2025 Fishing Reports

8- and 11-year-old “Army Brats” Land 117 Fish in 3.5 Hours

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS:  On the morning of Thursday, April 10, I fished the third Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) trip of the 2025 season. Joining me were the children of Staff Sergeant Michael Gilman. SSG Gilman is in the US Army stationed at Fort Cavazos, and is currently away from his family at a National Training Center rotation in Fort Irwin, California, in preparation for a forthcoming deployment.

With Mrs. Jessica Gilman essentially a single parent to their five kids (with a sixth on the way), SKIFF was able to give her a little bit of a break by taking her oldest two  fishing today . Michael Gilman, age 11, and his sister, Zoey, age 8 were enthusiastic anglers and fast learners (not to mention just a bit competitve).

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

 

DATE: Thursday, 10 April 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING:  02 June (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 14 June (AM)

 

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:   Although we were targeting white bass, anything that eats shad will eat a shad-imitating lure.  The Gilman kids landed these handsome blue cats on 3/4 oz. silver Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs.

PHOTO CAPTION:  Soon after sunrise, a few birds led the way to some white bass forcing shad to the surface.  This helped us put our first few fish in the boat as Michael and Zoey would go on to capture a total of 117 fish in just 3.5 hours.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

We begin our trip at 7:15 AM and fished for exactly 3 1/2 hours. During that time these two landed a total of 117 fish including white bass, largemouth bass, and blue catfish. 100% of the fish caught today were taken on the silver, three-quarter ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slab fished using a smoking tactic.

Essentially, the kids let the lure to the bottom and cranked it upwards while watching GARMIN LiveScope for fish response. If their lure did not get chased, they allowed it to return to the bottom, and if their lure did get chased, they kept right on cranking until the fish either turned away or overtook their lure and struck it. I helped the kids stick to the correct speed using my fish-attracting thumping device as a metronome.

The annual shad spawn began again today after a hiatus of four days due to an unseasonably cold cold front cooling everything down after it blasted through this past Saturday and Sunday.

RESULTS:  117 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the silver 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab exclusively to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. Threadfin shad spawn resumed after a four day pause due to a harsh cold front 5-6 April.
  2. Minor, but helpful, bird activity in the first 35 minutes following sunrise.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:20AM on Thursday, 10 April

0 feet 62.9F
5 feet 63.1F
10 feet 62.9F
15 feet 62.9F
20 feet 62.9F
25 feet 68.2F
30 feet 62.6F
35 feet 61.4F
40 feet 60.6F
45 feet 59.4F
50 feet 59.4F
55 feet 59.0F
60 feet 58.0 F

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Wednesday, 02 April…

0 feet 65.6F
5 feet 65.6F
10 feet65.6F
15 feet 65.5F
20 feet 65.1F
25 feet 64.9F
30 feet 64.4F
35 feet 63.1F
40 feet 62.0F
45 feet 60.9F
50 feet 57.8F
55 feet 57.6F
60 feet 57.4F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 10:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 3.05′ low

Water Surface Temp: 62.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  S7-9 all morning, letting up around 10:15A

Sky Condition: Cloudless, light blue skies all AM

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 95% illumination.

GT = N/A

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 0363 – 3 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 748 – 57 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1733 – 4 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 097 – 37 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area vic 098 – 16 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

California Breakin’ — 241 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: On Wednesday morning, April 9, I fished with three generations aboard. U.S. Marine Corps veteran Richard Smith was accompanied by his son-in-law, James Bliss, and James’ son, Bradley. The Bliss family is visiting Central Texas for their kids’ spring break from San Diego, California.

Everyone had prior fishing experience, and today’s conditions were very good, so the potential for a very productive outing was definitely there.

DATE: Wednesday, 09 April 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING:  30 May (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 31 May (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:   From left:  Richard Smith, James and Bradley Bliss worked silver, 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs for 4+ hours and amassed a catch of 241 fish, all caught and released.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

We experienced a strong bite from start to finish today fishing mainly 22 to 26 feet deep with the entire trip conducted using silver, three-quarter ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs fished vertically using a smoking tactic.  Although this tactic seems quite simple on its face, there are some definite nuances which I introduced my crew to as we fished at our first two locations. They just got better and better with each fish caught where speed control, and reaction to a strike were concerned.

