2019 Fishing Reports | Fishing Report

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Tougher than Tough

April 9th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, April 9th, I fished with returning guests Gary and Margaret Moore, and their friend Kirt Bateman, all U.S. Army veterans, all members of Eastside Baptist Church, and all residents of Copperas Cove.

PHOTO CAPTION: Kirt landed our largest fish of the trip today. The skies were cloudless and bright and the surface went flat calm after about 8:15am. The fishing just ground to a halt thereafter. I spoke with a number of Lake Belton retiree “regulars”, and each reported the same findings — low catches made prior to the wind’s stoppage.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 09 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Fishing was very tough today in that as soon as the light ripple we had on the water from the NW died about an hour after sunrise, the fishing died right along with it. The forecast called for that ripple, then had the winds bumping up to 7-8 mph from the NW, but, that simply did not materialize. During that first hour of light, we were tipped off to the location of fish by the activity of multiple flocks of black-headed seagulls, each numbering 15-20 birds. These birds were working shad that were near-shore and near the surface, some of which were forced there by white bass feeding from below. We used slabs, blades, and live shad but the fish were moving so fast and fairly erratically such that it was difficult to take more than one or two fish before having to move once again to keep up.

After the wind died, the bite soured.

OBSERVATIONS: I witnessed the first evidence of shad actually spawning in shallow water today. This was not the normal “first light” wave of activity, but rather just short forays into the shallows on occasion by small splinter groups of the much larger volume of shad holding just near shore and traveling parallel to it.

TALLY: 13 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 11:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F

Elevation: 1.22 feet high, with a 0.02 foot 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: ~63.4F

Wind Speed & Direction: Light NW ripple for ~1 hour after sunrise, then flat calm.

Sky Conditions: No cloud cover.

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area from B0140C to B0146C

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

We Like Strong Finishes – 67 Fish with FBCRR Crew

April 8th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning I fished with a crew from the First Baptist Church of Round Rock, including Tim Darst, youth pastor, Mark Barber, deacon and small business owner, and Clark Shubert, a self-described “support guy” and husband of the church’s children’s ministry leader.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Mark Barker, Clark Shubert, and Tim Darst, all of First Baptist Church of Round Rock, with a few of the white bass we worked hard for this morning.

PHOTO CAPTION: Clark Shubert with a nice largemouth taken under low light conditions on a blade bait in about 10 feet of water.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: 08 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Tim, who has kids aged 1, 5, and 8, had to get them started on their way this Monday and couldn’t join us until about 8:20a, so, I met up with Mark and Clark at 7:00 so we could shoot for some shallow fish under low light conditions. Prior to Tim’s arrival, we landed 14 fish including 1 smallmouth buffalo, 1 largemouth, and 12 white bass, with a few other white bass missed. After we added Tim to the crew, we tried to milk a little more out of the white bass up shallow, but only added 2 more fish before the brightening and clearing skies killed that shallow bite.

From that point on we found fish only in deeper water. We spent much of the following 2 hours just searching for fish to fish for. We found on area, adjacent to the river channel with abundant bait and scattered, suspended fish. We made use of the Garmin LiveScope technology to sharpshoot these suspended fish using 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs equipped with stinger hooks. We made two “short hops” in this area landing about a half dozen white bass at each spot before moving on, only to return here because I could not find other areas with a combination of fish and bait which made me confident enough to stop and fish.

When we returned, we put another half-dozen fish in the boat before moving one final time at around 11:30.

When we moved we found fish on a gentle slope on the side of an underwater draw in about 32 feet of water. The more we fished and caught, the more fired up the fish got, allowing for a “smoking” tactic to be used on several occasions when the fish got really competitive and fired up.

We wound up catching about 3 dozen fish at this location as the fellows went through the learning curve of properly responding to what they were seeing on sonar.

We wrapped up the morning with 67 fish including 1 smallmouth buffalo, 1 largemouth, 1 white crappie, and 64 white bass in the 1 and 2 year classes.

OBSERVATIONS: No shad spawning observed. Fishing improved with wind velocity.

TALLY: 67 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 1:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F

Elevation: 0.69 feet high, with a 0.06 foot 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: ~63.6F

Wind Speed & Direction: W4 at trip’s start, turning slowly NW and slowing increasing up to NW12 by trip’s end.

Sky Conditions: 70% grey cloud cover for the first 90 minutes, then rapidly clearing to <10% white cloud cover as the NW wind began and ramped up.

GT = 60

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1697 – low light bite on blades

**Area vic SH0001 – 2 short hops on first visit, then made a second visit w/ ~6 fish on each stop via sniping on on 3/8 oz. slabs

**Trough between Area 055 and 549 – bottom-oriented fish and suspended fish taken with aid of LiveScope on 3/8 oz. 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Fruitcake Fishing — 26 Fish @ Belton

April 6th, 2019April 6th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Friday, April 5th, I fished with Don and Linda Hutto who were treating Don’s parents, Tom and Jenean Hutto, to a fishing trip. Don’s folks had flown in from Claxton, Georgia, which is about 50 miles NW of Savannah, to attend an outdoor wedding on the 6th for Don’s son, Heath, and his fiancee’.

When I asked Jenean what made Claxton tick, she told me “Fruitcakes.” Thinking she was referring to corrupt local politicians, I kind of chuckled. Then she let me know she was serious. There are two of the nation’s best know fruitcake bakeries right there in Claxton — Claxton Bakery, Inc., and the Georgia Fruitcake Company!

PHOTO CAPTION: Tom Hutto of Claxton, Georgia, landed this 4 pound class bluecat on shad under foggy, calm conditions.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tom’s wife, Jenean Hutto, took this 3-pound class bluecat just minutes before Tom landed his nice blue.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 05 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Fishing was sub-par this morning. We had a light NW breeze and heavy grey cloud cover right at safe light. We caught most of our fish under these conditions via vertical jigging. Linda did the best with this tactic as she was meticulous about keeping her slab adjusted to just the right height off bottom. During this time we also hung live shad to tempt hybrid. Although we had a few takers, there were no keepers in the mix, but we did get a few bonus bluecat which gave Tom and Jenean a good run for their money. Later, a moderate-density fog moved in for about 1.75 hours and the winds calmed at this same time. The fishing fell off during this time. After the fog cleared we found a few more fish and caught them on the slab, and gave live shad another shot, but added precious little to the tally. We wrapped up around noon with 26 fish landed, including a mix of white bass, short hybrid, crappie, bluecat, and drum.

OBSERVATIONS: No shad spawning observed. Water still high 62 to low 63 degree range, after falling thanks to last weekend’s coldfront and lack of direct sunlight this week.

TALLY: 26 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 12:00a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F

Elevation: 0.8 feet high, with a 0.03 foot 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: ~63.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: NE4 at trip’s start and for ~90 minutes thereafter, then going calm for about 2 hours, then picking up ESE3 thereafter

Sky Conditions: 100% grey cloud cover with the addition of fog for about a 2-hour span starting about 90 minutes into the trip.

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 778/691/437

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

PRE-FRONTAL FEEDING FRENZY – 92 FISH

March 30th, 2019March 30th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On March 30th, I fished with Jennifer Ivicic and her dad, Tim Prcin. This was a rescheduled trip (due to foul weather on our originally chosen date) and was a Christmas gift from Jennifer to her dad.

Jennifer has been with the Killeen Independent School District for 12 years, the last 3 of which she has served as a physical education teacher at Cavazos Middle School in Nolanville. Tim has been an employee at Dealer’s Electric for 40 years. Jennifer’s husband owns and operates a local small business in Holland, TX, – Precision Fence – with four other employees.

Jennifer grew up fishing with her dad and had some fond memories of fishing in the Colorado River from the Smith Ranch near the old Lemon’s Fishing Camp, back when her grandparents owned land there. She handled a spinning rod with authority and both she and her dad were willingly coached to success.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jennifer Ivicic and her dad, Tim Prcin hold 14 to 15 inch long white bass taken on bladebaits thrown shallow during a pre-frontal feeding spree on Stillhouse this morning. Note Jennifer’s clothing as of 10:30 am versus her clothing shown in the photo below around 8:15 am. The front cooled all of Central Texas down by about 9 degrees in a matter of minutes!

PHOTO CAPTION: Tim Prcin took this 3.25 pound largemouth bass up in shallow water as we cast bladebaits to shallow white bass feeding aggressively on shad before a big cold front’s arrival.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: 30 March 2019

HOW WE FISHED: This morning’s trip consisted of two distinct episodes of pre-frontal feeding by white bass herding shad in shallow water. The first episode took place right at (obscured) sunrise. This low light feed happened as calm conditions changed to a rippled surface as a wave of energy pushed through like a “mini-front” about 2 hours in advance of the inbound cold front. When the wind began, the surface rippled, the clouds thickened and nature came alive. Shad were swimming panicked, white bass were chasing them to the surface, multiple species of birds were feeding from above, and the fishing was fast and furious in under 10 feet of water throwing opaque Cicada bladebaits in the 3/8 oz. size which were a good match for the threadfin shad being fed upon. This feed lasted about 70 minutes and produced exactly 49 white bass and 1 largemouth.

When that wave of weather passed, the skies brightened, the winds calmed, and nature settled back down. There was no fish or bird activity again until about 9:15, when the skies began to go grey and cloudy once again with the clouds moving in from the NW. We fished 3 locations under the bright skies and had just begun to fish a fourth when I spotted individual white bass occasionally boiling on shad about 150 yards from where we had encountered them earlier. We moved to this area via trolling motor so as not to spook bait or gamefish, and I Spot Locked us in 8 feet of water, casting up shallower. We watched the assault start in earnest, build to a peak as the front came in, and then soften as the rain and cold began to descend on the area. We got another hour’s worth of pure catching in during this second episode, and added 42 white bass to our tally. The average fish in this school was nearly twice the size of the average fish we encountered in our first episode. Again, the opaque Cicada bladebaits in the 3/8 oz. size were a good match for the threadfin shad being fed upon, although one jumbo white bass regurgitated a 3.75″ gizzard shad, as well.

I was about to jockey us into another casting position so as to access a new group of fish that hadn’t been cast over when Tim and Jennifer agreed the additional fish we might catch (as the bite was definitely tapering off) was not worth the additional discomfort which the wind-driven mist and cooling winds were bringing. So, we called it done at 92 fish as the bite was getting soft.

OBSERVATIONS: This was a “textbook” example of pre-frontal fishing if there ever was one. Fish in the 1, 2, 3, and 4 year classes were present in these two sprees.

TALLY: 92 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:05a

End Time: 10:40a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F, dropping to 55F very quickly with the front’s arrival, then plateauing there

Elevation: 0.2 feet high, with a 0.07 foot 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: 65.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm at trip’s start, shifting to NW6-8 for about 20 minutes before the front’s arrival, then ramping up suddenly to NNW20+ with front’s arrival

Sky Conditions: 100% grey cloud cover through 8:20, then clearing until around 9:15, then clouding again in advance of the front with light, brief precipitation.

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1967 to bank

**Area 730 to 999

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

THEY CAME, THEY CAUGHT, THEY WENT TO THE MOVIES

March 30th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On March 29^th I welcomed aboard Mrs. Fiona Williams and her two children, Ashlyn (age 14) and Levi (age 3). Fiona’s husband, U.S. Army Master Sergeant Jarrad Williams, is currently deployed as part of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command (CID) to Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan. MSG Williams, a native of Oklahoma, has approximately 3 months left in his deployment, and has been serving for 17 years.

This S.K.I.F.F. trip was originally planned for March 2^nd, but rain and high winds foiled those plans.

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. 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. Full-time, professional fishing guide Bob Maindelle coordinates and conducts 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.

We worked this trip in after school on a Friday now that sunset comes around 7:45 pm, following the start of Daylight Saving Time.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Mrs. Fiona Williams, her 3-year-old son, Levi, and 14-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, with white bass we caught while flatline trolling with crankbaits on an afternoon SKIFF program trip made available at no charge to soldiers’ families.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: 29 March 2019

HOW WE FISHED: As Fiona knew Levi would only make it so long, we agreed to keep an eye on him and close out the trip once the novelty wore off for him. We faced some high winds which made the area I had been successful in early in the week quite silty and off-color, so the fishing was pretty tough.

Additionally, both of the kids had post-fishing trip movie plans – Ashlyn was headed to see “Five Feet Apart” with friends, and Levi and Fiona were considering taking in “Dumbo”.

Long story short, we fished just until both kids caught a legal sized fish to take a photo with and share with their dad, and then we wrapped it up. Luckily, two of our first three fish were white bass which exceeded the 10-inch minimum, so we got that scrapbook photo well before dark.

Because the tactic which was working on this trip was flatline trolling (and because that method is not all that engaging for a 3-year-old), I gave Levi an number of “special duties”. He was the “rod putter awayer”, he was the “thumper turner-oner”, he was the “fish in the livewell checker”, and he was the “aerator motor operator”. He did great at all of those things (and at snacking!!).

OBSERVATIONS: Due to 2 days of high winds (15-18mph) the upper third of Stillhouse is silty. This made fishing a bit tough for these fish which are primarily sight-feeders.

TALLY: 3 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:15p

End Time: 6:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 0.17 feet high, with a 0.07 foot 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: 65.4F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE16

Sky Conditions: ~90% grey cloud cover clearing to ~60% white cloud cover by trip’s end

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 729 thru 1967 – flatlining

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

45 FISH FOR ANDY’S 6TH BIRTHDAY!!

March 28th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This afternoon, Thursday, 28 March, I fished with Belton natives Terri Covington, her son, Dave Covington, and Dave’s son, 6-year-old Andy Covington, on the occasion of Andy’s sixth birthday. Terri planned this well ahead of time, desiring the event to coincide with the actual date of Andy’s birthday. I expressed some concern about taking a child so young at this point in the season when options are limited and the techniques are a bit technical, but, all worked out well in the end.

PHOTO CAPTION: Andy Covington, son of Dave Covington and grandson of Terri Covington, was treated to a birthday fishing trip. We landed 45 fish in just under 3 1/2 hours of fishing on Stillhouse.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: 28 March 2019

HOW WE FISHED: I began our trip up shallow hoping for some sunfish to offer a bit of instant gratification, but, the heavy chop had muddied near-shore waters and sunfish just weren’t in the cards. We changed over quickly to covering water by flatline trolling and began to pick up single fish with some regularity. Next, a helpful handful of gulls showed some activity over a patch of open water, leading us to find white bass aggressively feeding on shad in about 22 feet of water, allowing all of us to catch a number of fish in short order primarily via a snap-jigging tactic. Although smoking a slab and lift-dropping a blade also produced, the snap-jigged slab with stinger produced best.

After this hour-long run was over, we picked up a few more fish in two separate locations via flatline trolling, and then called it a day around 7:45p given that Andy has school tomorrow. We all bet he sleeps well tonight!!

OBSERVATIONS: The action has definitely moved shallow thanks to the multi-day warming trend and high winds of the majority of this day.

TALLY: 45 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:15p

End Time: 7:45p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 76F

Elevation: 0.11 feet high, with a 0.08 foot 24-hour rise

Water Surface Temp: 66.8F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE17+ at trip’s start, tapering down to SSE13 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: 40% white cloud cover at trip’s start, transitioning to 100% thin, grey cloud cover by trip’s end

GT = 55

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 729 thru 1967 – flatlining

**Area SH0106C – snap jigging

**Area 114 thru 703 – flatlining

**Area 116 thru 291 – flatlining

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

ATTENTION TO DETAIL PUT FISH IN THE BOAT — 52 FISH @ STILLHOUSE

March 25th, 2019March 25th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, 25 March, I fished with Mr. Tommy Maedgen and his wife, Sylvia, of Troy, TX. Tommy, who just fished with me last Tuesday, retired from life as a “shop” teacher in the Temple Independent School District where he taught woodworking, metalworking, small engine repair, and more. Sylvia is retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The couple recently got a really good deal on a 2006 Skeeter with very, very few hours on it and are working on retrofitting the trolling motor and electronics, so, part of their purpose in coming out was to see such technology in action so as to be more well-educated when it comes time to buy this helpful equipment.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen of Troy, TX, put 52 fish in the boat this morning using a combination of bladebaits, slabs, and crankbaits. The fishing was solid as the winds shifted from W to N in advance of an incoming cold front, right up until the skies cleared around 11:10am.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: 25 March 2019

HOW WE FISHED: As we got going this morning, we had solid, grey cloud cover and an 8 mph breeze from W. We found abundant, active white bass chasing shad in a low-light feed in under 18 feet of water up on a flat adjacent to the river channel. Opaque Cicada bladebaits in 3/8 oz. did the trick for these fish. As the skies went from fully cloudy to partly cloudy, the shallow bite died and we dropped back to the 25 foot mark to continue catching fish along the channel break using slabs in a snap-jigging presentation. After the two locations we were successful at this failed to produce additional fish, the wind picked up and the clouds thickened. The shallow water bite rebounded and allowed us about 50 minutes’ worth of flatline trolling success pulling baits at ~14′ deep in slightly deeper water. Side-imaging provided ample evidence that these fish were patrolling in groups of 10-20 fish, and, typically, when one of our rods went off, the other went off just seconds later.

Sylvia’s great, reflexive hookset accounted for a lot of fish today as she connected with a majority of the fish which struck her slab. Both she and Tommy were very attentive to their presentations, which also helped us make the most of our situation this morning.

This bite died as the winds finally went from NW to N and the skies got cloudless and bright. We landed only 2 drum via vertical jigging in our final 30 minutes of effort under these tough conditions.

OBSERVATIONS: Even more bait witnessed in the upper 12 feet of the water column routinely this morning. Caught first obviously spawned-out white bass on the main lake this morning.

TALLY: 52 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:25a

End Time: 11:40a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 0.05 feet high, with a 0.07 foot 24-hour drop

Water Surface Temp: 65.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: Winds were W8 at trip’s start, swinging through WNW, then NW, then NNW, and finally due N12 by trip’s end as mild, dry cold front pushed in.

Sky Conditions: Back-and-forth coverage this morning with best, full-coverage grey clouds in the first hour, then going partially cloudy through 11:10, and finally clearing to cloudless beyond that time.

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 729 blades for active, low-light fish

**Area vic 091 -snap-jigging for schooled whites on channel wall w/ 3 progressively shallower short hops as clouds built back in

**Area 745 to channel break – multiple flatline passes for 1-2 fish per pass for 10+ passes

**Area vic 077 – 2 drum after skies cleared

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

Fishin’ With His Grandpa Mike — 38 Fish @ Stillhouse

March 24th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday morning I welcomed U.S. Army retiree Mike Fagan and his grandson, Nathan Houston (age 11) aboard for a morning of white bass fishing on Stillhouse Hollow. Mike’s mom, Dee Heffernan presented this trip to Mike as a gift back before Christmas 2018.

Mike served both as a trainer and as a mechanic while in the military and now is working in a second career as a hydraulic lift mechanic for Altec aerial devices commonly seen in use on cable TV and phone company vehicles. Nathan is a student in the Florence Independent School District and is playing center field and pitching for his baseball team.

The two have fished together regularly, so, Nathan was more advanced than most 11-year-olds when it came to casting, retrieving, playing fish, etc., which certainly helped today.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: 11-year-old Nathan Houston and his grandfather “Papa” Mike Fagan with a few of the 38 fish we landed on a grey, breezy early spring day on Stillhouse Hollow. The fish on the far left of the photo went over 14″.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: 23 March 2019

HOW WE FISHED: We spent most of our first 2.5 hours in water shallower than 22 feet mixing it up between slabs fished vertically and bladebaits cast horizontally with the slabs producing better than the blades. Our last 2.5 hours were spent over deeper, 34′ water in a segment of river channel working bottom-oriented and suspended fish with slabs assisted by Garmin LiveScope. Bottom-oriented fish were definitely easier to tempt than were suspenders today. Helpful bird action existed most of the first 5-hours following sunrise.

OBSERVATIONS: Fishing bounced back a bit today over yesterday’s tough situation. Fish fed moderately and steadily throughout the morning, helped by the low light extended by cloud cover. The most notable observation today was the speed at which I saw suspended fish moving in that there was a noticeable uptick, which I’m sure relates to the water temperature climbing to its highest thus far this season. Despite these fish moving quickly, I also noted that these suspended fish were much more difficult to tempt than fish coming in on bottom, and were also more difficult to tempt than slower suspended fish have been in the past few weeks when temperatures were lower.

TALLY: 38 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:25a

End Time: 12:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 0.19 feet high with a 0.10 foot 24-hour drop

Water Surface Temp: 61.6F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE11-13 the entire trip

Sky Conditions: 100% grey cloud cover with just the lightest bit of drizzle on 2 brief occasions

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic SH0092C – first stop under low-light and with minor bird action for active whites in 18′

**Area SH0104C – 2 short hops for shallow, active fish in ~20′

**Area SH0101C – a few fish down in this gut

**Area SH0105C – last 2 hours of fishing came in 5 short hops in this area over the channel for both bottom-oriented fish and moving, suspended fish

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

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE — 18 FISH @ BELTON

March 23rd, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday afternoon I fished with returning guest Steve Stewart of Georgetown, TX. Steve brought two buddies, Jerry Weathers and Jimmy Helm, with him. The three men have been friends since boyhood, all originally coming to know one another through the church they attended as boys and still attend to this day. All are “actively retired”, either still engaged in the work they once did full time, and/or engaged in other pursuits requiring effort and energy.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jimmy Helm, Steve Stewart, and Jerry Weathers, each with a Lake Belton freshwater drum on this evening that did not give up either quantity or quality of white bass for us.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip was a multi-species fishing trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 22 March 2019

HOW WE FISHED: Thanks to yet another morning which was forecast to be calm, clear, bright, and cool (and, in hindsight, was exactly that), I checked if all three men might be able to make an afternoon trip instead, as we were to have better winds, higher temperatures, and more cloud cover, all of which typically improve the fishing.

We did see those favorable conditions develop, but the bite was very slow this afternoon. Despite the presence of gulls and terns, we never once saw an instance of them flocking over a patch of water to feed on gamefish-driven bait. We also never found (on sonar) more than just a handful of fish at any given area. The fish we did find typically did bite, but, once we landed 2 or 3, the gig was up and we had to move to keep our strings stretched.

In the end, we landed bigger and better drum than we did white bass or hybrid, so, to commemorate the trip, we took a photo with what we had on hand — I think they call that improvising.

Interestingly enough, I compared notes with a fellow guide who fished Decker Lake today. He reported just a single bite while fishing from before sunrise to after 2pm there. He had reached out to others in his network who reported slow fishing on Buchanan yesterday, as well. Then, as I stopped at a local gas station to top off after the trip, I spoke with a fellow angler who had been fishing in the Lampasas River for spawning white bass. He said the most anyone caught of there was 6 or 8 fish. He had also touched base with some buddies, one of which had fished Texoma and the other Lake Whitney. They, too, told him the fishing was poor.

I don’t know what accounted for this. I suppose if we understood fish as well as we wished, we’d have exploited them to the brink of extinction by now, so, a little uncertainty is probably a good thing now and then!?!

OBSERVATIONS:

TALLY: 18 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:15p

End Time: 7:45p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 69F

Elevation: 0.34 feet high with a 0.06 foot 24-hour drop

Water Surface Temp: 60.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE11-13 the entire trip

Sky Conditions: 60-70% grey cloud cover

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area B0007

**Area B09145C

**Area 1856

**Area vic B0106C

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