Bob Maindelle | Fishing Report

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

KIDZ-BOP & WHITE BASS – 132 FISH @ BELTON

May 7th, 2020May 7th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Wednesday afternoon, May 6th, I fished with Mr. Cliff Brown of Texas Boat World and three of his grandkids — brothers Isaiah (age 13) and Caleb (age 5) who live locally, and Kinsley (age 12) who is in for a visit from her home in West Virginia.

Although it is peak season for hybrid striped bass, I feel these fish are not a good choice for kids’ trips because hybrid fishing with bait can involve a good bit of waiting with little more to do than watch a rod tip, and, once a hookup does occur, younger kids can get overpowered by these fish, getting lines tangled in other lines, in the trolling motor, in the outboard’s lower unit, etc. So, we opted to hunt for white bass this evening and, thanks to conducive conditions, we did very well, keeping the kids engaged from start to finish for over 3.5 hours.

PHOTO CAPTION: Isaiah, Caleb, and Kinsley — Cliff Brown’s grandkids had a great afternoon chasing white bass on Lake Belton as north winds began to turn easterly.

PHOTO CAPTION: Although our target species was white bass, we took 1 legal hybrid and several short hybrid, as well. Here, with his Poppy’s help, Caleb shows off our largest fish of the trip which was half as big as he is.

WHEN WE FISHED: 06 May, 2020, PM

HOW WE FISHED: Locating solid groups of feeding fish with sonar, fishing aggressively, and moving once the feeding action began to lessen was the key to success this evening. The fish were feeding in overdrive, hence, a “smoking” tactic using my 3/4 oz., white Hazy Eye slabs with stingers attached did the trick.

I stood between Kinsley and Caleb and took their fish off while Cliff did the same for Isaiah, and we kept baits in the water as best we could.

With a 5-year-old on board, I knew long pauses in the action would not go well, so, whenever action waned even just a bit, we cranked up and moved.

Fish were found on the bottom through around 7p, then, as the light began to dim, they moved up in the water column to about 15′ below the surface with occasional break-aways chasing shad all the way to the surface. This, in turn attracted laughing gulls, making fish location simple.

This was definitely a “catching trip”, not a fishing trip.

TALLY: 132 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: As sunset neared, helpful laughing gull activity pointed out the location of active, suspended schools of white bass forcing shad to the surface. Occasionally a glimpse of the gamefish was seen; these fish were feeding near the surface, but not on the surface.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:15P

End Time: 7:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 82F

Elevation: 0.83′ high, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: E9-11 all afternoon

Sky Conditions: Clear skies

GT = -20

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1941

**Area vic 2041

**Area B0192C

**Area vic B0070C

**Area vic B0188C – suspended fish pointed out by working laughing gulls

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

NORTH WIND NEGATED BY RISING METABOLISM – 46 FISH @ BELTON

May 6th, 2020May 6th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, May 6th, I welcomed aboard Derrick Fontenot, his girfriend, Veronica Merritt, and their friend, Tony Siefner, whom Derrick works with. All three are veterans — Derrick and Veronica served in the U.S. Army, and Tony served in the U.S. Navy.

The trio came out with me once prior for hybrid striped bass back in early June of 2019, and Derrick has done a one-on-one sonar training with me for his Lowrance equipment.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tony Siefner started the day off right with this 6.75 pound Lake Belton hybrid. This is the largest hybrid I’ve had a client land in the 2020 season-to-date.

PHOTO CAPTION: This long-bodied hybrid landed by Veronica Merritt weighed in at 5.75 pounds.

PHOTO CAPTION: In addition to this 5.25 pound hybrid, Derrick Fontenot also managed a 5.00 pound blue catfish this morning.

WHEN WE FISHED: 06 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Because my crew had an above-average result on their last outing for hybrid back in 2019 (95 fish, of which 44 were legal hybrid), the very first thing I mentioned this morning was how I anticipated the post-frontal conditions we experienced (north wind, bright, cloudless skies, and lower temperatures) would negatively impact the fishing. Fortunately, the water temperature is in the high 60’s and has been trending warmer, so fish metabolism is high. This induces fish to feed, but they just don’t binge aggressively under such conditions.