Winds started off at around 11 mph from the south and gradually crept up to around 16 mph. Although we had no cloud cover, this wind really kept the fish biting aggressively. It was not uncommon to have fish follow a lure 12 or more feet from the bottom before overtaking and striking it.  Twice during the trip James landed two fish on his slab at a time — one on the treble and one on the stinger.

When we wrapped up at around 11:30, my three man crew’s count stood at 241 fish landed, including largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, and white bass. Birds were not a factor for our fishing today, although a fellow angler let me know he had fish under birds in the first 30 minutes following sunrise on another segment of the lake.

RESULTS:  241 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the silver 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab exclusively to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. Threadfin shad spawn was still paused due to 3 days of cold front-impacted weather.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Wednesday, 02 April…

0 feet 65.6F
5 feet 65.6F
10 feet65.6F
15 feet 65.5F
20 feet 65.1F
25 feet 64.9F
30 feet 64.4F
35 feet 63.1F
40 feet 62.0F
45 feet 60.9F
50 feet 57.8F
55 feet 57.6F
60 feet 57.4F

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:

Elevation: 3.05′ low

Water Surface Temp: 63.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  S11 at trip’s start, building to S16-17 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Cloudless, light blue skies all AM and PM

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 90% illumination.

GT = 55

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 0363 – 24 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0202C – 25 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0203G  – 11 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 748 – 87 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 097 – 53 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area vic B0013C – 41 fish on live shad

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Flippin’ Fish in the Boat — Better than Flippin’ Houses? — 191 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This past Tuesday morning (and evening), I fished a full day trip with Justin Milam and Jason Hamilton.  Justin recently bought a barge in the Northpoint Marine cove and wanted to see some different approaches to fishing for various species on Lake Belton.  He and Jason work together “flipping” real estate.  This morning we fished for white bass under birds early and then mixed in some live shad fishing targeting hybrid.  In the evening, we fished artificials only and actually did better than in the morning, thanks to a consistent SSE wind.

DATE: Tuesday, 08 April 2025 (AM & PM)

NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING:  30 May (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 31 May (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:   From left: Justin Milam and Jason Hamilton with a few of the mature white bass taken on a combination of live bait and artificials from out of ~30′ this morning, the first day of returning south wind following an unseasonably cold cold front.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

I left things alone for three consecutive days as a major, wet cold front blew thru from late Friday through late Sunday, then leaving clear, calm, cold post-frontal conditions in its wake on Monday.  I knew this would zap the shad spawn until at least Wednesday, so, I got back to fishing today as the south wind returned.
We enjoyed some early, low-light bird activity just after sunrise as ringbilled gulls and laughing gulls worked bait pushed to the surface in about 30-35 feet of water by aggressive white bass below.  This lasted about 45 minutes then settled down before reigniting about 75 minutes later.
In the lull, I went out to even deeper water, searched for bait on certain bottom topographies, and fished live shad in an attempt to catch hybrid striped bass.  I normally do not begin fishing for hybrid with live shad until April 14th, and I let Justin and Jason know we were a bit early, thus making them “guinea pigs” where this fishing was concerned.  The livebait fishing went well — we caught fish very consistently, including white bass, short hybrids, largemouth bass, and some bonus bluecats 18-22 inches long.  Still, we did not land any hybrid of legal size.
As we live bait fished, I kept an eye on the area where we’d found bird action earlier.  Once it reignited, we returned to it and caught more white bass, all on a “smoked” silver, 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab used in conjunction with a splasher and Garmin LiveScope.   This lasted about 35 minutes.  When it ended, we fished live bait once again through 11:15, resulting in additional white bass, short hybrid, and bluecats.  So ended our morning session with 79 fish landed.
The afternoon portion of this trip actually was more productive than the morning, greatly aided by a consistent south-southeast wind blowing at 5 to 9 mph all afternoon. At just about every location I checked, I was able to find large schools of white bass hugging the bottom which then responded well to a smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab cranked directly up off the bottom at a pretty good clip. We hit six areas and put a total of 112 additional fish in the boat, including white bass, hybrid striped bass, blue catfish, and largemouth bass, for a grand full-day total of 191 fish.
At the second to last area we fished we spotted some light, brief topwater action with 3-4 gulls briefly descending on it, but, this quickly dissipated.  Regardless, it revealed fish location and allowed us to take 10 fish on MAL Heavy Lures worked with a sawtooth method.

