2022 Fishing Reports | Fishing Report

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

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WILLINGLY COACHED — 66 FISH @ BELTON

December 31st, 2022December 31st, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Dec. 31st, I fished with Mike and Jenny Splawn of Salado, TX.

The Splawns recently relocated to Salado from El Paso. Mike leads his family’s HVAC business there and Jenny is a pharmacist at a local hospital.

Jenny gifted this trip to Mike for Christmas this year and, as we spoke about goals, she let me know they’d recently bought a bass boat but encountered many of the common hurdles new boat owners face, including lack of familiarity with equipment, challenges in backing, loading, and unloading, and where to start searching for fish of various species. So, she was hoping I could do some coaching/teaching as well as guiding them to catch fish.

My next weekday openings are on 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Jenny and Mike Splawn enjoyed the best morning of fishing since the 22-25 Dec. temperature plunge. They worked 3/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs via a slow-smoking tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope to put together a 66 fish catch in right at 4 hours.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 31 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

With a returning south wind and a mild warming trend, the fishing rebounded a bit today.

We found much more cooperative fish this morning than on any other trip since the cold snap which occurred 22-25 Dec.

With cooperative fish found, we were able to do less searching and hopping around and spend longer whiles atop each group of fish we found.

We used the small, white 3/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab 100% of the time today and used it with a slow-smoking tactic 100% of the time today.

Fortunately, both Mike and Jenny were very willing to be coached and did not really have any pre-existing bad habits (like hard, aggressive hooksetting) to overcome. After getting the hang of things early, they were both able to capitalize on the solid bite this morning.

We saw abundant shad most everywhere we went suspended between 20-30 feet, but the majority of our fish came from 28-34 feet and originated on bottom. We encountered very few suspended fish this morning.

Our tally of 66 fish consisted of 3 largemouth bass, 2 freshwater drum, 1 short hybrid striped bass, 8 short white bass and and 52 legal white bass.

TALLY: 66 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) No helpful bird activity for 5th consecutive trip. 2) On 21 Dec. the temperature profile to 55′ was a constant 58.2F; temperature fell as low as 51.7, then rebounded late this week. This morning we had 53.2 on the surface.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:55A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 43F

Elevation: 13.36 feet low, 0.0′ change in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 53.2F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE winds from trip’s start until around 9:20, then shifting to S and increasing slowly up to ~14 by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: <5% wispy white cloud cover on a light blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 65% illumination.

GT = 60

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 473 – 6 fish

Area 1012 – 46 fish

Area B0054G/B0012C – 7 fish

Area B0185G- 2 fish

Area BG0026 – 5 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

NO SIBLING RIVALRY TO SEE HERE — 36 FISH

December 30th, 2022December 30th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday afternoon, Dec. 29th, I conducted a “Kids Fish, Too!” trip for the grandkids of Mr. Ron Graham.

15-year-old Hannah Dycus and 9-year-old Ian Dycus did all the fishing while Grandpa Ron sat back and took it all in.

Ron retired from the electrical supply business out of western Louisiana some years back, Hannah is a freshman who enjoys cheerleading, and Ian is all about soccer.

These “Kids Fish, Too!” trips are a bit shorter and more economical than a “standard” 4+ hour adult trip.

My next weekday openings are on 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Hannah Dycus landed this deepwater Lake Belton largemouth on a small, 3/8 oz. white, Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.

PHOTO CAPTION: Ian Dycus took this just-legal Lake Belton hybrid striped bass on a very light St. Croix spinning rod intended for fishing my 3/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye slabs with light braid. Needless to say, the tussle lasted longer than he bargained for.

PHOTO CAPTION: Hannah Dycus, Ron Graham (grandpa), and Ian Dycus with a few of the white bass we were targeting in chilly water without the aid of birds.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 29 December 2022 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Ever since our four-day arctic blast on 22-25 Dec. which saw our water temperature plummet by a full 6+ degrees, things have been tough. The fishing had been tedious, and the birds have ceased providing clues to fish location.

