, 08 Feb. …
0 feet 56.7F
5 feet 56.5F
10 feet 56.5F
15 feet 56.1F
20 feet 54.2F
25 feet 52.8F
30 feet 52.2F
35 feet 51.9F
40 feet 51.6F
45 feet 51.4F
50 feet 51.3F
55 feet 50.9F
60 feet 50.5F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 2:30P

End Time: 6P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 82F

Elevation: 2.78′ low

Water Surface Temp: 56.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW13 at trip’s start, falling off steadily to SSW8 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Light blue sky all afternoon with <10% white cloud cover

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 85% illumination.

GT = N/A

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 118 – 14 fish flatline trolling

Area vic 234 – 27 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 754 – 39 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

 

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

Well, That Ended Abruptly — 57 Fish

CLIENTS:  This past Saturday morning I fished with three guests: Julissa Gomez, her brother, Johnathan, and Julissa’s boyfriend, Anthony Jones.  Julissa first came out with me as the guest of Dr. Pat Lin of Symmetry Chiropractic in the Cedar Park area where she serves with the office staff.  Julissa enjoyed the trip so much she gave Anthony a fishing gift certificate for Christmas.

Anthony, originally from North Dakota, is the foreman with a drywall company in the north Austin area and is a martial arts enthusiast.  Johnathan is a senior in high school and enjoys playing soccer.

 

DATE: Saturday, 08 February 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:  10-12, 18-20 February (AMs or PMs)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Anthony Jones, and Julissa & Johnathan Gomez.  Note the sky conditions in this photo compared to the sky conditions in the photo below.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Fishing got off to a great start this morning with balmy overnight temperatures, grey cloud cover, and wind blowing before sunrise.  My crew of three landed 44 fish in under 90 minutes before a weather change really put the fish off.  During this great start, Johnathan landed two fish on one lure — one hooked on the treble and one hooked on the stinger.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  This is the white, 5/8 oz. slab which has produced so consistently since late November on Stillhouse.  When it comes to fishing a slab in the winter, if you don’t have a stinger hook attached, you are missing fish which could otherwise be hooked and landed.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

 

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

This was the 8th and final day of an unusually long February warming trend which saw afternoon highs in the low 80 on several of those 8 days.

Things started very well thanks to balmy overnight temperatures, grey cloud cover, and wind blowing before sunrise getting both birds and fish in a mood to really gorge themselves.  My crew caught fish at a very steady clip from 7:25 to 8:45, landing 44 fish during that span, all relying on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to get the jog done on fish which were primarily tight to the bottom in under 30 feet of water.

Several times during this feed we observed fish regurgitating shad they had just recently eaten.  Not surprisingly, one fishing buddy over on Lake Belton shared the same observation from his efforts during this same timeframe.

Then, the weather changed very abruptly and the fishing really tanked.  Between 8:45 and 9:00, the winds increased sharply and the cloud cover completely dissipated.  This allowed for very bright conditions to persist, and as they did, the fishing just got tougher and tougher.  Bird activity and fish activity stopped in a matter of minutes.  Later, some bird action resumed, but it was all driven by loons on bait with no gamefish in the equation.

After 9A, my crew added only 13 more fish to their tally, and these came just one at a time from two locations where we found suspended fish in deep water which half-heartedly responded to my  thumper, swam under the boat, and presented an opportunity for a “slow-smoking” tactic to be applied.

Still, everyone had a good time, and Anthony, whom the trip was for, came away having learned some tactics he intends to use while fishing from his kayak and, eventually, from his “project” boat.

RESULTS: 57 fish, all caught and released

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO SNAP-JIG:  Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEON ON HOW TO DO “EASING”:  Click here for tutorial

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We primarily used the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to catch our fish this morning. Find all Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Water temperature has risen substantially this week (see comparison below)

2) Birds were witnessed in multiple locations and have definitely made upstream movement this week.

3) For the first time since November, the number of large, egg-laden females made up a lower percentage of our catch.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Monday, 03 Feb. …

0 feet 51.7F
5 feet 51.7F
10 feet 51.6F
15 feet 51.4F
20 feet 51.3F
25 feet 51.3F
30 feet 50.9F
35 feet 50.8F
40 feet 50.5F
45 feet 50.0F
50 feet 49.5F
55 feet 49.0F
And here was the reading around 7:00AM on Saturday, 08 Feb. …
0 feet 56.7F
5 feet 56.5F
10 feet 56.5F
15 feet 56.1F
20 feet 54.2F
25 feet 52.8F
30 feet 52.2F
35 feet 51.9F
40 feet 51.6F
45 feet 51.4F
50 feet 51.3F
55 feet 50.9F
60 feet 50.5F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 67F

Elevation: 2.78′ low

Water Surface Temp: 56.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW9-11 thru 8:45A, then ramping up to SSW15+ with higher gusts for the remainder of the morning

Sky Condition: Moderate, grey cloud cover for 90 minutes, quickly burning off as the wind ramped up around 8:45-9A

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 85% illumination.