RESULTS:  191 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the silver 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs, and MAL Heavies (w/ chartreuse tail), to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. Light but helpful bird action with ringbill gulls and terns in our first 45 minutes
  2. Threadfin shad spawn paused due to 3 days of cold front-impacted weather.
  3. No legal hybrid showing up in our catch yet; and white bass are definitely caught more efficiently with artificials than with bait right now.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Wednesday, 02 April…

0 feet 65.6F
5 feet 65.6F
10 feet65.6F
15 feet 65.5F
20 feet 65.1F
25 feet 64.9F
30 feet 64.4F
35 feet 63.1F
40 feet 62.0F
45 feet 60.9F
50 feet 57.8F
55 feet 57.6F
60 feet 57.4F

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A, then 3:30PM

End Time: 11:20A, then 740PM

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 40F AM, then 80F PM

Elevation: 2.98′ low

Water Surface Temp: 61.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSE0-4 all morning, then SSE5-9 all afternoon with occasional light gusts

Sky Condition: Cloudless, light blue skies all AM and PM

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 84% illumination.

GT = 100

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

AM

Area vic B0026G – 17 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1205 – 21 fish on live shad

Area vic 1506  – 15 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0245G – 8 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area vic 081 – 18 fish on live shad
PM

Area vic 081  – 30 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1544 – 9 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area vic 1740 –  13 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area vic B0191C – 38 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area vic 1733 – 10 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area 097 – 12 fish smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

The Bite Moves Shallow — 225 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS:  This past Friday morning, April 4, I fished with a returning crew of three. Joining me were Kelvin Gladden and his two sons, Kelvin and Tevin. The elder Kelvin is a retired U.S. Army noncommissioned officer now residing in Harker Heights, TX. The Gladden family and some of their friends have been out with me on numerous occasions in all seasons, and on both Stillhouse Lake and Lake Belton.

There was a question mark hanging over today’s fishing in the form of a very uncertain weather forecast. The Gladdens wanted to go even in the rain, so we waited right to the last minute to ensure no hail or lightning was going to threaten during our four hour trip, and once it became clear that those were not a thread, we donned raingear, and it was all systems go.

DATE: Friday, 04 April 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING:  14 May (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 17 May (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:   From left: Kelvin, Tevin, and Kelvin Gladden with Lake Belton white bass they endured four hours of rain and drizzle for.  The fish hit both Hazy Eye Slabs worked vertically, as well as MAL Heavy lures worked horizontally, all in under 25 feet of water.

 

  

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

We fished five areas this morning, finding abundant fish at four of them. We started and ended our trip vertical jigging in between 20 and 25 feet of water using the silver, three-quarter ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab. During the middle two hours of this trip , we found fish lightly schooling on the surface thanks to some sparse bird activity. The birds got me close, and sonar helped me find the spot on the spot.

Since these fish were schooled up in many small schools all around the boat, we went with a horizontal tactic, using the sawtooth method with the MAL Heavy lure (silver blade chartreuse).

This was the second day I have observed topwater schooling action by white bass forcing adult shad to the surface, although this morning’s action did not compare in duration or intensity to what I observed yesterday under warmer, brighter, calmer conditions .

When all was said and done, this crew of three landed exactly 225 fish, including one freshwater drum, one largemouth bass, six short hybrid striped bass , and 218 white bass.

Not a single fish came from water deeper than 25′, as the annual threadfin shad spawn has drawn all gamefish up shallower over the past several days, aided by overcast conditions keeping the sun’s direct rays from penetrating into this shallow water.

