SOLDIERS’ KIDS INVOLVED IN FISHING FUN (SKIFF) – 70 FISH @ LAKE BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Thursday morning, December 7, I ran a SKIFF trip for Mr. Nick Stowman, and his son, Mordecai.

Nick is a bona fide disabled combat veteran who was injured multiple times when vehicles he was in were struck by IED‘s (improvised explosive devices) as he served as a scout in the U.S. Army. Nick served 4 1/2 years.

Mordecai, age 13, is one of three siblings, and the most “outdoorsy” of the three.

ABOUT SKIFF:  This fishing trip, like all SKIFF trips, was provided to this military family at no charge.  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, namely The McBride Foundation and Subaru.  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 Cavazos in Bell County, TX, year ’round.  Call or text 254.368.7411.

Here is how the fishing went…


Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are Dec. 13 & 14

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  Mordecai Stowman came up with our largest fish of the trip.  This 5.25 pound hybrid striped bass was one of nine legal hybrid we took under the best weather conditions we’ve had for fishing in quite a spell.

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  U.S. Army veteran Nick Stowman with one of the chunky hybrids he and his 13-year-old son landed.  These fish were gorging on 3.25″ long threadfin shad.

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: When the hybrid action settled down, we turned out sights on white bass and had to visit only two areas to stay in plenty of action as we “slow-smoked” Hazy Eye Slabs to catch these bottom-hugging fish.

 

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 07 Dec. 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

We finally had some weather I could get excited about today. We had a balmy south wind return, taking temperatures into the 60s by the end of our four hour trip after a 46° start. We also were blessed with gray cloud cover all morning at approximately 90% coverage.

Birds worked long and hard this morning and were present, at least sporadically, from 7:50 AM through our wrap-up at 11 AM.  We used downriggers to fish below the most aggressive bird activity and were rewarded with nine legal hybrid striped bass as we trolled using number 13 Pet Spoons on one three-armed umbrella rig, and number 14 Pet Spoons on the other.

When the bird activity waned, we reverted to what has been standard operating procedure now that the water has dropped below 60° – that is slow smoking vertically with a Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (white, 5/8 oz.). We used these slabs in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope, and found the fish more responsive than at any point in the last two weeks.

We had to hit only one location to take our 44-fish count up to 70 before calling it a day right at 11 AM.

Here is a tutorial on the smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 70 fish caught and released.

 

OBSERVATIONS:  The water temperature profile measured on 07 Dec., was:

0 feet, 60.4F
5 feet, 60.4F
10 feet, 60.4F
15 feet, 60.4F
20 feet, 60.4F
25 feet, 60.4F
30 feet, 60.3F
35 feet, 60.3F
40 feet, 60.1F
45 feet 59.8F
50 feet, 59.6F
55 feet, 59.4F

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 46F

Elevation: 15.68 feet low, 40 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 58.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE10-13

Sky Condition: About 90% grey cloud cover all morning

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 29% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:    

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area 1205 thru 1275 – 44 fish downrigging #13/14 Pet Spoons, incl. 9 legal hybrid

Area 1549 – 26 white bass smoking white, 5/8 oz. Bladed 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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec

AN EXTREME CASE OF BEGINNER’S LUCK — 44 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, July 17, I fished with mother-daughter team Julee and Claire Manley .

This trip was a Mother’s Day gift from Claire to her mom.
 
Both ladies are local folks, having grown up here in Central Texas. Claire recently began working in the medical field as a certified physician’s assistant after graduation from Texas A&M, and Julee, a University of Mary Hardin-Baylor grad, has been an educator for many years now, now serving as a public school principal
 
Neither lady had ever fished before nor had any prior experience with baitcasting gear nor spinning gear, so job number one was to get them trained up.
 
Here is how the fishing went…

—————————————————————————————————–

Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are July 31 & August 21 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: That’s Julee Manley and her daughter, Claire Manley, cashing in Julee’s most recent Mother’s Day present — a fishing trip with her daughter the day before Julee heads back to work as a public school principal.

PHOTO CAPTION: Claire experienced an extreme case of beginner’s luck this morning landing three sets of triples — three fish at the same time on a single 3-armed umbrella rig!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 17 July 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

Overall, the fishing this morning was a good bit tougher than that which I experienced on Belton last week. There was no lowlight/sunrise topwater action, and very little such action at any other point in the morning.