GT = 0

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 549 – 44 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 106 – 5 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 338 – 8 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

 

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

Our Warming Trend Has Almost Run Out of Rope — 75 Fish

CLIENTS:  This morning, Thursday, February 6th, I welcomed Bill Pasko and Mike Adams back for a second consecutive day of fishing on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir.  Mike, a Viet Nam veteran, had previously done a lot of perch and walleye fishing in South Dakota and Nebraska, and Bill, also a Viet Nam veteran, grew up in Upstate New York on the shores of Lake Ontario where he pursued everything with fins attached.

 

DATE: Thursday, 06 February 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:  10-12, 17-20 February (AMs or PMs)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: We culled multiple 15+ inch white bass as we saved our largest four fish for this end-of-trip photo.  “Slow-smoking” with a white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab was once again the key to success this morning.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  This is the white, 5/8 oz. slab which has produced so consistently since late November on Stillhouse.  When it comes to fishing a slab in the winter, if you don’t have a stinger hook attached, you are missing fish which could otherwise be hooked and landed.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

This was the 6th consecutive day in what is supposed to be an 8-day warming trend which is forecast to come to a halt this coming Sunday.  Conditions were tough in the first ninety minutes as fog gave way to bright, calm conditions.  During this time, fish were hard to come by, and those we found were scattered and uncooperative.  Gradually, thin grey cloud cover moved in and a southerly breeze began to blow and the bite kicked in.

From 8:45 until we wrapped up at 11:15, we caught fish consistently.  All but 3 of the 75 fish Bill and Mike landed today were taken on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab worked with a “slow-smoking” tactic.

Over this past week (having fished Mon. thru Thur. at this point) I have noted that those fish in under 30′ tend to be very tight to bottom, while those fish in deeper water (35 to 52′) are much more likely to suspend.  I commented to Bill and Mike how, at this time of year, those suspended fish seem much easier to catch than those glued to the bottom.  I also shared with them how, when fish are suspended in a horizontal band, those fish highest up off the bottom tend to be more aggressive than suspended fish down lower in the water column.

So, with the same boat, same guide, same clients, same lures, and same lake we wound up with 37 fewer fish than the day before — I attribute that to opportunity lost due to the clear calm conditions early on in the trip.  We had only 8 fish landed by 8:45 before the wind and cloud cover set in.

RESULTS: 75 fish, all caught and released

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO SNAP-JIG:  Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEON ON HOW TO DO “EASING”:  Click here for tutorial

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We primarily used the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to catch our fish this morning. Find all Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Water temperature has risen from 48.6F to ~52F with this balmy, multi-day warming trend.

2) Birds were witnessed in multiple locations, although no location had more than 7-10 birds

3) Lots of suspended fish in the mix today — a sign of migration very common for this time of year.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Monday, 03 Feb. …

0 feet 51.7F
5 feet 51.7F
10 feet 51.6F
15 feet 51.4F
20 feet 51.3F
25 feet 51.3F
30 feet 50.9F
35 feet 50.8F
40 feet 50.5F
45 feet 50.0F
50 feet 49.5F
55 feet 49.0F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 2.76′ low

Water Surface Temp: 54.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Windless through 8:45a, then S9-12

Sky Condition: Thin, grey cloud cover after 90 minutes of bright, calm conditions after the fog cleared

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 65% illumination.

GT = 110

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1048 – 4 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 735 – 3 fish on curltail grubs/jigheads, 1 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slab

Area vic SH0080C – 26 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 & 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 2019 – 19 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 1267 – 9 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 1063 – 13 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

 

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

Riding this Warm Wave Until it Crashes — 112 Fish

CLIENTS:  This morning, Wednesday, February 5th, I welcomed aboard returning guests Bill Pasko and Mike Adams. The two fish together routinely on Lake Belton, but decided to give Stillhouse Hollow a try with me.  I normally fish Stillhouse from around mid-Dec. up until mid-March.  Stillhouse typically gives up fewer, but much better quality, white bass than Lake Belton during the winter months.

 

DATE: Monday, 03 February 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:  10-12, 17-20 February (AMs or PMs)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: White bass typically hit peak weight in February and early March as their eggs and milt develop in advance of depositing them in March and April.  Bill and Mike landed multiple white bass exceeding 15 inches this morning.

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  Wintertime fishing on Stillhouse targeting white bass produces a bycatch of largemouth bass and freshwater drum very consistently.  This healthy largemouth struck Mike Adam’s 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab while surrounded by a school of white bass.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

As we got going this morning, we found ourselves in at Day 5 of what is supposed to be a 7-day warming trend before a weekend cold front brings that to an end.

Fish are definitely showing signs of movement, migration, and spawn preparation.  By movement, I mean heading generally shallower than during the month of January.  By migration, I mean heading generally upstream, and by spawn preparation, I mean physiological changes in the fishes’ appearance (bulging sides, leaking milt on males, and some capillary bleeding on females).

We fished vertically and horizontally today, with vertical tactics out-producing horizontal tactics by a long shot.  It is easy to feel the warm, 70F air and imagine it is spring and that the fishing should be through the roof, but, in reality, that water is still in the very low 50s and the fish are still very sluggish, not willing to move very far or very fast for any presentation.

We fished four distinct areas with our first fish coming over the side at exactly 7:35A, just as I experienced yesterday.  We caught fish steadily over the course of the entire 4-hour trip.  Our first two areas were in ~30 feet of water with fish tight to the bottom, and our last to areas were in over 40 feet of water with fish appearing in a horizontal band about 6 feet thick up off the bottom by about 5-6 feet.

Our most productive presentation was using a “slow-smoking” tactic with the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.  A YouTube tutorial on this method is shown below.

If you are not using a stinger hook (and it doesn’t have to be the one I produce), you are leaving money on the table when it comes to fish which strike but are not hooked and landed.

RESULTS: 112 fish, all caught and released

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO SNAP-JIG:  Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEON ON HOW TO DO “EASING”:  Click here for tutorial

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We primarily used the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to catch our fish this morning. Find all Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Water temperature has risen from 48.6F to ~52F with this balmy, multi-day warming trend.

2) Birds were witnessed in multiple locations, although no location had more than 7-10 birds

3) Lots of suspended fish in the mix today — a sign of migration very common for this time of year.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Monday, 03 Feb. …

0 feet 51.7F
5 feet 51.7F
10 feet 51.6F
15 feet 51.4F
20 feet 51.3F
25 feet 51.3F
30 feet 50.9F
35 feet 50.8F
40 feet 50.5F
45 feet 50.0F
50 feet 49.5F
55 feet 49.0F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:10A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 2.75′ low

Water Surface Temp: 54.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Windless through 10a, then S9-13

Sky Condition: Thin, grey cloud cover save for a 20 minute span early in the 8 o’clock hour

Moon Phase: First quarter moon at 55% illumination.

GT = N/A

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1960 – 4 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 103 – 67 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs (2 short hops)

Area vic SH0305G – 33 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 & 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 1690 – 8 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 & 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

 

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

Fishing with a Mission: Catching White Bass to Produce Hybrid Stripers with TPWD – 115 Fish

This past Tuesday morning, Feb. 04, a group of experienced anglers put their skills to good use on the clear, cool waters of Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir in an attempt to collect mature, egg-laden white bass for use in the production of hybrid striped bass by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) personnel.

Joining me were Andy Amburn, Phil Moore, Cody Talley, and Dustin Marsh.

[Linked Image]

CAPTION: From left: Dustin Marsh, Phil Moore, Cody Talley, and Andy Amburn joined local fishing guide Bob Maindelle to collect mature female white bass to enhance hybrid striped bass production by TPWD. Right photo shows the 64 fish transferred by these efforts to the TPWD hatchery in Dundee, TX. These fish will produce millions of eggs each year they are in captivity.

I took Moore, Talley, and Marsh aboard my boat, while Amburn set out on his own boat. In this manner we were able to cover different parts of the lake and catch fish from different schools of fish, thus increasing the likelihood of dissimilar DNA being possessed by the captured fish.

We met at 7:15AM and determined that we would retain all legal (10-inch minimum) white bass which did not emit milt when their abdomens were gently squeezed, thus increasing the likelihood that only female fish were retained.

By the time the first hour had passed, those in my boat had landed over thirty fish, fifteen of which we retained.

We noted some issues with barotrauma due to the depth from which some of the fish were taken from. Fortunately, Marsh, a large animal veterinarian who specializes in dairy herd care, had some 18-gauge needles in his work truck.

We vented the fish exhibiting signs of barotrauma and got them to right themselves and got back on track thanks to Marsh’s ingenuity.

The tactics we used to capture these fish included slowly reeling white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs upwards off bottom to draw bottom-hugging fish upward, and/or reeling these same lures past suspended fish as we viewed them on Garmin LiveScope.

Occasionally, when in less than thirty feet of water, after we had fished an area thoroughly with vertical tactics, we used white, curl-tail grubs on jigheads to work out away from the boat horizontally using a “sawtooth” retrieve.

Over the course of four hours, we found fish at four distinct areas, ranging from twenty-seven feet to forty-seven feet in depth.

As we concluded our efforts around 11:15AM, we met back up with Amburn just after we had finished transferring the second batch of fish from my boat into the TPWD trailer operated by Talley.

After Amburn’s fish were transferred, the total number of white bass headed to the Dundee Hatchery for hybrid striped bass production was sixty-four. Over fifty percent of these exceeded 15 inches.

Not all the fish we landed were able to be retained. We returned all male white bass, all undersized fish, and all fish of other species to the water.
Those that were retained were transported the same day to the Dundee State Fish Hatchery near Wichita Falls, Texas.

Within a few weeks these fish will be induced to release their eggs. These eggs will be mixed by hand with the milt (fish version of semen) from male striped bass to produce a hybrid striped bass referred to as the sunshine bass.

Several million fry will be able to be produced from this small batch of sixty-four female white bass.

These will be stocked as either fry or fingerlings in reservoirs across the state to sustain the popular hybrid striped bass fisheries in those locations.

This cooperation between the TPWD and private sector has taken place for several years now and has played a part in producing and stocking hybrid striped bass more predictably and consistently.

Prior to using angler-caught female white bass, TPWD personnel relied upon the capture of female striped bass collected via electro-fishing efforts at a handful of locations in north and northeast Texas.
For various reasons, these locations have failed to consistently yield the number and size of female striped bass required to meet the statewide demand for hybrid.

Since male striped bass are not nearly as challenging to locate and collect, TPWD biologists began experimenting with using the opposite gender mix for hybrid production – something which has been done in the private sector at places like the Keo Fish Farm in Keo, Arkansas, very successfully for many years.

Amburn summarized our morning’s effort well when he said, “This was fun — it was like fishing with a mission.”.

Ever Tried to Explain a Hybrid to a 9-year-old? — 32 Fish

CLIENTS:  This morning, Monday, February 3, I welcomed aboard Jackson Rogers, a newly minted 9-year-old young man, accompanied by his grandfather, Dwight “Boom-Pa” Stone. This was a “Kids’ Fish, Too!” trip, so all the effort was focused solely on Jackson’s success.

As we swept over a potential area with sonar, Dwight asked about the potential for fishing for hybrid on Lake Belton this year.  Immediately, Jackson asked, “What’s a hybrid?”  Dwight immediately buried his nose in his phone and let me field that pop-fly solo.  Jackson left understanding that if you “cross” the DNA of a tyrannosaurus rex with a velociraptor, you get a really bad dude you don’t want to mess with.  We didn’t delve into “crossing”.  I felt successful.

 

DATE: Monday, 03 February 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:   5, 7, 10-12 February (AMs or PMs)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Female white bass are beginning to show bulging sides as the eggs in their ovaries begin to develop in advance of the forthcoming spring spawn. Three of these four fish are 15+ inches in length.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  Jackson matched his personal best “PB” for largemouth bass with this 4.25-pounder which fell for a white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in our first half hour on the water.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

As we got going this morning, we found ourselves in at Day 3 of what is supposed to be a 7-day warming trend before a weekend cold front brings that to an end.

Fish are definitely showing signs of movement, migration, and spawn preparation.  By movement, I mean heading generally shallower than during the month of January.  By migration, I mean heading generally upstream, and by spawn preparation, I mean physiological changes in the fishes’ appearance (bulging sides, leaking milt on males, and some capillary bleeding on females).

We fished vertically all morning, primarily to keep it simple.  There were scenarios where horizontal presentations were appropriate, but Jackson was doing well, so, since he was “good with a hammer”, we went and found him nails to pound.

Fishing was best in the earlier half of the trip (which coincided with the start of the morning’s wind and with the only cloud cover we had).  As the rising winds leveled off and the skies cleared to cloudless, the fish got real finicky and started behaving as fish in 49-50F water typically do.

As we fished vertically, we found some fish using the bottom, and other fish cruising by suspended.  For those on bottom, we snap-jigged, and for the cruisers, we used a slow-smoking tactic always attempting to get the baits right off the snoots of the passing fish as they swam by, aided by LiveScope.  All fish were taken on a white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab save for Jackson’s last three fish which came on a white grub/jighead combo.

RESULTS: 32 fish, all caught and released

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO SNAP-JIG:  Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEON ON HOW TO DO “EASING”:  Click here for tutorial

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used curl-tail grubs and jigheads and the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to catch our fish this morning. Find all Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Water temperature has risen from 48.6F to ~50F

2) Birds were witnessed in multiple locations, although no location had more than 9-12 birds

3) Lots of suspended fish in the mix today — a sign of migration very common for this time of year.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Monday, 03 Feb. …

0 feet 51.7F
5 feet 51.7F
10 feet 51.6F
15 feet 51.4F
20 feet 51.3F
25 feet 51.3F
30 feet 50.9F
35 feet 50.8F
40 feet 50.5F
45 feet 50.0F
50 feet 49.5F
55 feet 49.0F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 51F

Elevation: 2.73′ low (with a 0.25′ rise since last Thursday’s rain)

Water Surface Temp: 49.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: S6-9

Sky Condition: bright, clear, cloudless skies after 45 minutes of 85% grey cloud cover at trip’s start

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 32% illumination.

GT = 5

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 798 – 13 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 649 – 4 fish on slow-smoked white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 0295 – 15 on slow-smoked & snap-jigged white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs & on grub/jighead combo

 

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

Watching That Weather Paid Off — 77 Fish on Hazy Eye Slabs

CLIENTS:  On the afternoon of Friday, January 24, I welcomed aboard Dennis Cochran, owner of Interstate Marine and Outboard Service LLC located along the northbound Interstate 35 frontage road between Salado and Belton.

Although Dennis was interested in fishing, he was equally interested in learning to better understand his Humminbird sonar units, including Humminbird MegaLive technology.

We met a half-hour earlier than our 1:30PM fishing trip start time to go over some sonar fundamentals, including the shape, coverage, pros, and cons of the four technologies his units are capable of: traditional sonar, down-imaging, side-imaging, and forward-facing sonar.

 

DATE: Friday, 24 January 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:   27-31 January (AMs or PMs)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:   Dennis Cochran brought this 9.50-pound largemouth bass (weighed on a certified scale) to net from out of 38 feet of water.  The fish struck a white, 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab and hit about 8 or 9 minutes after we’d sat over a school of white bass catching them steadily.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Female white bass are beginning to show bulging sides as the eggs in their ovaries begin to develop in advance of the forthcoming spring spawn.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

I opened up Wednesday through Friday this week, but only for the afternoons from roughly 1:30PM to 5:30PM.  The main reason I offered these afternoon trips was because the forecast called for winds to be blowing (from the north on Thursday and from the south on Wednesday and Friday) versus fairly calm conditions on all three mornings.

As I mentioned in my last post, although I feel we could have sat atop schools of shad which are converging on the river channel,  I only “resort” to deadsticking if I have to because deadsticking requires the angler to be able to detect a bite and set the hook immediately, which is something a majority of my clients tend not to do well.

So, because I wanted to demonstrate for Dennis what white bass look like on 2D, DI, and SI, and then fish for them using forward-facing sonar (in downward mode), we opted not to do any deadsticking and instead searched for bottom-oriented fish holding on deep topographic features.

Over the course of the afternoon, we found cooperative fish on four distinct areas between 35 and 45 feet deep.  At each of these, the bite was best as soon as we dropped our Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs down, then the action tapered pretty quickly.  We presented as aggressively as the fish would allow by using a slow-smoking tactic at first, then dropping back to easing, then going even slower by snap-jigging before finally leaving and then searching for a new group of fish.

Although we found fish throughout the afternoon, they were definitely less aggressive than they were the prior afternoon, thus, we put in more effort and caught seventy-seven fish (that is 71% of the prior day’s catch).

The highlight of this trip occurred when Cochran brought a 9.50-pound largemouth bass into the net after it struck a ¾-ounce, white Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in thirty-eight feet of water.

Just as we did on Thursday, we closed out this trip casting jigheads and soft plastics horizontally in relatively shallow water, adding thirty fish to our tally in the last forty-five minutes of the outing, wrapping up at 5:30PM.

The fish stopped feeding right around 5:30PM, just prior to the sun setting below the western horizon.

RESULTS: 77 fish, all caught and released

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO SNAP-JIG:  Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEON ON HOW TO DO “EASING”:  Click here for tutorial

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used curl-tail grubs and jigheads and the white, 5/8 oz. & 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to catch our fish this morning. Find all Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Water temperature dropped from 52F down to 48.6F over this most recent cold snap.  The chill was offset by bright, sunny daytime sky conditions.

2) Birds aided in finding fish only at the last, and shallowest, place we found fish this afternoon — 5 terns were acting suspiciously.

3) The further upstream I look, the more small fish I find, indicating the very first signs of the spring upstream spawning migration.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 1:00 PM on Thursday, 23 Jan. …

0 feet 49.4
5 feet 49.4
10 feet49.2
15 feet 49.0
20 feet 48.8
25 feet 48.7
30 feet 48.7
35 feet 48.6
40 feet 48.6
45 feet 48.6
 50 feet48.6
55 feet 48.6
60 feet 48.6

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1:30P

End Time: 5:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 53F

Elevation: 2.84′ low (with a 0.03′ fall in the last 24 hours) with a 1 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 49.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW11-12

Sky Condition: bright, clear, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 32% illumination.

GT = 25

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 721 – 17 fish on slow-smoked & eased white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 1412 – 8 fish on slow-smoked & eased white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area SHFL24007- 11 fish on slow-smoked, eased, and snap-jigged white 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic SH0115C – 11 fish on slow-smoked & eased, and snap-jigged white 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 798 – 30 fish on slow-rolled jigheads/curltails and slow-smoked 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

 

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

Let’s Make Like a Fetus and “Head Out”! — 107 Fish

CLIENTS:  On the afternoon of Thursday, January 23, I welcomed Dustin Marsh back aboard for a white bass fishing trip on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir following wintry weather earlier in the week.

I know you’re probably wondering about the title on this report.  Well, Dustin is a large animal vet, specializing in dairy herd care.  As we witnessed what was a decent-sized school of white bass move off the Garmin LiveScope screen headed to the left, Dustin proclaimed, “Well, they made like a fetus and headed out.”.

I guess that’s probably funnier the more calves, fawns, colts, kids, puppies, and kittens you’ve seen birthed.  Anyway … it stuck with me!

 

DATE: Thursday, 23 January 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:   27-31 January (AMs or PMs)

PHOTO CAPTION:   Owner of Bryan-based Bovine Health Services, Dustin Marsh, a large-animal veterinarian and all-around good guy, joined me for an afternoon of solid fishing on Stillhouse.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

I opened up Wednesday through Friday this week, but only for the afternoons from roughly 1:30PM to 5:30PM.  The main reason I offered these afternoon trips was because the forecast called for winds to be blowing (from the north on Thursday and from the south on Wednesday and Friday) versus fairly calm conditions on all three mornings.

The fact that the air temperature was warmer in the afternoons was icing on the cake.

Dustin and I began our trip fishing with a deadstick method by first finding abundant shad holding over, or immediately adjacent to, the river channel which winds through Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir.

Once we found the shad, we used a thumping device to draw fish in and keep them near us, then presented soft plastic, fluke-style, 3-inch baits on 3/8-ounce jigheads just above, and in front of, suspended fish we saw beneath the boat as we viewed Garmin LiveScope.

Although I felt we could have slowly, but surely, plucked individual fish throughout the afternoon in this manner, I felt we still had a shot at finding more heavily schooled fish on deep topographic features, so, we went and looked for white bass in such places.

Fortunately, this paid off well.  The two of us landed 107 fish.  The vast majority of these fish struck slowly rising white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs worked with a slow-smoking technique executed by dropping the lure to the bottom and ever-so-slowly reeling it upwards for at least five handle turns at a steady pace.

As a guide, I only “resort” to deadsticking if I have to.  Deadsticking requires the angler to be able to detect a bite and set the hook immediately, which is something a majority of my clients tend not to do well.

Toward sunset, we found some fish moving shallow into less than twenty-five feet of water.  These fish were scattered across the bottom.  Hence, we cast white, curl-tail grubs on ½-ounce jigheads and worked them back to the boat using a sawtooth method.

The fish stopped feeding right around 5:30PM, just prior to the sun setting below the western horizon.

RESULTS: 107 fish, all caught and released

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO SNAP-JIG:  Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEON ON HOW TO DO “EASING”:  Click here for tutorial

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used curl-tail grubs and jigheads and the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to catch our fish this morning. Find all Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Water temperature dropped from 52F down to 48.6F over this most recent cold snap.  The chill was offset by bright, sunny daytime sky conditions.

2) Birds did not help us locate fish this trip.

3) The further upstream I look, the more small fish I find, indicating the very first signs of the spring upstream spawning migration.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 1:00 PM on Thursday, 23 Jan. …

0 feet 49.4
5 feet 49.4
10 feet49.2
15 feet 49.0
20 feet 48.8
25 feet 48.7
30 feet 48.7
35 feet 48.6
40 feet 48.6
45 feet 48.6
 50 feet48.6
55 feet 48.6
60 feet 48.6

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1:30P

End Time: 15:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 51F

Elevation: 2.81′ low (with a 0.03′ fall in the last 24 hours) with a 1 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 49.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: N11-12

Sky Condition: bright, clear, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 32% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 568 – 3 fish via deadsticking

Area 785 – 40 fish on slow-smoked & eased white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area SH0396G/881- 28 fish on slow-smoked & eased white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 070 – 16 fish on slow-smoked & eased white 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 0317 – 8 fish on slow-smoked & eased white 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 108 – 12 fish on slow-rolled jigheads/curltails and slow-smoked 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs

 

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

A Multi-Species Kind of Day — 76 Fish on Hazy Eye Slabs

CLIENTS:  This morning, Friday, January 17, I fished with first-time guests — the father-and-son team of Jeremy and Cash Williams.

On Wednesday I saw we’d be reaching the end of the warming trend we were in and did not have anyone booked for today when I felt the fishing would be good.  I ran a little discount ad on Facebook, and the Williamses took me up on it.

 

DATE: Friday, 17 January 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:   22-24 January (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:   That’s 7.25 pounds of fun right there.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Dad caught this whiskered bonus on the same white Hazy Eye Slab that took white bass, largemouth bass, and drum on this pre-frontal fishing trip.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Mature white bass are beginning to really show abdomens full of milt and eggs.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Back on Sunday when I considered the weather forecast for the week ahead, this was the day I felt had the most potential — it came at what would be the end of a 6-day warming trend, and was to be abruptly ended by yet another polar blast due in over the weekend to follow.
Fortunately, the weather tracked true and we enjoyed a balmy, grey, breezy morning during which the fish bit from start to finish.  The first and last hour were “softer” than the very productive middle two hours, but action was steady even then.
We found fish shallow, in under 25′, in the first hour of the trip.  These fish were moving and hugging bottom, so, we fan-cast soft plastic curltail grub on leadheads to work horizontally.  This netted us a total of six fish as Cash learned to cast with spinning gear.
About the time the shallow bite died, I spotted some birds working bait.  White bass were all throughout the lower half of the water column at this area in 32′, so, I had Jeremy and Cash “slow-smoke” their white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs upwards through these fish using Garmin LiveScope to guide their efforts.
This would prove to the the most aggressive school we would encounter.  All of the fish we landed afterwards were less aggressive and more bottom-oriented.  These fish tended to get very excited as baits first appeared among them, but then they would settle right back down.  While still excited, they responded to a slow smoking tactic, chasing the bait upwards, but, once they settled down, snap-jigging or easing was required.
The last area we fished saw the bite about to die altogether.  Snap-jigging was the only thing these fish responded to, and that response was less than enthusiastic.
By the time we wrapped up at 11:50, the south winds were at 15+ and gusting much higher.  The Williamses landed a total of 76 fish, including 5 legal largemouth bass up to 7.25 pounds, 1 channel catfish, 1 freshwater drum, and 69 white bass, of which only two were short.

RESULTS: 76 fish, all caught and released

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO SNAP-JIG:  Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEON ON HOW TO DO “EASING”:  Click here for tutorial

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used curl-tail grubs and jigheads and the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to catch our fish this morning. Find all Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Generally, despite a ~8 degree F. temperature drop in a short, 9-day span, the white bass were using the same locations as before the cold snap, but were much less enthusiastic.  Fishing more slowly and intentionally was, and will continue to be, necessary.

2) Birds helped identify the first two of seven locations at which we caught fish this morning.

3) More small fish are beginning to show up in our catch, indicating the very first signs of the spring upstream spawning migration.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Tuesday, 14 Jan. …

0 feet 52.9F
5 feet 52.9F
10 feet 52.9F
15 feet 52.9F
20 feet 52.9F
25 feet 52.9F
30 feet 52.6F
35 feet 52.5F
40 feet52.2F
45 feet 52.0F
50 feet 51.9F
55 feet 51.9F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 52F

Elevation: 2.61′ low (with a 0.03′ fall in the last 24 hours) with a 1 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 52.6F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: S9 increasing to S15+ with higher gusts at trip’s end.

Sky Condition: Light grey cloud cover at 100% all morning with a 15 minute span of light rain mid-AM

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 85% illumination.

GT = 35

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic SH0035C – 6 fish on slow-rolled jighead/grub combo

Area SH0304G – 27 fish on slow-smoked white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area 065  – 4 fish on slow-smoked & snap-jigged white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 464 – 24 fish on slow-smoked & snap-jigged white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area SH0397G/249 – 3 fish snap-jigging

Area vic SH0289G – 9 fish on slow-smoked, eased, & snap-jigged white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1496 – 3 fish snap-jigging

 

 

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

Fishing with Our Soldiers’ Sons — 92 Fish on Hazy Eye Slabs

CLIENTS:  This morning, Thursday, January 16, I conducted the first Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) trip of calendar year 2025.  Joining me were three boys: Ethan Kivioja (age 14), and brothers Caleb (age 13) and Jack (age 9) Fitzgerald.

Ethan’s dad, Kyle Kivioja is a fellow U.S. Military Academy (West Point) graduate and is a commissioned officer in U.S. Army Aviation, and Lieutenant Colonel Chad Fitzgerald is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Artillery; he has served for 20 years.

ABOUT SKIFF:  SKIFF trips have been provided to military families at no charge since May of 2009.  SKIFF is funded by donations from Austin Fly Fishers, The McBride Foundation, & Austin Subaru.  S.K.I.F.F. provides kids of military members separated from their families by duty commitments with the opportunity to fish.  SKIFF trips are also provided to Gold Star families who have lost their service member.  In mid-2019, SKIFF began providing trips to kids of bona fide disabled veterans.  I conduct these 3.5 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir year ’round.  Just call or text 254.368.7411 to set one up.

 

DATE: Thursday, 16 January 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES:   18, 20-24 January (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Ethan Kivioja, and Jack & Caleb Fitzgerald with a sampling of the white bass they landed fishing both vertically and horizontally on Stillhouse Hollow.

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:   Caleb Fitzgerald landed this 5.50-pound Stillhouse Hollow largemouth bass on a white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab worked with a “slow-smoking” tactic.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

There was a solid, shallow water feed (under 25′) in the first hour of light this morning.  The shallower white bass go, the more they tend to spread horizontally, so, I trained up the boys quickly on how to cast with spinning gear and work a jighead and grub back to the boat slowly.  The learning curve was steep, and we definitely did not reap the full potential here, but, they all broke the ice, landed a few fish, and were primed for more by the time the fish pushed out deeper.
We followed the fish out to as much as 51 feet this morning.  As the bite moved deeper, the fish coalesced more and more.  I therefore switched everyone over to working white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically using a “slow-smoking” tactic (see video link on how to do this).
Once the boys caught on to the basics, I layered in use of the Garmin LiveScope to have each of them more precisely present their slabs to individual fish.  Once they all grasped this concept, it was “off to the races”.  By the time we wrapped up, the boys landed a total of 91 white bass and one 5.5-pound largemouth bass.
The thumper helped draw and hold the fish, and the Garmin LiveScope helped single out active fish to present baits to.

RESULTS: 92 fish, all caught and released

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO DO “SLOW SMOKING”: Click here for tutorial

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO SNAP-JIG:  Click here for tutorial

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used curltail grubs and jigheads and the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to catch our fish this morning. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Generally, despite a ~8 degree F. temperature drop in a short, 9-day span, the white bass were using the same locations as before the cold snap, but were much less enthusiastic.  Fishing more slowly and intentionally was, and will continue to be, necessary.

2) Birds helped identify two of the three locations at which we caught fish this morning.

3) More small fish are beginning to show up in our catch, indicating the very first signs of the spring upstream spawning migration.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Stillhouse Hollow, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Tuesday, 14 Jan. …

0 feet 52.9F
5 feet 52.9F
10 feet 52.9F
15 feet 52.9F
20 feet 52.9F
25 feet 52.9F
30 feet 52.6F
35 feet 52.5F
40 feet52.2F
45 feet 52.0F
50 feet 51.9F
55 feet 51.9F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 30F

Elevation: 2.57′ low (with a 0.02′ fall in the last 24 hours) with a 1 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp: 51.8F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: Shifting from SW4-8 all morning.

Sky Condition: 60% high, thin, white clouds on a light blue sky

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 92% illumination.

GT = NA

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1960 – 9 fish on slow-rolled jighead/grub combo

Area 779 – 48 fish on slow-smoked white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

Area SH0339G – 35 on slow-smoked white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs

 

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