RESULTS: 225 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the silver 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs, and MAL Heavies (w/ chartreuse tail), to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. Light but helpful bird action with ringbill gulls and terns.
  2. Threadfin shad spawn continues.
  3. Light topwater action for second consecutive day.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Wednesday, 02 April…

0 feet 65.6F
5 feet 65.6F
10 feet65.6F
15 feet 65.5F
20 feet 65.1F
25 feet 64.9F
30 feet 64.4F
35 feet 63.1F
40 feet 62.0F
45 feet 60.9F
50 feet 57.8F
55 feet 57.6F
60 feet 57.4F

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 2.90′ low

Water Surface Temp: 64.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  WNW7-8

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover for the entire trip with bouts of rain and drizzle

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 46% illumination.

GT = 15

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1579 & B0225G – 32 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0390G – 74 sawtoothing MAL Heavy Lures

Area vic B0391G – 25 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0392G – 104 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

C’mon, Man … It’s Throwback Thursday (for the Three Wise Men)! — 152 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Thursday, April 3, I welcomed three brothers aboard – – Steve, Dave, and Tim Wise – – they called themselves The Three Wisemen (I kid you not)!

These brothers have fished their whole lives from the salt waters of Florida to the tannic waters of Minnesota.  They all recounted fond memories of the outdoors and of their dad, who is now in his 90s.  Dad sends the boys an “I’m Still Alive” text each day.  Today’s, shown below, was quite appropriate.

DATE: Thursday, 03 April 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING:  12, 14 May (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 17 May (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  The Three Wise Men, from left:  Steve, Dave, and Tim holding a few of the 152 fish they landed on a balmy, overcast spring morning on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION:  The “Three Wise Men’s” dad sent them this daily “I’m Still Alive” text.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Dave and Steve have fished with me on a number of occasions in the past, and this was Tim‘s first time to join us. When I asked how come Tim had never joined his brothers aboard my boat previously, he admitted that he really just likes to sleep in.
We had calm, humid, cloudy, springtime conditions today, and although we lacked a bit in the wind department, the gray cloud cover did help keep a bite going from start to finish today.
We started the trip in about 20 feet of water fishing for white bass, which had pushed spawning shad up against a windblown bank. Because the shallows are so full of sticks and other debris which grew up on the land during the past several years of drought, casting into water much shallower than 6 or 7 feet is pretty fruitless due to snagging.
For this reason, I moved us out into slightly deeper water so we could use vertical tactics instead. I equipped everyone with a silver, three-quarter ounce Bladed Hazy Eye slabs, got everyone familiarized with how to follow the rise and fall of their bait and fish response to it on Garmin LiveScope , and we were off to the races. We fished two areas over the span of our first two hours and put a total of 50 fish in the boat.
Right around 9:15 AM, the very light southeast breeze stopped and a breeze just slightly east of north began to ripple the surface. The skies grew darker, the air felt heavier, and the light of misty drizzle began to fall. This little tweak in the weather spurred what would be an hour and 30 minutes of near constant topwater action (the first of the year)!
White bass were driving adult shad to the surface in between 16 and 20 feet of water. As the action was getting started, the visible surface feeding was sporadic, so I put MAL Heavies with chartreuse tails on for everyone and the fish just started flying in the boat. Once the schooling got heavier and more consistent, I put clear Spook Juniors on for everyone and we had a sight-fishing fiesta for a solid hour. Once the action went past peak and I could see more fish in the lower half of the water column than in the upper half as I viewed sonar, we went back with the MAL Heavies and fancast.
When this began to wrap up, we had put 151 fish in the boat. Within 20 minutes of wrapping up I offered we could continue casting and catching fish that way, or roll the dice, leave fish to find fish, hoping for some really big post-spawn fish in deep water. The fellows, whose wrists were hurting at this point,  decided the change of pace would be nice, so we made that gamble, went to deep water, but only picked up one more fish as the winds went flat calm once again and the morning bite died for good.