Ian kicked things off this afternoon, catching 4 of our first 5 fish, and he brought this to Hannah’s attention pretty routinely for about the first half-hour, but, after Hannah got the hang of things she evened it back up pretty quickly. Ian then changed the subject to his recent visit to Universal Studios!!

Wherever we encountered white bass, they were broken into small groups of up to 20-30 fish or so, with several yards between these small groups. Due to the cold water, these fish would not move to us despite the commotion we created (by thumping and jigging), hence, we had to move frequently.

If there is one lesson learned in this post-chill fishery it is to move frequently. Once fish show signs of disinterest, it is time time to move. These fish, once turned off, will not turn on again any time soon.

We again noted that we’d catch just a few fish, usually in the first few minutes following our arrival, at any given area.

We stuck with the 3/8 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slab all afternoon. That smaller slab just seems to put a few extra fish in the boat when things are tough. I used the thumper as a metronome to help the kids keep the “beat” (the correct retrieve speed for the slabs), increasing and decreasing that speed with observed fish activity, as seen on Garmin LiveScope.

The slow-smoking tactic worked best for fish which were primarily bottom-dwelling today. Whenever fish appeared suspended and moving up higher in the water column, they tended to be eager to chase, but, the total number of fish we sighted like this was low.

Our tally of 36 fish consisted of 2 largemouth bass, 2 freshwater drum, 1 legal hybrid striped bass, and 31 white bass, of which 5 were short.

TALLY: 36 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) No helpful bird activity for 5th consecutive trip. 2) On 21 Dec. the temperature profile to 55′ was a constant 58.2F; temperature is now 52.6F down to that same depth.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1:30P

End Time: 5:20P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F

Elevation: 13.36 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 51.7F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: Winds were 6-8mph all afternoon, starting WSW, then W, then swinging WNW as a mild cool front moved in.

Sky Condition: Grey skies returned following some midday clearing as a very weak cool front moved in during our time on the water.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 44% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 098 – 5 fish

Area B0012C – 11 fish

Area B0186G – 10 fish

Area 081 – 5 fish; second hop, 5 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

THE INFINITY TROPHY GOES TO … JAMES!!! — 40 FISH @ BELTON

December 30th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday morning, Dec. 29th, I fished with Mr. Kyle Everett and his 8-year-old son, James.

Kyle was given a fishing gift certificate for Christmas by his wife, Katie.

Kyle is a U.S. Marine Corp veteran who now works as an accountant and is part-owner of a cabinetry business. James is working his way through the 2nd grade and already shows a mind for numbers.

As we fished, James invented a scoring system based on size and species of fish landed which was more complex than the U.S. Tax Code and which, when all was said and done, ensured that he would emerge the victor of the fishing contest he ‘imposed’ on his father. This system further ensured James would take away not just first place, but something better than first place, which was “infinity place”.

My next weekday openings are on 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: James Everett and his dad, Kyle, landed four species of fish while we targeted white bass on Lake Belton. Largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, and drum also fell for the small, 3/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab worked vertically this morning.

PHOTO CAPTION: White bass like these from the 2021 year class made up the majority of our catch this morning. The body condition on these fish looked very good.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 29 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Ever since our four-day crash-course in cryogenics on 22-25 Dec. which saw our water temperature plummet by a full 6+ degrees, things have been tough. The fishing had been tedious, and the birds have ceased providing clues to fish location.

We again noted that we’d catch just a few fish, usually in the first few minutes following our arrival, at any given area.

We stuck with the 3/8 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slab all morning. That smaller package just seems to put a few extra fish in the boat when things are tough. Many largemouth anglers “go finesse” under tough conditions, and this approach seems to be valid with white bass, too.

Our tally of 40 fish consisted of 3 largemouth bass, 2 freshwater drum, 1 legal hybrid striped bass, and 34 white bass, of which 2 were short.