We hedged our bet this morning using smaller baits and cutbait for fish that were more tentative.

We continued fishing these baits on a tightline suspended up off bottom using what is essentially a Carolina rig terminated with a Kahle hook.

In all, we landed 46 fish, of which 15 were legal hybrid stripers. Were this not a catch-and-release trip, we’d have wrapped up by 9:30 with a 5-fish limit per angler.

As always, we released 100% of our catch and continued fishing until right at 11:30, with our final fish coming at 10:45. I’m of the opinion that folks are not paying me for a meat haul, only to go back to the dock when a certain number of a certain kind of fish are caught, but, rather, they are paying me for an outdoor experience, and I feel I owe them every bit of the time they are compensating me for.

10:30 seems to be the time these fish start wrapping up their feed and settling down until evening, as the fish have demonstrated in each of the hybrid-specific trips I’ve conducted now, and as they confirmed again this morning.

When all was said and done, in addition to the 15 keeper hybrid, we landed 2 short hybrid, 1 freshwater drum, 3 blue catfish, and 25 white bass in the 1, 2, and 3-year class.

TALLY: 46 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: No shad at SHAD014. Shad were moving off-shore in 8′ of water at Area 011. I netted sparse shad at Area SHAD026

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 0.93′ high, 0.05 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: N8 at sunrise, shifting to NE10 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: Clear skies with 80% high, thin, white clouds building in from the E. beginning around 10A

GT = 120

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD026

**Area vic LOST ROD 2

**Area vic 682

**Area 1945/1552

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

SORE ARMPITS AND HIGH WINDS — 29 FISH @ BELTON

May 5th, 2020May 5th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, I fished with Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen from near Troy, Texas. The Maedgen’s have fished for white bass on Stillhouse with me a number of times, and have done sonar training with me for their Lowrance equipment on Tommy’s bass boat. This morning they wanted to give Lake Belton hybrid stripers a try and reserved the date some months ago.

NOAA’s weather forecast had been all over the map since Sunday, the normal 2-days-in-advance date by which I make a call on where and when to meet clients. As I headed to bed last night, the cold front was due to arrive just after noon. As I woke this morning, there were flashes of lighting to the north and the revised forecast called for the strong winds on the lead edge of the cold front to hit before noon. Since the fishing has been so good for hybrid from 7 to 10:30A, we gave it a go.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen with a pair of hybrid taken just moments apart, in fact, I landed both in one net at the same time.

WHEN WE FISHED: 05 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Pretty straighforward fishing this morning — find ’em, feed ’em, reel ’em in. The hardest part is finding them. You just can’t go out with a “spot” mentality, head to a waypoint that produced fish three years ago (or even three days ago) and expect to catch fish. A waypoint can certainly get you close, but I rely on colored sonar, side-imaging, and down-imaging to really hone in on exactly where I’m going to commit to fishing before putting baits out.

The rigging was essentially a Carolina rig with an 80-pound braided mainline, a 3/4 oz. weight, a sinker cushion, a quality VMC ball bearing swivel, 25 pound fluorocarbon leader, and a snelled Kahle-style hook by Gamakatsu.

The fish showed a definite preference for live shad this morning (over cut bait). The bite peaked around 8:15 when it was all we could do to keep up with 2 rods per angler. After her third hybrid, Sylvia, who relied on placing the rod’s long butt up under her arm for leverage, said she was sure she was going to be sore tomorrow. Tommy just held on tight and grinned on every one of the hybrid he hooked up with. It sure was fun while it lasted.

Although our trip got shortened by incoming foul weather, we landed 29 fish, of which 24 were legal hybrid, 2 were short hybrid, and 3 were white bass. No catfish this morning.

TALLY: 29 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Found spawning shad at SHAD014 and Area 011, but both were quite sparse

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 9:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F

Elevation: 0.93′ high, 0.05 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: SE5 before sunrise and staying SE6-8 prior to the front’s arrival at 9:15A

Sky Conditions: Grey skies all morning

GT = 120

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD014

**Area vic LOST ROD 2

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

CHEETOS IN ONE HAND, HYBRID IN THE OTHER — 62 FISH @ BELTON

May 4th, 2020May 5th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, May 4th, I fished with returning guests Glen Wagoner and David Burke, accompanied by their friend, Steve Pennington, who fished with me for the first time today. This morning, our efforts were focused on hybrid striped bass on Lake Belton.

David is a U.S. Navy veteran. Back in the day, he was a shipboard helicopter refueler. He went on to become a counselor after the military. Glen manages an estate in the DFW area, and Steve owns his own business, Wind Deflector, producing wind blocking devices for high-end convertible automobiles.

PHOTO CAPTION: Steve Pennington with a wide, solid 5.75 pound Lake Belton hybrid striped bass taken on live threadfin shad.

PHOTO CAPTION: Glen Wagoner took this fish from deep, clear water. It went 5.50 pounds.

PHOTO CAPTION: David Burke of Belton took this dandy on cut bait. It also went 5.50 pounds.

WHEN WE FISHED: 04 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Today was the third day of southerly wind which had me expecting good things, and we were not disappointed. The bait-catching was easy and so was the fishing.

We went to exactly one area and fished it for 4 hours, catching fish continuously through 10:30 with a slowdown thereafter.

As is my custom during the threadfin shad spawn (which is running at peak condition right now), we used live threadfin shad as bait fished on multiple downlines in the lower third of the water column to tempt the hybrid stripers we landed.

We once again used a combination of live and cut bait. The live bait slightly outperformed the cut bait for hybrid. The cut bait also caught its fair share of hybrid, as well as other species, which kept the action going and made the morning engaging.

For the 3rd consecutive trip, the action tapered sharply around 10:30.

We landed 62 fish in total, of which 32 were legal hybrid striped bass up to 5.75 pound, in addition, we landed 1 short hybrid, 2 drum, 1 flathead catfish, 1 channel catfish, and a mixture of 25 white bass and blue catfish.

As the action peaked around 9:15, it was all we could do to keep 3 livebait rods and 3 cutbait rods in the water. Glen actually cut back to 1 rod for a spell because the fish had him running around missing fishing on one rod while he was trying to lower his presentation on the other. Somewhere in the frenzy, David yells, “I need help. I got my Cheetos in one hand and a hybrid in the other.” If I recall correctly, Glen took the rod with the fish on it, leaving David with Cheetos — hey, what are friends for?

TALLY: 62 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Found spawning shad at SHAD014, as well as Area 011 – with “one and done” quantities present at both.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 0.89′ high, 0.05 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: S8 before sunrise, increasing steadily to S12-13 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: Nearly cloudless, blue skies

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD014

**Area vic B0089C/B0084C

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

SKIFF TRIP #5 w/ RYAN, MATTHEW, & CALEB — 100 FISH @ BELTON

May 3rd, 2020May 4th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, 02 May, I conducted the 5th Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) trip of the 2020 season. Prior to the Coronavirus outbreak, I had this family on my SKIFF list, scheduled for Saturday, April 11^th. The boys, Matthew and Caleb were separated from their dad, Ryan, as he was on a temporary duty (TDY) assignment away from Fort Hood. Because Ryan’s assignment had concluded by this time, he was able to join his sons on the water.

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 to 4 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.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Ryan, Matthew, and Caleb with a sampling of their catch of 100 fish, which included 97 white bass and 3 freshwater drum.

WHEN WE FISHED: 02 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Fortunately, the weather cooperated this morning, complete with a stiff southerly breeze which kept some anglers home and other anglers off of the open water so the zoo-like weekend conditions often encountered on Belton did not materialize this morning.

Because I continued to scout baitfish and gamefish locations on my own during the shutdown, I was able to keep up with the movement and locations of both, and was able to put the fellows on fish from start to finish.