RESULTS: 152 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the silver 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs, MAL Heavies (w/ chartreuse tail), and Spook Juniors to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. First bird action with laughing gulls involved YTD.
  2. Threadfin shad spawn continues.
  3. First topwater action YTD.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Wednesday, 02 April…

0 feet 65.6F
5 feet 65.6F
10 feet65.6F
15 feet 65.5F
20 feet 65.1F
25 feet 64.9F
30 feet 64.4F
35 feet 63.1F
40 feet 62.0F
45 feet 60.9F
50 feet 57.8F
55 feet 57.6F
60 feet 57.4F

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 2.91′ low

Water Surface Temp: 64.6F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  SE7 at trip’s start, dying to calm at 2-hour mark, then picking up ENE3 before going calm again by 10:50.

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover for the entire trip.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 35% illumination.

GT = 85

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic B0194C – 29 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 363- 4 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 097 – 8 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs (2 hops)

Area vic 031/B0074G – 110 fish sawtoothing MAL Heavies and working Spook Juniors on topwater
Area vic 150 – 1 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

 

 

 

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Rained On, Blown On … Fish On!! – 106 Fish with the Hunts

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS:  This morning, Wednesday, April 2, I fished with returning guests, Brandon and Wendy Hunt. I always enjoy hosting this very outdoorsy couple and comparing notes on our latest Central Texas exploits in the outdoors.  Besides that, they follow Christ, own and love dogs, and eat lots of meat, so we have a bunch in common!

DATE: Wednesday, 02 April 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING:  10, 29 April (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 03 May (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Brandon and Wendy Hunt got windblown and rained on, but they also got a bunch of fish today — 106 in all, while fishing silver, 3/4 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs vertically in 16 to over 40 feet of water.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Weather was a bit of a concern today with the high winds that ramped up yesterday afternoon continuing into the first hour of this morning‘s trip before tapering off. Still, the winds remain sufficiently high to move the water and allow for solid angling opportunities, and the gray cloud cover was icing on the cake. We did endure about an hour long drizzle just prior to wrapping up around 11:30.

The entire time the wind blew hard, we were able to find fish, but not interested, aggressive fish which we could catch with any consistency. Whatever happened in the weather that caused the winds to relent, that same thing served as a trigger for the fish to begin feeding.  With only six fish in the boat after our first hour on the water, we quickly made up for lost time boating exactly 100 additional fish in the three hours followed. Being a strong believer in the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.“ I kept right on using a smoking tactic with the silver, three-quarter ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab. We used this tactic in as little as 16 feet of water and in as much as 40 feet, and it worked equally well regardless.

Well tuned sonar was the key to finding fish today, as there was no bird activity, and any shad spawning activity which existed was masked by the high winds pounding the shoreline during that lowlight period in which the spawning typically takes place.

When all was said and done, the Hunts landed 106 fish, including one small largemouth bass, three short hybrid, and 102 white bass.

RESULTS: 106 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the silver 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs exclusively to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. No bird action.
  2. Threadfin shad spawn continues to build.
  3. Strong winds coincided with a weak low-light bite this morning; as the winds died down to 13-15mph, the bite began late in the 8 o’clock hour.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00AM on Wednesday, 02 April…

0 feet 65.6F
5 feet 65.6F
10 feet65.6F
15 feet 65.5F
20 feet 65.1F
25 feet 64.9F
30 feet 64.4F
35 feet 63.1F
40 feet 62.0F
45 feet 60.9F
50 feet 57.8F
55 feet 57.6F
60 feet 57.4F

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F

Elevation: 2.95′ low

Water Surface Temp: 64.6F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  SE7 at trip’s start, slowly building to SE12

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover for the entire trip.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 15% illumination.

GT = 90

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1579 – 6 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 097- 44 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0193C – 22 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs (2 hops)

Area vic 579 – 5 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area vic 098 – 24 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area B0171G – 5 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

 

 

 

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

A Cold Shoulder, Followed by a Warm Reception — 137 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS:  This morning, Tuesday, April 1, I fished with returning guests, Rob Pasichnyk and his friend Ralph Owen. The two gentleman fished with me previously on a mid-summer morning trip after Lake Belton had stratified. This morning‘s trip was quite different both in terms of the locations we searched for fish, and in the way we went about catching them.

DATE: Tuesday, 01 April 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING:  10, 29 April (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 12 April (AM)

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Ralph Owen and Rob Pasichnyk with a few of the 137 fish they landed in a solid spring bite fueled by a returning south wind.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  Occasionally such thick schools of white bass came by that it createcd competition amongst individuals.  Such behavior resulted in a “double” — two fish caught on one lure at the same time for Rob on the 3/4 oz. silver Bladed Hazy Eye Slab!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

The big story today was the returning south wind, accompanied by grey cloud cover and warm overnight temperatures.  This caused a total about face versus the stubborn, cold-front influenced bite we experienced yesterday.

The annual threadfin shad spawn is now taking place and, in those areas where shad are spawning heavily, there is a low light, shallow water bite by white bass and hybrid striper following the hundreds of thousands of shad which migrate from deep water to shallow water each morning to spawn.

Just as was the case yesterday, we took advantage of that movement of fish into shallow water, and put 35 fish – – a mix of whites and hybrid – – in the boat in under an hour. Although there were fish up shallow to be caught, because of flooded terrestrial vegetation which grew up during the drought  is now submerged, getting snagged happens routinely while casting into water less than about 9 feet in depth. For this reason, I targeted fish in more than 16 feet so we could fish vertically for them instead.

We used the silver, three-quarter ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab and the splasher to draw fish in and keep them under the boat.  Rob and Ralph used a smoking tactic to retrieve their lure from up off the bottom through fish appearing on Garmin LiveScope, anticipating those fish would overtake and strike the lure.  We ended up the trip fishing in ~36 feet of water.

We stuck with this approach all morning, simply moving gradually deeper as the skies brightened and the schools of threadfin shad move further from shore and closer to the lake’s bottom. When all was said and done these two fellows landed a total of 137 fish, including a mix of white bass, hybrid striped bass, largemouth bass, and crappie.

RESULTS: 137 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the silver 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs exclusively to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. No bird action.
  2. Threadfin shad spawn continues to build.
  3. Areturning S. wind following a one-day cold front scenario turned the fishing back around positively

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F

 

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10AM on Friday, 21 March…

0 feet 60.1F
5 feet 60.3F
10 feet 60.1F
15 feet 59.4F
20 feet 58.9F
25 feet 58.6F
30 feet 58.2F
35 feet 57.8F
40 feet 57.5F
45 feet 57.1F
50 feet 56.3F
55 feet 56.0F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F

Elevation: 2.95′ low

Water Surface Temp: 64.6F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  SE7 at trip’s start, slowly building to SE12

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover for the entire trip.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 15% illumination.

GT = 55

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1579 – 35 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 097- 70 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0138C – 33 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 574 – 4 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

 

 

 

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

That Cold Front Cold Shoulder — 67 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS:  This morning, Monday, March 31, I fished with a crew of friends, all in Austin-area law enforcement. Coordinating the trip was longtime client Joey Sapien. Joining him for the first time were Dave Boatright, Cody Jones, and Mark McKinney.

DATE: Monday, 31 March 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING:  08, 10, 22 April (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 12 April (AM)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Buddies in law enforcement — Joey Sapien, Mark McKinney, Cody Jones, and David “Boat” Boatright.  When I asked Joey, who coordinated the trip, who he was bringing with him, he told me Mark’s the younger one, Cody’s the shorter one, and David’s the older one!  This crew landed 67 fish working Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically under tough cold front conditions.

 

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

A cold front, which moved slowly in yesterday, creating some turbulent weather ahead of it, left us with leaden gray skies, a brisk north wind at 13+ and an overnight temperature which fell to 57F and did not warm up substantially until well into the trip.

We did well at the beginning of this trip and we did well at the end, but the middle was pretty soft.

The early bite in shallow water and under low light conditions was fueled by the strengthening shad spawn now taking place lake-wide. And the success we enjoyed at the end of the trip was driven by skies which were starting to clear, warm, and brighten.

It’s not that we were not able to find fish. We found scattered, small handfuls of fish just about everywhere we looked, but, they would fire up for all of four or five minutes, allow us to catch a handful, then they would shut down – – not move off, just shut down.  They could still be clearly seen on LiveScope and would occasionally halfheartedly chase, but would not aggressively pursue, overtake and bite.

We fished one way with one lureall morning that was using a slow smoking tactic with my thumper doubling as a metronome to help everyone keep a good retrieve speed while using the silver, three-quarter ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab. I began switching over to this larger, more flashy slab as I saw the shad spawn begin building last week.

We put 20 fish in the boat in our first 40 minutes, just 14 additional fish in the boat in the two hours which followed, and 33 fish in the boat in just under our final hour on the water.

RESULTS: 67 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the silver 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. No bird action.
  2. Threadfin shad spawn is building.
  3. An overnight cold front put a dent in the fishing

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F

 

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10AM on Friday, 21 March…

0 feet 60.1F
5 feet 60.3F
10 feet 60.1F
15 feet 59.4F
20 feet 58.9F
25 feet 58.6F
30 feet 58.2F
35 feet 57.8F
40 feet 57.5F
45 feet 57.1F
50 feet 56.3F
55 feet 56.0F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:40A

End Time: 11:40A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 2.90′ low

Water Surface Temp: 63.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  N13 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover for 3 hours, with partial clearing to 90% cloud cover by trip’s end

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 8% illumination.

GT = 85

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic B00194C – 20 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1815- 6 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1624 – 4 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 0499 – 4 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs
Area vic 0150 – 18 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0022C – 15 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

 

 

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Good Golly, Miss Molly!! — 111 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This past Friday afternoon, March 28, I fished a mother – son trip with Molly and Michael Chandler.

One of Molly‘s coworkers presented her with a to redeem it in celebration of Michael’s 12th birthday happening on March 29.

We were originally scheduled to go this morning, but nearly 2 inches of sorely needed rain Fell right up until we launched, after which the weather cleared nicely to about 30% cloud cover and cooling, drying conditions.

DATE: Friday, 28 March 2025 (PM)

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING:  08, 10, 22 April (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 05 April (AM)

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  Molly Chandler and her 12-year-old son, Michael, waited out the rain this past Friday and made an evening trip out with me on Lake Belton.  They used 3/4-oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (white color) to land 111 fish including this 19.25″ hybrid striped bass.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:   Lots of mature white bass, some spawned-out, and others yet to spawn, were in the 111-fish catch, as well.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Fishing was pretty straightforward this afternoon as Molly and Michael enjoyed the best quality catch I’ve seen come out of Belton since I began fishing it early this month.  The adult fish they landed consisted of both spawned-out fish and fish which have yet to spawn.

The pair used only one lure with one technique to land 111 fish this evening. That was the white, 3/4 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab used with a slow-smoking tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope. I initially used the thumper in order to help Molly and Michael with the correct retrieve speed as the thumper doubled as a metronome.  After they got the hang of retrieving at the correct speed, I switched over to the splasher, because I have begun to observe spawning shad activity which frequently brings fish up off the bottom more routinely than during the winter months.

I normally default to the 5/8-ounce slab through the winter months, but, with fish now increasingly willing to chase, and after observing multiple fish this week with large threadfin shad tails protruding from their gullets, I decided to upsize, and that choice worked out well.

Included in their 111-fish catch were 3 largemouth bass, 3 short hybrid, 1 legal hybrid, and 104 white bass up to 14.5 inches.

RESULTS: 111 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used the white, 5/8 & 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and the MAL Original with chartreuse tail to catch our fish this trip. Find all MAL Lures and Hazy Eye Slabs here: https://whitebasstools.com/

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. Two instances of helpful bird activity this evening.
  2. Best catch made on Belton YTD so far as quality is concerned.
  3. We saw the greatest 1-week temperature jump of the spring YTD this past week, with surface temps going from 60.1 to 67.2.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F

 

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10AM on Friday, 21 March…

0 feet 60.1F
5 feet 60.3F
10 feet 60.1F
15 feet 59.4F
20 feet 58.9F
25 feet 58.6F
30 feet 58.2F
35 feet 57.8F
40 feet 57.5F
45 feet 57.1F
50 feet 56.3F
55 feet 56.0F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:10P

End Time: 7:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 69F

Elevation: 2.88′ low (slight rise)

Water Surface Temp: 65.8F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  SE8-10 all afternoon

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover w/ lite rain at start of trip, steadily clearing to 30% clouds by trip’s end

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 1% illumination.