The topwater action, although inconsistent, sure does make things easier, as you know both exactly where the fish are, and that they are aggressively feeding.

Lacking that, we had to more slowly comb over areas using sonar. When I found fish, we either downrigged for them if they appeared scattered, or Spot-Locked and began using a sawtooth method with white-tailed MAL Heavy Lures if they were more tightly grouped and on or near bottom.

We managed to put together a fair catch by constantly alternating between the downrigging technique and the sawtooth method. By the time the fish began to shut down around 10:10, the ladies had landed a total of 44 fish, including 3 hybrid striped bass (all short), 2 freshwater drum, and 39 white bass, all of which were of legal size.

TALLY: 44 fish caught and released.

See a tutorial on the Smoking Method here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on the Sawtooth Method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

Find the entire family of MAL Lures  here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: Much reduced topwater activity this morning, with next to no activity right at first light/sunrise, all in stark comparison with the first half of last week.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:15A

End Time: 10:35A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 79F

Elevation: 14.45 feet low, 56 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 84.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSW8-9 thru 9A, then bumping up to SSW11-13

Sky Condition: 0% cloud cover cover

Moon Phase: New moon at 0% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT:   That brown, flat line at 0% in the third segment down in the graph below is our chance of precipitation; unfortunately, it stays flat until midday Sunday.

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area vic 814 – downrigging for scattered, small schools of white bass in low-light conditions with fish at 16′ deep and balls set at 10-13.

Area vic B0030G – downrigging w/5′ bottom tracking in 20-30′ leading to use of sawtooth method to capitalize on what we’d found

Area vic B0031G – downrigging w/5′ bottom tracking in 20-30′ leading to use of sawtooth method to capitalize on what we’d found

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec

WE WERE ON THE RIGHT “TRACK” — 106 FISH, MAL HEAVY LURES

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, March 27, I fished with first time guests Levi and Brant Bybee. This father-and-son team drove about two hours south from near Azle, TX, where they normally fish on Eagle Mountain Lake to link up with me at 7:45 AM for a morning spent in pursuit of white bass.

Levi, originally from Missouri, retired from a career with the railroad, and Brant is now 28 years into a railroad career of his own.  We were definitely on the right “track” this morning after the skies brightened up and the wind started to blow and got the fish into a feeding mood.

Here is how the fishing went…

————————————————————————–

Peak spring dates are just about gone.  Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are April 13 (PM), May 15 (AM), 30 (AM), 31 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Brant Bybee of Azle, TX, landed our best fish of the trip.  This solid, 19-inch hybrid took an MAL Heavy with chartreuse tail as he cast it out and counted it down 6 seconds before retrieving.

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Father-and-son team Levi and Brant Bybee scored a 106-fish morning working baits both vertically when the fishing was slower, and horizontally when birds and sonar indicated fish were more aggressive.

PHOTO CAPTION:  This is what caught all of our quality fish today.  The MAL Heavy with chartreuse tail was counted down 6 or 8 seconds and then retrieved straight back through fish pushing shad to the surface.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 23 March 2023 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

Fishing followed a normal, bell-shaped curve this morning, with a slow first hour, a plateau of peak activity in the middle two hours, and a gradual slowdown in the final hour. During the first hour fish were tight to the bottom and at first we had to entice them with the white, 5/8 ounce bladed Hazy Eye Slabs.

With the water now once again above 60°, the fish began to respond well to the commotion we made with the thumper. We found these fish would pull up off bottom and would suspend about 6 to 7 feet away from bottom. These fish were more aggressive than those remaining on bottom, and responded well to a smoking tactic with a MAL Heavy Lure (chartreuse tail). By the end of our first hour we had landed 20 fish, but most of these fish were small.

The middle two hours started as I spotted about 15 gulls working along a 100 yard stretch of shoreline with some timber sprinkled along it. As we drew closer, I could see shad popping out of the water trying to escape the whites beneath them, and the occasional swirl of a white bass on the surface. We threw MAL Heavies with chartreuse tails to these fish, using a countdown method, and found letting the lure drop to a six-count after it hit the water and then retrieving it straight back to the boat made for a very effective presentation. We took an additional 40 fish in this matter, all of which were solid 12 to 13 inch fish.

After this action died, I did not immediately spot any birds, and so went back to using sonar to find fish. I found a group of several hundred bottom-dwelling white bass and the fishing that ensued was much like that in the first hour, although the fish were more aggressive. We caught them equally well on slabs and MALs worked vertically. Although this fishing was productive, about half of these fish were undersized. We left these fish still biting with 20 landed after I spotted more bird action.

As we approach these birds, we found much the same scenario as we had at the previous location under birds. This group of fish was in a bit deeper water, and so we experimented with eight, nine, ten, and twelve counts after the cast to get our lures to optimum depth. We found an eight-count worked best and stayed on these fish until we landed a total of 24 and Levi and Brent decided to call it a good morning around 11:30A.

Our tally totaled 106 fish with one largemouth, bass, one short hybrid, one legal hybrid, and 103 white bass caught and released.

TALLY: 106 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: After hitting 60F+ a few weeks back, the water surface temperature dropped back below the 60F mark up until this past weekend.

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 55F

Elevation: 14.26 feet low, 24 CFS flow, .01′ fall over the last 24 hrs.

Water Surface Temp: 62F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW8 all morning

Sky Condition: 90% white-grey cloud cover.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 35% illumination.

GT = 35

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

Area B0014C/B0192C – 20 fish (most small) on smoked slab/MAL Heavy

Area 0154 – 42 quality fish under birds taken by counting down MAL Heavies

Area 0149/0151 – 23 fish, mixed size, on smoked slab/MAL Heavy

Area 0403 – 10 fish, mixed size, on smoked slab/MAL Heavy

Area B0068C – 11 quality fish under birds taken by counting down MAL Heavies

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec

WATER TEMPS ON A DOWNHILL SLIDE — 98 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, 22 November, I fished with returning guest Mike Tomberlin, accompanied by his sons, Josh and Sean, and by Mike’s friend, Donna.  This was Donna, Josh, and Sean’s first time aboard with me.  The trip was in celebration of Josh and Sean’s forthcoming birthdays.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Sean, Donna, Mike, and Josh with a portion of their take as we pursued Lake Belton white bass under cool, grey conditions with cooling water.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED:  Tuesday, 22 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

As much as I hate to say it this early in November, I think we’ve moved “past peak” on the fantastic fall white bass fishing which, in some years, has held on through late December.  This long downward slide we’ve had on water temperature ever since the Veterans’ Day cold front tore through has cut 4-5 degrees from the surface temperature in just over a week and the fish certainly haven’t taken a liking to it.

I noted that even when we were at peak feed times today with fish driving bait close enough to the surface to interest the birds, the fish were not moving with the speed and agility that I saw just a week to ten days ago.  Corresponding with this was an increased number of “refusals” on our baits where fish either outright ignored the baits, or, followed half-heartedly a few feet and then gave up.

I’m sure things will rebound a bit when fish get used to the “new normal” if/when we get some stable and/or warming weather, but a rapid cooldown like we are now experiencing never helps.

Still, we managed a 98 fish outing, but everyone had to stay on their game for the entire time to make that happen.

We used MAL Originals with white tails the entire trip, fishing them vertically with a smoking tactic.  I did try a slab now and then, but the fish weren’t any more or less interested in that than the spinner.

When all was said and done, this crew landed 98 fish including 1 legal hybrid, 9 short hybrid striped bass, 2 largemouth bass, and 86 white bass.

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

TALLY: 98 fish caught and released

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

OBSERVATIONS: 1) 6th consecutive trip helpful bird activity.  Birds active 8:30 – 9:50A today.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 43F

Elevation: 13.42 feet low, 0.03′ fall in last 24 hours, 40 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 60.9F

Wind Speed & Direction:  Calm with fog for first hour, SSE4 for middle 2 hours, NNW3-4 for last hour

Sky Condition: Solid grey sky all morning with light fog in the first hour.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 3% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

B0167G through B0052G – whites on slope under birds

Area vic 151 – under birds

Areas B0013C/1543/966/967/715/1544 – under birds

Area B0102C/B0042C – after bird activity ended

 

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

BEGGING TO GO – 119 FISH

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

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

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

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

HOW WE FISHED:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TALLY:  119 fish caught and released

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

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

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time:  11:35A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

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

Water Surface Temp: 77.1F

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

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

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 92% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:  

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

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

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

Area B0154G – 6 fish via smoking MAL Dense Lures

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

 

 

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

HAVE GRANDKIDS; WILL FISH — 82 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Tuesday, August 9th, I fished with long-time client Steve Niemeier who rarely steps aboard without at least one grandchild in tow.  As we recollected today, we figured we’d shared at least 13 years’ worth of trips together, beginning with his grandson, Caleb, who began fishing with me at age 4, and will graduate high school at the end of the upcoming school year.

Today, Steve brought along two other grandsons, Oliver (age 10) and Henry (age 13), along with their dad, Andrew.  Andrew and family were down for just shy of a week’s visit from the suburbs of Chicago.

My next open date will be on August 23rd.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: Henry, Steve, Oliver, and Andrew Niemeier with the results of the one and only “quadruple” we landed today when everyone landed a fish at the same time on the MAL Dense Lures.  With the water being so hot and the fish so deep, they simply will not survive more than ~2 minutes in the livewell, so, I don’t hold fish for photos from June until after turnover.

PHOTO CAPTION: Henry took the big fish prize for the morning.  This 4.25-pound largemouth hit Henry’s MAL Dense Lure worked vertically.  It chased the lure up off bottom in 42 feet of water.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 09 August 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

About the only change in variables today versus Monday was wind — we had at least a 6-8 mph wind right up until ~10:15 this morning and encountered biting fish as a result.  Now, mind you, it is still summertime and the fish were far from “on fire”, but most every time I saw a fair number of fish congregated together on sonar and stopped on them, we caught at least a few.

One very common element the past 10 days or so has been for these fish we find to get really fired up as we make our initial 5-10 drops of the MAL Lure, but the “simmer down” very quickly thereafter.  Anticipating this now, I adjusted my approach and simply stopped fishing and moved once this decline in interest kicked in.  This meant we moved a lot today.  Sometimes, it meant simply moving a few boat-lengths with the trolling motor only; other times we packed up and ran.

Our best “window” came between 9:30 and 10:20 during which time my four anglers landed 45 of their 83 fish, all in one location, and just before the wind died right about 10:30.

Once the wind died, the bite died with it, allowing us only 9 more fish at our final 2 areas fished.

Fishing the MAL Dense with chartreuse tail has been hard to beat, although I’ve found that when we’re on flatter bottom terrain and the side-imaging shows fish to the port or starboard, the fish seem more likely to strike on a sawtooth method than with a vertical presentation.  Several times we fished vertically until that initial display of interest ran its course, then switched over to fishing horizontally, thus allowing us to catch fish even after the vertical presentations quit producing.

The smoking tactic we used is demonstrated here (skip to 2:26): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

The entire family of MAL Lures is found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY:  82 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:  Temperature profile as measured with a Fish Hawk TD:

0 feet 85.9F
5 feet 86.8F
10 feet 86.8F
15 feet 86.8F
20 feet 86.5F
25 feet 85.1F
30 feet 84.8F
35 feet 84.8F
40 feet 78.9F
45 feet 73.3F
50 feet 67.9F
55 feet 63.9F
60 feet 61.4F

 WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:50A

End Time:  11:10A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 79F

Elevation: 8.06 feet low,  0.06′ fall in last 24 hours, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 85.9F

Wind Speed & Direction:  S6-8 for 3.25 hours, then going slack for balance of trip

Sky Condition: Cloudless, pale blue skies

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 90% illumination.

GT = 35

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area SH0207G – MAL Dense Lures smoked for 8 fish

Area SH0218G – MAL Dense Lures smoked for 2 fish

Area SH0209G – MAL Dense Lures smoked for 3 fish

Area SH0124CG – MAL Dense Lures smoked for 15 fish (w/2 short hops)

Area 889/867 – MAL Dense Lures smoked for 45 fish

Area SH0219G – MAL Dense Lures smoked for 9 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)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

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SPRING BREAK 2022 – TRIP #2 w/ George, Geoff, Kaden, & Greg – 200 Fish

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Tuesday, March 15th, I fished with returning guests George VanRiper, his adult son, Geoff, Geoff’s 11-year-old son, Greg, and Kaden Howley, another of George’s grandsons, age 13.

I was excited to fish with this crew today as a mild, dry cold front blew in and wind speed was on the rise, which normally leads to excellent fishing.  This morning was no exception!   My crew of four landed exactly 200 fish in just over 4 hours’ time.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on March 30th and April 4th thru 7th.  Weekday mornings are always best.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  From left: George and Greg Van Riper, Kaden Howley, and Geoff Van Riper.  All 200 fish these fellows caught came on the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (5/8 oz. in white), fished with a slow-smoking tactic.

PHOTO CAPTION:  Eye, Eye, Eye!  One of the features on the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab is the black “false eye” on the hook-end of the lure (as well as a small, spinning willowleaf blade, and a stinger hook).  The size of the lure and the eye on it are just-right imitators of the threadfin shad these fish are feeding upon.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday (AM), 15 March 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

Right around 5p yesterday evening, a line of storms advanced from W. to E. over Central Texas as a mild cold front moved in.  Overnight, the atmosphere cooled and dried, leaving a cloudless, windy weather setup this morning.  Despite this being a “cold front”, the morning temperature was actually 6 degrees warmer than the previous morning’s low, so, although we still had to dress for the weather, the fishing was pretty comfortable.

We started out in deeper, clearer water than we did yesterday, due to the lack of cloud cover.  I felt some of the deeper areas would be well-lit thanks to a bright sunrise, and they did.

We found our first school of fish in about 37′ and landed 48 fish there.

We wound up fishing four areas, catching a majority of our fish (133 to be exact) at our second stop.

We added 11 fish at our third stop, and rounded the trip out with a final 8 fish at our last stop.

The bite really tapered off around 11AM.  By that time we’d landed 181 fish, and decided to give it another 45 minutes to see if we could make or break that 200 fish mark.

Every last one of our fish came on the white,  5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab fish with a slow-smoking tactic.

We caught exactly 200 fish this morning, including 13 freshwater drum, 4 short hybrid striped bass, and 183 white bass.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures are found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 200 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:  We fished the frontal “weather window” which exists during daylight hours from the time the storm front passes, and until northerly winds reach peak velocity and plateau.  The fish were definitely turned on!

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 54F

Elevation: 3.24 feet low, 0.00′ change in last 24 hours, 30 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 51.9 F

Wind Speed & Direction:  WNW14 at sunrise, slowly increasing to NW19-20 by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: Blue bird

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 91% illumination.

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT: 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas vic B0118C, B0178C, 1934, & B0009C

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

TRES HERMANOS — MUY FRIO — 71 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH:  On this cold, rainy Monday, January 24th, I fished with three of the four Fullerton brothers – Ian (age 12), Josh (age 10), and Christian (age 7), on what was the 2022 season’s second SKIFF trip.

The boys’ dad, U.S. Army Chaplain Derrick Fullerton, is currently deployed to Europe; we’d been talking about putting this trip together since well before he departed.

Since the boys mom, Karen Fullerton, homeschools all four of her boys, their schedule is flexible.  When I saw low pressure weather moving our way and moderate temperatures accompanying that weather, I reached out to see if the older boys could make it.

SKIFF is an acronym for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun. It is a program now in its 13th year, sponsored by the Austin Fly Fishers, and supported by individuals and entities, all of whom desire that kids separated from a parent by that parent’s military duty, be given an opportunity to experience the outdoors through fishing during that time of separation, free of charge.  The program offers a time of respite for the home-front parents who may need a short break from single-parenting.  Reservations for SKIFF trips may be made by phoning or texting 254.368.7411.   Children must be 5 years of age or older.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on January 31st and February 2nd.  Weekday mornings are always best.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Josh, Ian, and Christian Fullerton endured very tough weather conditions to put together a mixed bag of 71 fish, including white bass, hybrid, largemouth, and drum.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday (AM), 24 January 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

What a crazy weather scenario! Meteorologists began calling for a chance of rain today as far back as last Thursday, but, with each passing day, the chance of rain and the forecast accumulation grew less and less.

As I left the house, there was between 31 & 61% chance of rain over the 4 hours I’d be with the boys, and only 7/100th of an inch accumulation called for.  Well, you guessed it — we had a cold, continuous rain the entire morning with air temps starting at 50 and falling to 48 by 11AM.  We got more than a half-inch of rain!

The boys were true troopers and so eager to catch fish I just didn’t want to let them down.  Their mom told me as she dropped them off that this trip had been the topic of conversation for a few days, and that the boys were in no way difficult to rouse this morning.

We endured a dark, wet, cold first two hours, landing only 5 fish during that time.  With the boys all wet to the skin, we took a warm-up break with all 4 of us huddled in the single cab of my truck with the heater blasting on our reddened hands.  Snacks helped get the boys’ mind off the cold and, after about 30 minutes, they were chomping at the bit to get back out again!

Fortunately, although a light drizzle continued to fall, the skies had brightened and the light SW breeze continued.  Through rain-speckled glasses, I stared at the rain-splattered side-imaging absolutely scrubbing it for any signs of white bass life we could find.  At 10:55, we had a breakthru!

I got on the fish I’d found in 31 feet of water, Spot-Locked on them, got the boys ready for action and our luck instantly changed.  For the next hour and twenty minutes the boys watched their baits descend on Garmin LiveScope into fish piled up on bottom.  As they retrieved their slabs (white, 5/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs) upwards slowly, the fish followed, overtook them, and struck.  We caught white bass, juvenile hybrid, largemouth bass, and freshwater drum.  By making 3 “short hops” in the same general area, we added 66 fish to our tally in that final effort before mom’s minivan pulled up about quarter past 12.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 71 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: The water temperature profile was as follows:

0 feet 53.1F
5 feet 53.2F
10 feet 53.5F
15 feet 53.5F
20 feet 53.5F
25 feet 53.6F
30 feet 53.6F
35 feet 53.6F
40 feet 53.6F
45 feet 53.5F
50 feet 53.2F
55 feet 53.2F
60 feet 53.2F
65 feet 53.2F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 12:15P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  50F

Elevation: 2.8 feet low, 0.02 fall, 34 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 53.1F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SW6-8 all morning.

Sky Condition: Varying degrees of grey with precipitation 100% of the trip

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 62% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 097 – 5 fish early, then B0103C/1614/473 in the last 1.5 hours

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

30 DEGREE START, 80 FISH FINISH — LAKE BELTON, 04 JAN.

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Tuesday, 04 January 2022, I fished with first time guests Clint and Chandler Zimmerhanzel on Lake Belton in pursuit of white bass.

Clint was high bidder on a gift certificate I provided to the Ralph Wilson Youth Club Fall Fundraiser at the Wildflower Country Club & Golf Course in Temple, TX, and today was the day he chose to redeem it.

Clint is a Texas Farm Bureau Insurance agent at their Harker Heights agency (txfb-ins.com).  Chandler, a University of Mary Hardin-Baylor nursing graduate, works in the pediatric intensive care unit at one of our local hospitals.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on January 12th, 17th, & 18th.  Weekday mornings are always best.

PHOTO CAPTION: Chandler and Clint Zimmerhanzel pushed through a 30F start to an 80 fish finish on Lake Belton this morning.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: We landed 11 largemouth in a total catch of 80 fish, which comes to 13+%, all of which were 14-17 inches.  That’s a decent tournament bag on Lake Belton without even trying to catch this species!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday (AM), 04 January 2022

HOW WE FISHED:

Two keys to success this morning: wind & birds.  Despite the recent cold snap, and despite clear skies, the returning south wind (and a good bit of it — up to 14+mph this morning) was enough to trump all of that and get the fish pushing shad all throughout the water column.

When those shad got near the surface, the birds (mostly Forster’s terns today, not gulls) keyed in on them and gave a great visual as to where the fish were.  Still, prudent use of sonar was useful to find exactly where the fish were after birds identified the general proximity.

Due to the winds, and because I wasn’t sure of the the Zimmerhanzels’ experience level, I rigged up with 5/8 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and they turned out to be a good choice.

All of our fish were taken on a slow-smoking vertical tactic in under 34 feet of water.

When all was said and done, we landed exactly 80 fish, including 11 largemouth bass, 7 juvenile hybrid striped bass, 3 freshwater drum, and 59 white bass.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 80 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Despite the cold spike we’ve had since just after sunset on Saturday, the water temperature did not drop drastically, and the fish were still biting well today thanks to a stiff SSE breeze all morning.  Temperature profile was as follows:

0 feet 59.6F
5 feet 59.8F
10 feet 60F
15 feet 60F
20 feet 60F
25 feet 60F
30 feet 60F
35 feet 60F
40 feet 60F
45 feet 60F
50 feet 60F
55 feet 60F
60 feet 59.8F
65 feet 59.8F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  30F

Elevation: 2.40 feet low, 0.03 fall, 34 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 62.1F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSE9 at trip’s start and staying there through 9:30, then ramping up to SSE14 by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: Bright, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 4% illumination.

GT = 75

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1933, 216, 1799, 2052, 840, and 1604 with bird assistance at all but 1604.

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps

A RETURN TO STILLHOUSE — 95 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH:  This morning, Tuesday, December 28th, I spent a full day on the water with returning client Allen Naff of Bertram, TX.  The morning was spent fishing for white bass on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, and the afternoon was spent training Allen on his Humminbird sonar units.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next few openings will be on January 5th & 12th.  Weekday mornings are always best.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Allen Naff and I got into a some magnum white bass on Stillhouse this morning primarily using the 3/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab with a vertical, slow-smoking approach.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday (AM), 28 December 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

The wind and cloud cover were ideal this morning for the first two hours, then the winds slacked off and the skies brightened making things a bit tougher in the last half of the trip.  We ended with a solid run of 20 fish as the wind once again kicked in, rippling the surface and enhancing the bite.

I’ve not fished Stillhouse in several months, and did not intend to until the water temperatures fell below 55F, however, Allen specifically requested we fish Stillhouse as he had recently fished Lake Belton with me and, living in Bertram, wanted an introduction to a body of water a bit closer to him.

I’d hoped to do some scouting before fishing with Allen, but my schedule just did not allow, so, we launched out banking on experience and the power of observation, and, fortunately, those were sufficient today.

Because Allen was interested in a “big picture” of fishing Stillhouse for white bass, as well as getting the most out of his sonar, I moved more frequently than I would have were he just interested in catching fish.  This allowed us to cover more ground, and use the sonar in more fish-finding scenarios.

As soon as a population of fish began to show disinterest, we moved instead of trying to “milk” a few more fish out of the population we’d been fishing over.

The most effective retrieve for us today was a slow-smoking retrieve, and the most effective bait was the white, 3/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.  We used the 3/4 oz. version of this same bait at one location due to depth in order repeatedly get our lures to bottom more quickly when fish were active, but the smaller version definitely drew more interest.

When all was said and done, we landed exactly 95 fish, including 1 largemouth bass, 6 freshwater drum, and 88 white bass.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 95 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Very sparse gull activity witnessed today.  Caught fish in as much as 43′.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:40A

End Time: 12:10P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start:  68F

Elevation: 1.88 feet low, 0.001 fall in last 24 hours, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 62.6F

Wind Speed & Direction:  SSW7 at trip’s start, building to S10 by the second hour, then falling under 4mph in the third hour, and picking back up to 7-8 by trip’s end.

Sky Condition: Fully greyed skies for the first two hours, then thinning and brightening with 80% cloud cover.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 46% illumination.

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 008 – 21 fish on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/8 oz. white) with a few on the MAL Heavy fished with a sawtooth pattern after the vertical bite calmed down.

Area 287 – 18 fish on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/4 oz. white) with a few on the MAL Heavy fished with a sawtooth pattern after the vertical bite calmed down.

Area SH0025C – 9 fish on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/8 oz. white)

Area 720- 5 fish on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/8 oz. white)

Area 0113- 5 fish on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/8 oz. white)

Area 0112 – 5 fish on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/8 oz. white)

Area vic 1888 – 8 fish on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/8 oz. white)

Area vic 0308 – 4 fish on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/8 oz. white)

Area 1535 – 20 fish on a slow-smoked Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/8 oz. white)

 

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

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing #bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport #fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday #Fitec #mepps