TALLY: 40 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) No helpful bird activity for 4th consecutive trip. 2) On 21 Dec. the temperature profile to 55′ was a constant 58.2F; temperature is now 52.6F down to that same depth.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:55A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F

Elevation: 13.36 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 51.7F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm winds for first 2 hours, then S6-7 thereafter.

Sky Condition: Grey skies with the lightest shroud of fog persisted for ~2 hours, with rapid clearing to 40% mixed white/grey clouds on blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 44% illumination.

GT = 60

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 473 – 3 fish

Area 151 – 9 fish (2 hops)

Area 1551 – 16 fish

Area B0173G – 11 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

THEY WORKED FOR EVERY LAST FISH — 50 FISH @ BELTON

December 28th, 2022December 28th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, Dec. 28th, I fished with John Wilson and his college-aged son, Jared.

John oversees the operation of Baylor Scott & White’s pharmacy operations, and Jared is in his first year at Oklahoma University in Oklahoma City.

John first learned of my guide service through his Bible study class at a local Church of Christ fellowship, led by a long-time client of mine, Mr. MJ Linder.

My next weekday openings are on 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: John and Jared Wilson spent some father-and-son time in search of white bass while Jared was on Christmas break from Oklahoma University in Oklahoma City, OK.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday, 28 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Once again we faced pretty tough conditions this morning with cold water, yet another total lack of bird activity (third consecutive trip), and a lull in weather between fronts.

Wherever we encountered white bass, they were broken into small groups of up to 30 fish or so, with several yards between these small groups. Due to the cold water, these fish would not move to us despite the commotion we created, hence, we had to move frequently.

We again noted that we’d catch just a few fish, usually in the first few minutes following our arrival, and we would then experience a sharp decline in interest. Again, the solution here was to move frequently.

I experimented with all three sizes of Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/8, 5/8, and 3/4 ounce). While the white bass did not refuse any of these slabs, the 3/8 oz. wound up producing best, but also took a lot of time to reach bottom when we fished in over 34′ or so.

The slow-smoking tactic worked best for fish which were primarily bottom-dwelling today. We did find that dead-sticking with jigheads and soft plastics worked well for suspended fish IF they were not moving parallel to the bottom. As usual, the Garmin LiveScope was a tremendous aid in knowing when and where to present our baits, especially concerning suspended fish.

We had 41 fish in the boat by the time the standard 4-hours had passed. With John and Jared’s permission we stayed an extra hour shooting for the 50 fish mark and finally eclipsed that just after 1P.

Our tally of 50 fish consisted of 1 largemouth bass, 5 freshwater drum, and 44 white bass, of which 4 were short.

TALLY: 50 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) No helpful bird activity for 3rd consecutive trip. 2) On 21 Dec. the temperature profile to 55′ was a constant 58.2F; temperature is now 52.6F down to that same depth.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8A

End Time: 1P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 41F

Elevation: 13.36 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 51.6F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: S7 at trip’s start, steadily ramping up to S18 by trip’s end with occasional higher gusts.

Sky Condition: High, thin white cloud cover at 60% on a light blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 33% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1815 – 3 fish

Area 150 – 12 fish

Area vic 714 – 7 fish

Area 2062 – 11 fish

Area 1943 (2 hops) – 9 fish

Area 1126 – 8 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

BOBBY & THE BOYS — 77 FISH @ BELTON

December 27th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This evening, Tuesday, Dec. 27th, I fished with Mr. Bobby Golding III and his two sons Bobby Golding IV, and Billy Golding.

Bobby III, a U.S. Army veteran, has worked for many years at an industrial supply business in Temple, Bobby IV is a Tech Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Florida where he works with aircraft-based weapons, and Billy is a heavy equipment mechanic working for a construction firm in Austin.

Bobby owns his own (very nice) Bass Cat bass boat, but doesn’t chase white bass routinely. He just wanted to make sure his sons “got their strings stretched” and to spend some time with the both of them while they were home for the holidays, so, I was honored that he called on me to help with that.