GT = 60

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

 

Area vic B0022C – 55 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1286/B0152G – 8 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 714 – 14 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 098/150 – 11 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1012  – 13 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 0150 – 10 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

 

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Storm’s a-Brewin’ in the Background- 67 Fish

by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS:  This morning, Thursday, March 27, I fished a multi-generational trip for four. Joining me was John Krska, his son-in-law, Leo Estramadura, and Leo’s two kids, Liz (age 17), and Cameron (turning 12 tomorrow). The Estramaduras were in visiting from California.

John bid on a gift certificate I had donated at the request of Mrs. Shirley Stephenson with the Salado Area Republican Women’s organization some time ago.

Although the forecast for rain this morning was present, I checked multiple forecasts and felt we would be able to get a full four-hour trip in and not get soaked in the meantime.  We (pretty much) did.

DATE: Thursday, 27 March 2025 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING:  04, 08, 10 April (AM) 

NEXT OPEN DATES FOR SONAR TRAINING: 05 April (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION:   From left: John Krska, Liz, Leo, and Cameron Estramadura with sunshine ahead of them and a storm a-brewin’ in the background.  Fishing peaked just as the light rain began this morning around 10:30AM.  We scooted as what you see in the background began to develop around 11:40.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

This morning’s fishing was a lot like yesterday’s in that the fishing was negatively impacted by heavy gray cloud cover in the first 90 minutes following sunrise. It has been during this time that a shallow water bite had reliably been taken place, but that was not the case these past two days. I saw some scattered fish in shallow water early and we cast MAL Originals to them, landing a total of five before I set that aside and continued on with the rest of the trip out in deep water fishing vertically.

Liz was not feeling all that well and only grabbed a rod for a short periods, so John, Leo, and Cameron were doing the bulk of the fishing and catching. I had them all use white, 5/8 ounce, Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs.  I used my thumping device to draw fish in and also used it as a metronome to help them retrieve at an appropriate cadence as they brought their lures up off the bottom. Garmin LiveScope played an important part as well, letting them know when their lures were getting chased so they could continue reeling upwards.

Although the vertical fishing provided us with a steady catch, there was a definite spike of activity just before and during a light rainfall event of ~20 minutes in length, beginning around 10:30A.

When all was said and done, my three (and a half!) anglers wound up with 67 fish, including four short hybrid stripers, one blue cat, and 62 white bass.

RESULTS: 67 fish, all caught and released

 

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

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial 

 

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

 

OBSERVATIONS:

  1. No helpful bird activity this morning.
  2. I saw the first spawning threadfin shad this morning.
  3. We saw the greatest 1-week temperature jump of the spring YTD this past week, with surface temps going from 60.1 to 67.2.

 

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

This is the most up-to-date water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10 AM on Wednesday, 26 March…

0 feet 67.2F
5 feet 67.2F
10 feet 66.3F
15 feet 63.1F
20 feet 61.2F
25 feet 60.1F
30 feet 59.4F
35 feet 58.9F
40 feet 58.6F
45 feet 57.8F
50 feet 57.4F
55 feet 57.2F

 

This was the previous water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:10AM on Friday, 21 March…

0 feet 60.1F
5 feet 60.3F
10 feet 60.1F
15 feet 59.4F
20 feet 58.9F
25 feet 58.6F
30 feet 58.2F
35 feet 57.8F
40 feet 57.5F
45 feet 57.1F
50 feet 56.3F
55 feet 56.0F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:35A

End Time: 11:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 69F

Elevation: 2.94′ low (slight rise)

Water Surface Temp: 66.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  SE5-9 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover all morning w/ ~20 minutes of light rain beginning ~10:30A

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 11% illumination.

GT = 100

 

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic B0171C  – 5 fish sawtoothing MAL Originals

Area vic 412 – 9 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 1675 – 2 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0391G (two hops) – 33 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic 082  – 7 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

Area vic B0082G  – 11 fish slow smoking Hazy Eye Slabs

 

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle