Bob Maindelle | Fishing Report

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

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FANTASTIC FALL FISHING HAS BEGUN!! — 127 FISH

October 14th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Thursday morning, October 13th, I fished with long-time client, accomplished multi-species angler, big-game hunter, and all-around solid outdoorsman Dave Ross of Florence, TX.

Dave has served others for many years in his capacity as a pharmacist, currently located at the Belton HEB store.

When a scheduled sonar training session fell through for this morning, I hurriedly put a posting on Facebook letting folks know I anticipated solid fishing this morning thanks to a dry, mild, incoming cold front. I was glad when Dave contacted me about going as I knew I’d have a good angler under good conditions and would wind up catching a lot of fish as a result.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: This 7.00-pound Lake Belton largemouth bass, a personal best for Dave Ross, came on a MAL Dense Lure worked vertically with a smoking tactic in approximately 28 feet of water.

PHOTO CAPTION: Of course white bass were our target species this morning and we landed 114 of them, in addition to 9 short hybrid striped bass, 2 freshwater drum, and 2 largemouth bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 13 October 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: Fishing was easy this morning thanks to a mild, dry, incoming cold front. Such fall and winter conditions always boost the fishing right up until the wind velocity of the incoming front reaches a peak, stabilizes, and then begins to fall off.

We fished five distinct areas with the same result at each … we saw fish up off bottom quite easily using well-tuned side-imaging (Humminbird Solix 15 w/ entire screen dedicated to this technology). We positioned precisely atop them using the i-Pilot Link interface between the trolling motor and the Solix control head. Then, we got down to catching, assisted by Garmin LiveScope. The more commotion we created by catching and releasing fish, the more fish came in for a look and fell victims to the MAL Dense Lure themselves.

The fish we found today tended to really bunch up under the boat where all the action was happening, thus, there were not many scenarios where I felt that using the sawtooth method would outperform the vertical smoking tactics.

As the morning moved on, the wind velocity increased, and the bite intensity increased with it. Once the wind speed levelled off, the bite did likewise, and, by 11:15 we agreed we were “past peak” and that the action was falling off rapidly. We wrapped it up right then instead of staying longer for an anticlimactic ending.

We landed exactly 127 fish, including 9 short hybrid striped bass, 2 freshwater drum, and 2 largemouth bass.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 127 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: The aggressive bite which typically accompanied incoming fall and winter cold front was definitely in play this morning – the most dramatic uptick I’ve seen so far this autumn.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 12.23 feet low, 0.13′ fall in last 24 hours, 384 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 77.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: N5-7 at trip’s start, ramping up suddenly to N12-13 around 9:50A, increasing to N14-15, then levelling off at N13-14 thereafter.

Sky Condition: Cloudless blue sky

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 86% illumination.

GT = 20

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic B0153G – 18 fish on smoked MAL Dense Lures

Area vic B0064G– 25 fish on smoked MAL Dense Lures

Area vic B0185G– 14 fish on smoked MAL Dense Lures

Area vic 0403– 56 fish on smoked MAL Dense Lures

Area vic B0158G– our final 14 fish on smoked MAL Dense Lures

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

BEGGING TO GO – 119 FISH

October 13th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Wednesday morning, October 12th, I fished with U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Aaron Sepaugh and his two sons, 10-year-old Braden, and 7-year-old Tucker.

The boys fished with me previously when Aaron was deployed to Europe in his role as an Apache helicopter pilot. Since his return, the boys have been begging him to go fishing again, and today was the day they made that happen on a little break from their coursework at Central Texas Christian School.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Vertical and horizontal use of the MAL Original were the ticket for white bass which have now begun relating to bottom in greater numbers thanks to significant cooling of the water down to the 40-45 foot level. All of our fish were in 34 feet of water, or less.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday, 12 October 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

The fish were very “fired up” this morning and, although we could have caught fish by employing just one of the three techniques we employed this morning, in the interest of adding variety to keep the kids’ interest, we wound up using vertical MAL Lure tactics, horizontal MAL Lure tactics, and downrigging with Pet Spoons to put together our catch.

The fishing followed a pretty obvious curve this morning with fish activity spiking at sunrise, then slowly tapering to a finish by around 11:30. As evidence, we landed 50 fish in our first hour, another 54 fish in the following 2.25 hours, and a final 15 fish in our last .75 hours.

Fall fishing (my favorite of the year) is kicking in fast. We never had to probe below 34 feet today to stay in ample concentrations of fish the entire morning.

Our first 50 fish were taken solely by working MAL Dense Lures vertically. We split our next 54 fish equally between vertical MAL Lure work followed by downrigging once the fish slowed down a bit on their chase speed. Although there was potential for catching fish with a horizontal tactic, the boys were new at casting spinning gear and that, combined with a cross wind, diminished their chances of success. Still, they caught a few fish that way.

Our final 15 fish were spread across two area which we hit quickly and fished only vertically until the fish turned off to that tactic.

The MAL Dense with white body and chartreuse tail was the charm today as the extra weight helped the boys maintain contact with their lures all the time.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 119 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: The slow arrival of a mild, dry cold front due in overnight caused a windshift from S to WSW this morning and, no doubt, enhanced the bite.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:35A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 12.12 feet low, 0.12′ fall in last 24 hours, 384 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 77.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: S4-5, shifting and increasing to WSW11-12 by trip’s end. A noticeable uptick occurred right at 10A.

Sky Condition: <5% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 92% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1000 – 50 fish in the first hour, all on smoked MAL Dense Lures

Area B0085C to 0187 to B0174C – 2.25 hours to catch 54 fish with a 50/50 split on downrigging vs. smoking.

Area B0154G – 6 fish via smoking MAL Dense Lures

Area B0155G – a final 9 fish via smoking MAL Dense Lures

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

NEWLY RETIRED & FISHING IS IN THE CARDS — 76 FISH

October 11th, 2022October 12th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Tuesday morning, October 11th, I fished with first-time guests Jeff and Deb Sanderson and their 22-year-old son, Blake.

Jeff recently retired and is now working through how life is going to look without a daily commitment to career to concern himself with. Fishing is definitely “in the cards”!

Jeff initially contacted me about doing sonar training, which we may still do in the future, but, after considering his whole family’s interests, Jeff opted for a fishing trip instead. During the trip he sat beside me most of the time as I searched for fish so he could see just how I was using SI, DI, and 2D technologies. Once we found fish, he was able to experience Garmin LiveScope technology first-hand.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Jeff and Blake landed these two beefy Stillhouse Hollow white bass simultaneously while fishing MAL Dense Lures horizontally. Since I try not to hold fish taken from deep water in the livewell, we took this opportunity for a father-son photo and then hustled the fish back into the water.

PHOTO CAPTION: Blake landed the trip’s single largest fish this morning — a 3.25 pound largemouth which he reeled in as a “double” along with a sizeable white bass. Both fish hit a Pet Spoon on a 3-armed umbrella rig run at 38′ over a deeper bottom.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: 11 October 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

We employed three different tactics this morning: vertical (smoking) tactics with the MAL Dense Lure, horizontal (sawtooth) tactics with the MAL Dense Lure, and downrigging with 3-armed umbrella rigs equipped with Pet Spoons.

We got going shortly after sunrise, but the fishing didn’t pick up until after the sparse clouds in the eastern sky burned off. From that point forward we enjoyed a steady catch of fish until around 11A, when the bite tapered off quite quickly.

The recent drop in water temperature with the (slow) approach of fall has moved fish a bit shallower and has then banding together in larger schools than was seen over the summer.

We fished four areas and downrigged at just one of them after the action there slowed down, using the tactic as a sort of “mop up” approach to covering ground and getting our baits in front of a lot of disinterested fish, hoping to “screen” for the few active fish amongst them.

Otherwise, the horizontal (sawtooth) tactics (see video link below) was the best overall producer this morning, and the MAL Dense with chartreuse tail was the right tool for this job.

When all was said and done, we landed 76 fish, including 74 white bass and 2 largemouth bass.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 76 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: More signs of fall … the number of coots feeding on the hydrilla beds continues to increase, and some cormorants are beginning to show up on the lake. The cooling of the water is a sign of good things to come …

0 feet 77.4F
5 feet 77.9F
10 feet 78.1F
15 feet 78.1F
20 feet 78.1F
25 feet 78.1F
30 feet 77.9F
35 feet 77.8F
40 feet 77.4F
45 feet 76.4F
50 feet 71.2F
55 feet 66.9F
60 feet 62.8F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:35A

End Time: Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 10.28 feet low, 0.04′ fall in last 24 hours, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 77.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: SE5-6 at trip’s start, picking up to SE12-13 w/ occasional whitecaps by trip’s end

Sky Condition: <5% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Full moon at 100% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1968, SH0228G to SH0059C, vic 1425

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

VARIETY WAS THE SPICE OF LIFE FOR THE SCHMIDT KIDS — 80 FISH

October 11th, 2022October 11th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: Some time ago I set this past Columbus Day Monday aside to conduct SKIFF trips for soldiers’ kids since our local school districts had the day off. I had two families take me up on the offer. I fished with 8-year-old Keegan Hughes in the morning.

In the afternoon, I welcomed aboard Paisley (age 7) and Leighton (age 6) Schmidt.

In what is the exception and not the rule, the kids’ father, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Josh Schmidt was able to accompany his children. CW2 Schmidt has served for 16 years.

CW2 Schmidt and his Warrant Officer Advanced Course class graduated a few days ahead of schedule from their course held at Fort Sill, OK. Hence, he was able to join his kids unexpectedly as he returned home to Fort Hood qualified to promote to Chief Warrant Officer 3 in the Air Defense Artillery branch where he works with the Patriot Missile system.

ABOUT SKIFF: This fishing trip was provided to this military family at no charge. S.K.I.F.F. stands for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun. This program began in May of 2009. It is funded by the donations and fundraising efforts of the Austin Fly Fishers and other organizations they have partnered with. S.K.I.F.F. provides the children of military personnel separated from their families due to duty commitments with the opportunity to go fishing. SKIFF trips are also provided, free of charge, to Gold Star families who have lost their service member while he or she was on active duty. In mid-2019, SKIFF also began providing trips to dependents whose parents are bona fide disabled veterans. I coordinate and conduct these ~3.5-hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, just outside the gates of Fort Hood in Bell County, TX, year ’round. Call or text 254.368.7411.

Here is how the fishing went …

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PHOTO CAPTION: Variety was the key to holding the Schmidt kids’ interest during their 3.5 hour SKIFF trip on Lake Belton. The kids caught white bass, short hybrid striped bass, and sunfish using a mix of four different tactics.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Columbus Day Monday, 10 October 2022 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

As Josh and the kids showed up, I told Josh the fish were ready to bite and that the challenge was going to be getting our two young anglers to consistently do what was necessary to catch them.

Fishing MAL Lures vertically and horizontally seems pretty simple taken at face value, but things like retrieve speed, retrieve length, and initiating blade spin can be tricky.

We launched and, based on lessons learned and sonar observed both during the morning trip and over the course of an additional hour I spent scouting in advance of the Schmidts’ arrival, we drove right to the fish and Spot-Locked atop them. Sure enough, Paisley and Leighton made all the “rookie mistakes” everyone new to fishing MAL Lures does, but, Josh and I coached them through that and, before long, the kids were catching fish consistently. Before long, they had caught enough fish in a short period of time using the MAL Original Lures with chartreuse tails in a vertical (smoking) tactic that their wrists got sore and they were questionable about continuing.

Observing this, I broke out the downriggers so we could continue catching fish while eliminating the constant reeling involved with working the MAL Lures. This was also very productive as the mild temperatures and southerly winds really had the fish turned on. These downrigged fish were all taken on 3-armed umbrella rigs equipped with #12 Pet Spoons.

Eventually, the kids tired of this downrigging success (note: young kids need variety to stay interested), and I suggested we head up shallow to probe for sunfish with poles and bait. We landed 8 sunfish during this short break from the white bass, then finished up the night with a nearly 30-fish catching streak on white bass using a combination of vertical and horizontal (sawtooth) tactics.

We ended the evening with a total of 80 fish including 8 sunfish (bluegills and greens), 5 short hybrid striped bass, and 67 white bass.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 80 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Much to report today! If you look at the water temperature profile posted below, you’ll see there has been a significant cooldown with the temperature of the water nearly uniform down to about the 40’ mark. As a result, we found abundant bait and gamefish both suspended and orienting to the bottom out to that depth. Additionally, we saw the first trickle of migrating monarch butterflies was observed today, as well as the first few small flocks of coots. The water temperature profile was as follows:

0 feet 77.1 F
5 feet 77.6 F
10 feet 77.9 F
15 feet 77.9 F
20 feet 77.9 F
25 feet 77.9 F
30 feet 77.8 F
35 feet 77.6 F
40 feet 77.3 F
45 feet 72.0 F
50 feet 66.1 F
55 feet 63.9 F
60 feet 62.4 F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:45P

End Time: 7:15P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 84F

Elevation: 11.87 feet low, 0.13′ fall in last 24 hours, 385 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 77.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: SE7-8

Sky Condition: <5% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Full moon at 100% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Successful pre-trip scouting at:

B0154G, B0153G, 1000, and vic B0067G

Fish caught with clients at:

Area 369 thru B0085C (21 fish smoking MAL Originals & 23 fish on downriggers)

Area B0168C – 8 sunfish

Area vic 387 – 28 fish on MAL Originals used vert. and horiz.

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

BUILDING ON GRANDPA JD’S FOUNDATION — 50 FISH

October 10th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: After taking a week off the water to build a home for a family down in Juarez, Mexico, I got back into the swing of things this morning.

Some time ago I set this Columbus Day Monday aside to conduct SKIFF trips for soldiers’ kids since our local school districts had the day off.

I wound up scheduling both an AM and a PM trip. This morning I welcomed an 8-year-old young man on board by the name of Keegan Hughes.

Keegan’s dad, U.S. Army Sergeant (E-5) Vincent Garcia has been in the military for three years. He is currently deployed to Poland where he serves as an artilleryman.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: White bass weren’t the only fish eating shad and shad-imitating lures today! This Lake Belton smallmouth bass fell for an MAL Original Lure (white tail) as it fed amongst white bass in deep water.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Columbus Day Monday, 10 October 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

If you look at the water temperature profile posted below, you’ll see there has been a significant cooldown with the temperature of the water nearly uniform down to about the 40’ mark. As a result, we found abundant bait and gamefish both suspended and orienting to the bottom out to that depth.

Although I don’t know the man, I am thankful to Keegan’s Grandpa JD who had taken Keegan fishing and taught him to cast. That made my job easier as Keegan was already familiar with the mechanics of casting, so, I just build on that foundation instead of having to work from scratch.

We got going around 7:15 and downrigged to cover water and get a feel for bait location, etc. until the sun rose. We continued to downrig for about 15 minutes following sunrise to see if any topwater action would develop, but none did. We landed three sets of doubles for a total of 6 fish by way of downrigging before we moved on and changed our tactics. These fish were taken with balls set between 20-24 feet over a slightly deeper bottom using 3-armed umbrella rigs equipped with #12 Pet Spoons.

For the remainder of the trip (at two distinct locations, one in 28’ and the other in 34’) we used a combination of vertical (smoking) tactics and horizontal (sawtooth) tactics to catch white bass which were both holding on bottom and/or patrolling up as much as 4’ off bottom.

Given the smaller average size of the white bass we encountered, the smaller sized bait these fish regurgitated, and the shallower water the fish were in (as compared to the 40-50’ depths we’ve been fishing all summer on Stillhouse), I opted to go with MAL Original Lures. I had one with a chartreuse tail and one with a white tail tied on and both performed identically.

We use LiveScope to assist our efforts to move these baits in front of schools of fish as they swam by. We took a total of 17 fish at our first area as young Keegan got used to the technique, polished up his casting, learned how to play and land fish, etc.

By the time we moved to our final area, he was primed and ready. In our final 45 minutes on the water, he landed more fish in that span of time (27 additional fish) than he had in twice that amount of time atop the first batch of fish we’d found.

When all was said and done at the 3.5 hour mark, Keegan had caught and released exactly 50 fish including: 1 smallmouth bass, 11 short hybrid striped bass, and 38 white bass.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

TALLY: 50 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Much to report today: 1) the first trickle of migrating monarch butterflies was observed today, as were the first few small flocks of coots. The water temperature profile was as follows:

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 10:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 11.87 feet low, 0.13′ fall in last 24 hours, 385 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 77.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: SE4-6 through 10A, then bumping up to SE7-8

Sky Condition: <5% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Full moon at 100% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0098G/840 – downrigging for 6 fish with Pets Spoons

Area vic B0185C – 17 fish on combination of vert. and horiz.

Area vic B0005C/1325 – 27 fish on combination of vert. and horiz.

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

REALLY “COOL” FISHING! — 77 FISH

October 1st, 2022October 1st, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, 01 October, I fished a half-day morning trip with father-and-son Michael and Jack Hoyson.

Like me, Michael runs a one-man-show as the owner/operator of Hoyson Auto Care in Killeen, located just behind Tightlines Premium Fishing Tackle.

Michael is one of those rare, conscientious fellows who really cares that his work is done right, hence, he is the (only) guy I take my guide service tow vehicle (Ram 1500) and my wife’s car (Honda CRV) to for maintenance and repair.

We experienced some really “cool” fishing both temperature-wise, and in terms of the willingness of the fish to slam artificial baits today.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Michael and Jack Hoyson with a few of the quality white bass they caught and released from Stillhouse Hollow this morning working MAL Lures in ~40 feet of water.

PHOTO CAPTION: White bass weren’t the only fish eating shad and shad-imitating lures today! This chunky black bass fell for an MAL Dense Lure as he fed amongst white bass in deep water.

PHOTO CAPTION: Triple!!! Michael landed three fish on one rod at the same time on a three-armed umbrella rig equipped with Pet Spoons. We downrigged after the peak action died around 10:50A.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 01 October 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

The recent cooldown has begun to spur the fish on to longer and stronger feeds. We fished just three areas this morning, approaching each the same way … we Spot-Locked very accurately atop fish we’d found with sonar then fished them vertically only for a brief spell as they showed interest in chasing our MAL Dense Lures upwards. Once the fish got reluctant, we started using the horizontal sawtooth method, again with the MAL Dense Lure, which produced the lion’s share of our fish.

The peak feed went from ~8:50 to 10:50, then tapered down pretty quickly.

Once the action started to drop off, we transitioned to downriggers for “mop up ” duty until the bite died around 11:25A.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

Our tally of 77 fish consisted 74 legal white bass and 3 largemouth bass.

TALLY: 77 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Watch that thermometer!! On 30 September we had our first post-summer day with an ambient temperature below the surface temperature of the water. That will lead to very quick cooling of our reservoirs. Additionally, we had our lowest overnight low since May. As I drove to the ramp this morning, temps ran between 50F (in low spots) to 57F elsewhere.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:40A

End Time: 11:40A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 55F

Elevation: 9.77 feet low, 0.06′ fall in last 24 hours, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 78.6F

Wind Speed & Direction: ENE2-4 for 2 hours, then shifting ESE2-4 for the last half of the trip

Sky Condition: <5% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent at 33% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic SH0059C – 7 fish on combination of vert. and horiz.

Area vic SH0214G – 7 fish via sawtooth method

Area vic 878 – 53 fish via sawtooth method

Area 878/933/SH0033G – downrigging for 10 fish with Pets Spoons

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

CONSISTENT TOPWATER ACTION ON THE CORK RIG – 141 FISH

September 28th, 2022September 28th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, September 28th, I fished with returning guests Mike Hall and Keith Bailey of Heritage Home Services which focuses on roofing, patio covers, siding, windows and fencing in the north Austin, Pfluegerville, Round Rock area.

Today’s winds, although light, were the first winds to blow back out of the south after the dry cold front pushed through Sunday night. That typically spells good fishing. The air was a pleasant 59F this morning and the fish let loose on topwater for the 4th day in a row.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: 126 of our 141 fish came on “Cork Rigs” accurately thrown by Mike Hall, owner of Heritage Home Services, and Keith Bailey. Find the Cork Rig here: https://whitebasstools.com/

PHOTO CAPTION: The two major components of the Cork Rig — a popping cork and a shad-imitating fly selected to match the forage size.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday, 28 September 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

Pretty easy summary today … the white bass went ballistic on topwater from 7:30 to 9:46AM. The primary forage was 1.75″ long threadfin shad, so, I rigged Mike and Keith up with Cork Rigs (for weight) with a streamer which matched the forage size. They enjoyed non-stop action.

Once the fish quit, the fishing got pretty anti-climactic. We found two other groups of fish. The first bunch was all very small white bass in 32′. Although they outdid themselves trying to make a meal of the MAL Dense Lures we were working with a sawtooth tactic, we left them after catching 6 short fish in a row.

We got into one additional loosely schooled bunch of fish in 34′ with downriggers set at 29′ using Pet Spoons on 3-armed umbrella rigs, and that was it. The fish turned off by ~11:15.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

Our tally of 141 fish consisted 138 white bass and 3 largemouth bass.

TALLY: 141 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: We have now had two 58-59F overnight temperatures. Here was the temperature profile down to 55′:

0 feet 82.3F
5 feet 82.3F
10 feet 82.3F

15 feet 82.3F
20 feet 82.3F
25 feet 82.3F
30 feet 81.9F
35 feet 81.5F
40 feet 78.8F
45 feet 70.7F
50 feet 66.6F
55 feet 64.5F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F

Elevation: 10.48 feet low, 0.12′ fall in last 24 hours, 450 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 82.3F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE2-9

Sky Condition: <5% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent at 8% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0116G to B0104G to 1357 – topwater action on cork rig from 7:30 to 9:46A

Area vic 1411 – small whites on MAL Dense using sawtooth method

Area vic 1393 – downrigging with Pet Spoons on umbrella rig

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

COOLING WEATHER- THE EXCEPTION OR THE RULE? – 111 FISH

September 26th, 2022July 6th, 2023 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, September 26th, I fished with long-time client Stiles Parker, accompanied by his mom, Trish Littlejohn, and his cousin, Zach Wilkins.

Our first significant autumn cold front blew in overnight and significantly impacted this morning’s fishing in a positive way.

The big question: Is this the start of our fall cooldown leading to turnover, or just another ‘flash in the pan’?

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Zach Wilkins, Trish Littlejohn, and Stiles Parker with a few of the fish we took while downrigging. Downrigging gave up triples, doubles, and singles today on Pet Spoons.

PHOTO CAPTION: Trish displays one of two 15+ inch white bass we took while working MAL Dense Lures horizontally in over 40 feet of water using the sawtooth method. Stiles took the other jumbo in our first hour of fishing using the same lure and tactic.

Find the MAL Lure here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 26 September 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

As I launched before sunrise this morning, the winds were out of the north around 10mph and the atmosphere was dry and cool-feeling for the 73F air temperature.

North winds can be a toss-up, but, generally speaking, the fishing will be solid as a cold front blows in, and as the wind velocity is increasing, which it was today through about 2pm.

As I welcomed everyone aboard and gave a demo of the tactics we’d be using during the trip, we actually attracted fish with the small amount of commotion we created as we did so — that was a good sign.

We got going just past sunrise and found fish fairly quickly. For the first two hours we fished three areas, catching well at two of them. At all three areas we used a vertical “smoking” tactic with MAL Dense Lures until the fish lost interest, and then worked horizontally with a “sawtooth” tactic with those same MAL Dense Lures (with chartreuse tails) until they lost interest in that … then it was time to move and find more fish.

Around 9:30, as we were sitting on Spot-Lock, I could see bait moving beneath us swimming at a panicked pace and white bass in hot pursuit right behind them. We moved our lures up through them but were typically ignored as these white bass stayed locked onto those shad.

Having seen this before, I knew a downrigging approach was the cure for this ill. We got downriggers down and instantly the fished warmed to that fast, horizontal approach in which we were covering lots of ground, just as the fish were doing.

On one occasion, the fish were so thick I stopped downrigging to work MAL Lures vertically through them until they quit biting (after a quick 8 or 10 fish), then we went right back to downrigging and right back to catching them in that way. All downrigging was done with twin ‘riggers, each with a 3-armed umbrella rig to which #12 Pet Spoons were affixed.

As the fish began to taper off their feed in our final 75 minutes on the water (~11:15 to noon), we settled back and reverted to the sawtooth method using MAL Dense Lures to fish more slowly and methodically for fish which were now settling down on bottom and moving less.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

Our tally of 111 fish consisted of 6 short white bass, 2 short largemouth bass and 103 legal white bass with two fish eclipsing 15 inches.

TALLY: 111 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: This is the first significant cold front of the autumn. It is forecast to push overnight lows into the high 50’s for the next four nights.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 12:00 Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F

Elevation: 9.46 feet low, 0.05′ fall in last 24 hours, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 81.9F

Wind Speed & Direction: N10 at sunrise, increasing to N15 with higher gusts by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: <5% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: New moon at 0% illumination.

GT = 80

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area SH0223G – 17 fish (MAL Dense via smoking & sawtooth)

Area 872 thru 933 – 45 fish (Downrigging & MAL Dense via smoking & sawtooth)

Area SH0231G – 28 fish (MAL Dense via smoking & sawtooth)

Area vic SH0202G – 21 fish (MAL Dense via smoking & sawtooth)

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

A LIMIT WAS THE LIMIT – 28 FISH

September 22nd, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, September 22nd, I fished with first time guest Jim Parker of Temple, TX.

Jim and I actually worked together for a few years back in my corporate days at Wilsonart International in Temple. He was an adhesives expert and I worked to ensure our products met applicable environmental standards. He’s now 81 and getting around pretty good.

When Jim’s son read my Facebook post about having an unexpected opening at a discount today, he signed his dad up for it, despite being in the Far East at the time.

Jim and I had much in common and got to catch up on how a number of folks we both knew were doing these days.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Jim Parker, age 81, toughed it out in record heat for this first day of “autumn” until we’d put a limit of 25 legal white bass in the boat. Fishing was pretty darn tough today.

Find them here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 22 September 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

As I got the boat prepped for Jim’s arrival, I noted a rare summer westerly wind blowing. Normally westerly winds blow from early fall to late spring in advance of an arriving cold front, but, such was not the case today.

Regardless, whatever was going on in the weather put the fish in a pretty foul mood today. Last week and earlier this week “schoolie” largemouth bass had been feeding aggressively on shad they’d driven to the surface. We saw none of that today. Over the past ten days at least a few terns have been out feeding on shad. We saw none of that today. Over the past ten days there has, under calmer conditions, been large schools of shad near the surface causing “nervous” water as they fed on algae there. We saw none of that today.

I surely did not want to wrap up our trip today without at least catching a 1-man limit for Jim, so we persisted until we accomplished that, but we had to put in an extra hour to do so.

We never took more than 4 fish in a given area. What fish we caught we took mainly on the MAL Dense Lure worked with the sawtooth method; 7 were taken by downrigging.

It wasn’t that we found fish and couldn’t get them to bite, rather, just finding any fish at all was a real chore.

When we found fish, we could get a few to perk up and bite, but that was about it.

TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE
TUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

Our tally of 28 fish catch consisted of 2 short white bass, 1 short largemouth bass and 25 legal white bass.

TALLY: 28 fish caught and released

Find MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Here is the water temperature profile I measured this morning:

0 feet 84.2F
5 feet 84.3F
10 feet 84.3F
15 feet 83.7F
20 feet 83.6F
25 feet 83.4F
30 feet 83.3F
35 feet 83.3F
40 feet 83.1F
45 feet 77.4F
50 feet 70.5F
55 feet 67.8F
60 feet 63.1F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 12:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 9.27 feet low, 0.04′ fall in last 24 hours, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 84.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: W6 for first 3 hours then slowly dying to calm

Sky Condition: <10% white clouds on a blue sky

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 12% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area SH0030G

Area SH0065G/SH0222G

Area Vic SHYD02

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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com