We were originally scheduled for this past Saturday, but the frigid weather forced a rescheduling.

My next weekday openings are on 03 – 05 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Bobby Golding III, Bobby Golding IV, and Billy Golding, each with 2 of the 77 fish they landed under tough conditions brought on by the recent, rapid cooling of Lake Belton.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 27 December 2022 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

We faced pretty tough conditions this afternoon with yet another total lack of bird activity.

We found fish were scattered, and that some fish had moved up to depths as shallow as 24′.

Even where we found concentrations of fish, those fish were in multiple, distinctly separated groups of perhaps 12-30 fish each.

Fish would generally get interested in our presentations immediately, allowing us to catch a few fish, then they would shut down fairly quickly. Having seen this routinely this winter, I knew we needed to move on to find new fish as soon as the slowdown occurred.

We used white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs the entire trip using a slow-smoking tactic and Garmin LiveScope. Of the first 51 fish we caught, only 1 white bass was short, however, of the final 26 fish we landed, only 4 were of legal size.

When all was said and done the Goldings landed 77 fish including 1 short hybrid striped bass, 5 largemouth bass, 2 freshwater drum, and 69 white bass, of which 23 were short.

TALLY: 77 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) No helpful bird activity for 2nd consecutive trip. 2) On 21 Dec. the temperature profile to 55′ was a constant 58.2F; temperature is now 52.6F down to that same depth.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1:00P

End Time: 5:00P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F

Elevation: 13.35 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 51.8F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE5 at trip’s start, peaking at SSE12 by 4P, then settling back to SSE6 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: High, thin white cloud cover at 40% on a light blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 33% illumination.

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0022C – 8 fish

Area B0075C – 7 fish

Area vic B0063G – 7 fish

Area B0159G – 7 fish

Area B0173G – 8 fish; second hop – 7 fish

Area 1291 – 33 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

Better Than Talbot’s Parking Lot! — 60 Fish @ Lake Belton

December 26th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, Dec. 26th, I fished with brother Steve and David Weaver. David lives near Florence, TX, and makes his living as a veterinarian. Steve and his wife drove in from the Gulf side of Florida where he retired recently from a career in law enforcement.

This was my first trip since the great temperature slide brought on by a multi-day arctic blast which hit Central Texas on Dec. 22nd.

I let Steve and David know we had the deck stacked against us with such a rapid cooling of the water over such a short span of time, but, as Steve put it, “It’s still better than waiting in the Talbot’s parking lot,” referring to the alternative of chauffeuring his wife around to post-Christmas sales.

My next weekday opening is on 03 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Steve Weaver (left) and his brother, David, landed 60 fish on this first trip I’ve conducted since the water temperature plummeted starting on 22 Dec.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 26 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

A few of the adjustments I’ve learned to make over the years when the bite gets tough due to rapidly falling water temperature including downsizing my baits and making use of snap-jigging, if necessary. Fortunately, the water temperature is still above 50F, so, I did drop down to 3/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs, but we were still able to catch fish by slowly “smoking” these baits steadily upwards off bottom in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.

Things were pretty tough until the wind kicked in around 10:10A. When the breeze finally materialized, it ramped up to WNW12 right away. The fish responded within about 12-15 minutes of the start of the wind.

We encountered both bottom-oriented and suspended fish at just about every location we fish, and, generally speaking, we caught more fish when we focused on presenting the slabs very precisely to those suspended fish. They were simply more aggressive and willing to follow further and overtake the rising slabs.

Our final area fished was the most productive and came after we’d had the longest period of wind moving the water.

We kept on fishing this area until we hit the 60 fish mark so I knew we’d at least landed a legal limit of white bass (50 fish over 10″) even though it meant staying out a bit longer than usual. As long as the fish stayed active, I felt we had a chance, and, since the fish started late thanks to the late-developing wind, we had fish continuing to flare up with aggression past 12:30P.

When all was said and done, Steve and David landed exactly 60 fish including 2 short hybrid striped bass, 2 largemouth bass, 3 freshwater drum, and 53 legal white bass with our two largest whites going right at 13.50 inches.

TALLY: 60 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) After 21 consecutive trips being aided by gulls in finding fish, this morning there was no helpful bird activity. 2) On 21 Dec. the temperature profile to 55′ was a constant 58.2F. Here is what the pre-dawn temperature profile looked like following the recent chill:

0 feet 51.7F
5 feet 52.5F
10 feet 52.6F
15 feet 52.6F
20 feet 52.6F
25 feet 52.6F
30 feet 52.6F
35 feet 52.6F
40 feet 52.6F
45 feet 52.6F
50 feet 52.6F
55 feet 52.3F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:40A

End Time: 12:40P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 26F

Elevation: 13.34 feet low, 0.02′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 51.7F

Wind Speed & Direction: just rippling from WNW until 10:10A, then quickly picking up to 12mph

Sky Condition: Clear, bluebird skies

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 23% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1386 – 6 fish

Area BG0026 – 9 fish

Area 1205 – 4 fish

Area 1141 – 8 fish

Area 1548 – 7 fish

Area 953 – 26 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

21 DEC. 2022 SUMMARY PLACEHOLDER – 37 Fish

December 22nd, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

Fished only 3 of 4 hours with Charles and Gilda C. and their 14-year-old grandson whose parents did not want to appear/be mentioned on social media.

Landed 37 fish on Lake Belton. Wrapped up early as clients were under-dressed for 49-51F weather.

Fish were temperamental all afternoon until ~3:40p when birds began to work. We took our count from 22 fish to 37 fish in a matter of minutes, but by then the family was too cold to continue.

Found fish at:

B0171C thru B0173G

B0186C

B0005G

120/1373 under birds

THE LULL BETWEEN THE FRONTS

December 21st, 2022December 21st, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 20th, I was joined by long time client Steve Niemeier, accompanied by his granddaughter, Macy Fowler, who is a veteran of many trips with me, as well.

Steve and I put this trip on the books when he knew he’d be able to take his grandkids out fishing during their Christmas break from school, but, neither of us had a crystal ball for weather when we did so. As it turned out, the weather was just so-so — a day stuck in the middle between fronts and one on which the fish were neither truly fired up nor completely turned off.

My next weekday opening is on 02 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Steve Niemeier and his 14-year-old granddaughter, Macy Fowler, with a few of the white bass they worked for on this cool, grey day in between fronts.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 20 December 2022 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

The bird activity today (the 21st consecutive fishing trip during which I’ve enjoyed helpful bird activity) mimicked the fish activity — both came in brief spurts spread across the afternoon with one final, hard feed right before dark.

Our approach was to take advantage of the bird action when it existed, not so much to fish under the birds, but to use them as an indicator as to the general location of fish and bait. Once the birds got us close, we closed the deal with sonar, relying mainly upon side-imaging looking for large groups of bottom-oriented fish instead of the aggressive, suspended fish up near the surface which the birds were focused on.

When the birds quit, we relied exclusively upon sonar. Things were tough when the birds were not flying, as the reason those birds quit feeding was because the fish below them quit chasing aggressively. In this regard, the birds were truly a barometer of fish activity.

We fished with white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs all afternoon until we got into fish under a heavy flock of birds right at last light. The birds fed so closely to the boat that I could see with great detail the size of the shad they were plucking from the water. This caused me to bump Steve and Macy’s slabs up to the 3/4 oz. size to more closely match the adult threadfin shad the fish and birds were feeding on.

As it grew darker, the fish up closer to the surface were by far much more likely to strike our presentations than those down lower in the water column. So, using Garmin LiveScope, I encouraged Steve and Macy to try to single out specific fish and to time the rise of their lure to pass right off the tip of these fishes’ noses by observing the direction the fish were swimming, This tactic accounted for multiple fish in our final 30 minutes of fishing.

As the fish quit roughly 10 minutes after the final bird activity of the day faded, Steve and Macy had landed a total of 55 fish, including 4 short white bass, 1 short hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and exactly 49 legal white bass.

TALLY: 55 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 21st consecutive trip with helpful bird activity. 2) Temperature profile to 55′:

0 feet 58.2F
5 feet 58.2F
10 feet 58.2F
15 feet 58.2F
20 feet 58.2F
25 feet 58.2F
30 feet 58.2F
35 feet 58.2F
40 feet 58.2F
45 feet 58.2F
50 feet 58.2F
55 feet 58.2F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1P

End Time: 5P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F

Elevation: 13.17 feet low, 0.00′ change in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 58.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW12 all afternoon

Sky Condition: Fully greyed skies all afternoon

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 5% illumination.

GT = 45

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1177 – 15 fish

Area 970 – 4 fish

Area 1152- 6 fish

Area 1177 – 13 fish

Area 1270 to 976 – 17 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

INCREDIBLE BEGINNER’S LUCK STREAK — 58 FISH

December 19th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Sunday afternoon, Dec. 18th, I conducted the 2022 season’s 15th SKIFF trip for military kids separated from their parents by their parents’ military duty.

Joining me this afternoon was Michael Gilman III. His dad, Michael Gilman Jr., is a U.S. Army Sergeant who served previously in the U.S. Marine Corps. In all, SGT Gilman has served for 11 years. He is currently deployed to Europe as part of a Field Artillery unit. The Gilman family is from south Georgia.

Mrs. Jessica Gilman, the homefront parent, towed her other three kids, all younger than Michael, with her to and from our meeting site in order to make this opportunity become a reality for her son. The Gilman’s heard of SKIFF through Mrs. Denise Igo’s Ft. Hood Area Events Facebook page.

Although Michael had gone fishing before, he’d never caught a fish, nor had he ever been on a boat.

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: Talk about beginner’s luck!! Michael had never fished before, nor been on a boat before. During his 3.5 hour SKIFF trip, he landed (from left) a 19″ hybrid striped bass, a 3.00 pound freshwater drum, a 2.875 pound largemouth bass, a 4.75 pound blue catfish, and a mess of nice white bass, all on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Sunday, 19 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

I normally don’t fish on Sundays, but, with cold and/or wet weather forecast for the week ahead, and a pending request to get 8-year-old Michael out on the water, I wanted to fish with him while the water and the air were still warm. If this coming Thursday’s cold front pans out as forecast, we likely will not see water the temperature it is now until well into March.

I had my work cut out for me this evening with an 8-year-old who had never landed a fish nor been on a boat. Fortunately, Michael was very enthusiastic and willing to be coached in order to enjoy success.

I kept it simple by just working a white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab vertically through fish we found both under birds and/or on sonar.

We enjoyed about an hours’ worth of strong bird action. This allowed Michael to gain experience through repetition as he hooked (and also missed) fish. This also gave me an opportunity to point out small adjustments he could make in his technique to improve, one at a time. By the time the birds settled down, he was fishing very well and was then able to take on the tougher conditions we experienced as the fish became less aggressive as (obscured) sunset approached.

Michael and I fished side-by-side as we watched Garmin LiveScope and landed a total of 58 fish including 1 legal hybrid, 1 short hybrid, 2 drum, 2 largemouth bass, 1 blue catfish, and 51 white bass.

TALLY: 58 fish caught and released

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 20th consecutive trip with helpful bird activity.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 2:00P

End Time: 5:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 54F

Elevation: 13.17 feet low, 0.03′ fall in last 24 hours, 24CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 58F

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE10 all afternoon

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover all afternoon

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 29% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

B0169G to B0120C – 16 fish

B0184G – 10 fish

B0186C – 20 fish

BDH008 – 12 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