We fished 4 locations, all in deep, clear water, and found very willing white bass congregated in large schools at each. Using my white, ¾ oz. Hazy Eye Slabs with stinger hooks attached, we fished vertically while the boat was held still by the Spot-Lock feature on my trolling motor.

Using the smoking tactic, we got the fish excited and kept them that way for an extended period at each of the places at which we stopped.

We began our trip at 7AM, and by 10AM had amassed a catch of 88 fish. Based on what I saw on sonar, I felt we still had a shot at hitting 100 fish, even though by this time the morning bite was definitely waning.

At this point, I changed up a bit (primarily to offer Caleb a bit of variety), and introduced the fellows to downrigging. Our first pass over a group of white bass holding near bottom in 40 feet of water yielded a triple – one fish on each of the 3 lures on the 3-armed umbrella rig we were downrigging with.

We stopped atop these fish and worked them until we landed our 100^th fish right at 10:30AM.

TALLY: 100 fish caught and released, including 97 white bass and 3 freshwater drum

OBSERVATIONS: High winds reduced heavy weekend boat traffic, particularly on open stretches of water. Shad spawn going full-throttle.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7A

End Time: 10:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F

Elevation: 0.80′ high, 0.03 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 68F

Wind Speed & Direction: S9 at trip’s start, tapering up to S17 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: 20% high white haze on blue skies

GT =N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 677

**Area vic 2059

**Area vic 1743

**Area vic 472

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

ALL ABOUT EATER CATFISH – 21 FISH @ BELTON

May 3rd, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday evening, May 1st, I welcomed returning guests Rick Powell and Ricardo Cisneros aboard. During the Coronavirus shutdown, I took my wife, Rebecca, and a handful of friends out fishing specifically for blue catfish on Lake Belton. Ricardo, who regularly follows my Facebook posts, saw this and hoped to duplicate the effort on occasions where he hoped to catch a few “eating-sized” catfish (12+ inches).

He requested I take he and his friend (and boss) Rick Powell out to show them what I’d learned.

No, I’m not starting to guide for catfish and don’t intend to do so in the future, but, as the fishery offers consistency and as the quality of these fish continue to improve on Lake Belton (due to zebra mussel consumption, I suspect), I will no doubt routinely mix in some catfishing in my multi-species trips. Additionally, my 100% C&R policy still pertains to this species.

PHOTO CAPTION: This is what the methods I’ve pieced together (with a good bit of help from Steve Webb) typically produce – smaller “eater-sized” blue catfish, two of which provide 4 fillets — just enough for a 1-person serving if kept and cleaned properly. Most fish are 12-15 inches, like this one held by Ricardo Cisneros.

WHEN WE FISHED: 01 May, 2020, PM

HOW WE FISHED: First, I search for blue catfish concentrations on sonar. Next, I Spot-Lock and chum with range cubes, then get right down to fishing vertically with my “Catfish Plumb” bait holders tipped with fresh, dead shad or non-stink doughbait. To enhance things, I’ve brought Garmin LiveScope to bear, which allows slightly suspended fish to be targeted. Otherwise, the default bait position is just inches off bottom.

Concentration is a must, as the catfish typically take only one swipe at the bait, during which time a quick, hard hookset is a must.

In 3.5 hours’ time, some of which was set aside for Humminbird side-imaging explanation and Garmin LiveScope explanation, we put 22 blue cat over the side of the boat with just as many missed on the hookset.

TALLY: 22 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: As I searched for spawning shad, a definite, shallow-water and shad-oriented fishery is also ripe for picking, albeit short-lived with the action drying up about the time the direct sun peeks over the eastern horizon.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:00P

End Time: 7:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 82F

Elevation: 0.77′ high, 0.06 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: S17 at trip’s start, tapering to S14 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: 30% high white haze on blue skies

GT =28

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic B0073C (fished it at start of trip and end of trip with 2 other non-productive stops in between)

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

THE WAIT IS OVER!! – 40 FISH @ BELTON

May 2nd, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday morning, May 1st, I conducted my first guided trip since the 24th of March when all non-essential businesses in Texas were closed by executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott. This morning I fished with returning guest Jeff Arbogust of Kempner, TX. Jeff is a retired landscape architect who fished with me one time previously as we pursued white bass on Stillhouse. This morning, our efforts were focused on hybrid striped bass on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION: With the threadfin shad spawn at its peak right now, these Lake Belton hybrid are ready to eat after returning to the lake from the tributaries during their ‘false spawn’.

PHOTO CAPTION: That’s 10+ pounds of fish landed about 45 seconds apart, both caught while fishing with live shad on tightlines.

WHEN WE FISHED: 01 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: As is my custom during the threadfin shad spawn (which is running at peak condition right now), we used live threadfin shad as bait fished on multiple downlines in the lower third of the water column to tempt the hybrid stripers we landed.

We fished 4 areas. All yielded fish, but only 2 yielded hybrid. The hybrid we landed this morning were very tight to the bottom and came in one or two at a time; we never saw a large, aggressive feed develop beneath the boat.

We used a combination of Kahle and circle hooks — both performed about the same. We also used a combination of live and cut bait. With the fish we found showing a bit sluggish on sonar (small groups, tight to bottom, not willing to come upwards for chum very far), we actually landed more legal hybrid on the cutbaits than on the live.

The action tapered sharply around 10:30.

TALLY: 40 fish caught and released, including 10 legal hybrid, 2 short hybrid, 3 blue catfish, and 25 white bass

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 58F

Elevation: 0.77′ high, 0.06 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 68F

Wind Speed & Direction: S6 at 5:15A slowly and steadily ramping up to S16-17 by trip’s end, as forecast

Sky Conditions: Nearly cloudless, blue skies

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD014

**Area vic 1604 (all white bass)

**Area vic 1269 (mix of whites and hybrid)

**Area vic B0089C (best hybrid producer, with a few blues and whites)

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

MAKIN’ HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES — 70 FISH @ STILLHOUSE

March 19th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, 19 March, 2020, I fished with the Osbourn crew from Liberty Hill, TX, including Hollie (mom), and her sons: Tucker (13), Rhys (12), and Deacon (10), all in celebration of Deacon’s 10th birthday as he opted for the same birthday adventure Tucker was treated to last fall, accompanied by his dad, Conard.

Many of you know I normally set aside Thursdays to be with my wife in what we call our “Marriage Maintenance Day”, which we implemented in the summer of 2018. Only by mutual consent do we postpone/reschedule this. Well, seeing foul (cold, wet) weather on the way for Friday and Saturday (for me), and given a women’s ministry planning meeting (for her) today, we bumped our special day to Friday and I got the Osbourns out on the tail end of another extended warming trend on Stillhouse. I knew Deacon was looking forward to it, I knew their originally planned date of Saturday would not yield good results, and I knew the fishing would be fairly kid-friendly today, so we made it happen today, thanks to Hollie’s flexibility.

From the looks of it, fishing will decline through Sunday, then start bouncing back again come Monday.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Rhys, Deacon, Tucker, and Hollie Osbourn with some plump Stillhouse white bass taken with a variety of tactics this morning as the kids enjoyed an extended Spring Break thanks to the Coronavirus.

WHEN WE FISHED: 19 March, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We mixed it up a good bit today both because the fish allowed for it, and because the variety kept the boys engaged. We started off throwing bladebaits as long as the fish would go for them. When the blade bite slowed around 10am, we changed over and did some flatline trolling. We picked up a crappie and three white bass right away, but, more importantly, it kept the boys active while giving me a chance to comb the area we were in with side-imaging to see if the fish were done feeding, of if they’d just moved off the area at which we’d last contacted them with bladbaits. It quickly became obvious that the fish were still present, only a bit deeper, so, after the boys got a taste of trolling success, we went right back to throwing blades and connecting with fish. Once this “rebound” bite ended, I gave birthday boy Deacon the options and the odds of catching fish via throwing blades, trolling,and looking for stacked fish to vertical jig for. He chose Option #3, partly because Tucker had “talked up” the use of Garmin LiveScope in combination with vertical jigging.

As it turned out, this gamble paid off. We did, indeed, find fish stacked on the edge of the river channel and ended the trip on a strong note as the Osbourn crew put a final 25 fish in the boat in the closing half-hour of the trip, taking our tally from 45 fish up to 70 fish on the morning.

TALLY: 70 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Over the past three days as the white bass bite has moved shallow with the water temperature rising into the low 60’s, I correlated the hatching of this small insect with this white bass activity. These insects are about a 1/4″ long, hover from ground level up to about 7′ above the ground, and have appeared in the heat of the afternoon over the last three days:

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 69F

Elevation: 2.88′ low, 0.02 foot 24-hour rise, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 63F

Wind Speed & Direction: S4-7 all morning

Sky Conditions: Grey overcast all morning

GT = 65

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1960 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 120 – SH0066C – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 713 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 733 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits, then via flatline trolling through to Area 745

**Area vic 092 – vertical slab work for white bass stacked on the channel edge (25 fish in final ~30 minutes)

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

GO HORIZONTAL, YOUNG MAN! — 113 FISH @ STILLHOUSE

March 18th, 2020March 18th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, 18 March 2020, I fished with a crew of 5 experienced anglers including trip organizer David Vahrenkamp, two colleagues of his from Bates Nissan — Clay O’Dell and Mike Farris, as well as Clay’s brother, Robin O’Dell, and Robin’s adult son, Tyler O’Dell.

With weather today forecast to be nearly identical to yesterday’s weather, I chose to head to Stillhouse for the quality white bass fishing it has been producing.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Robin, Tyler, and Clay O’Dell, David Vahrenkamp, and Mike Farris, each with mature white bass caught and released this morning from Stillhouse Hollow on bladebaits.

WHEN WE FISHED: 18 March, 2002, AM

HOW WE FISHED: These five guys all arrived early and ready to fish — heck, Mike even showed up before my own traditional 30-minutes-pre-trip arrival time! Once we got handles on the correct side of the spinning reels for everyone, I went over safety stuff and the tactics we’d use as we fished bladebaits for white bass. We prayed for our nation’s leaders in dealing with the Coronavirus, then we were off to catch fish.

Helpful bird activity led us to our first fish of the morning — a catch of 21 fish at our first stop on a mid-depth flat in about 31 feet of water.

After the birds gave up here, we were on our own to find fish without bird assistance. I really think the lake’s population of gulls got so used to feeding in a handful of reliable areas all winter, that they are now having to re-figure things out with the water warming and the action moving shallower, hence, they are scattered more than just a few days ago.

We found fish at two more areas, both giving up 1, 2, and 3 year class fish. 100% of my crew’s fish were taken on horizontally worked bladebaits today. Once the fish up shallow quit biting around 11:05, we were hard-pressed for anymore options. Every deepwater haunt I searched had only scant bait, if that. Although we kept looking and tried a few locations, we landed only 1 drum after that 11:05 stoppage. It was at that time that the first direct sun of the day broke through the clouds and, within the span of 20 minutes, we experienced bright sun, dark clouds, blue skies, grey skies, light rain, a cool breeze, and a return to overcast, balmy conditions as a small “patch” of weather moved through.

The Cicada has been hard to beat these past several mornings worked in a “lift-drop” fashion. A number of time during the morning the fellows commented on how jolting the strikes were when they came. I really love these baits because, due to their shape, they very rarely hook fish in anything other than the lip.

As fish move shallower, my dependence on side-imaging gets greater and greater. Seeing organized packs of white bass patrolling an area in high numbers out beyond the “spook radius” of the outboard is a big deal, and is reason to stop and fish.

We landed 111 white bass, 1 crappie, and 1 drum

TALLY: 113 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 12:05P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 2.89′ low, 0.02 foot 24-hour rise, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 62.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: S5-7 all morning

Sky Conditions: Grey overcast all morning with brief breaks from 11 to Noon

GT = 120

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 0302 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 100– mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 713 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday