Fishing Report | Holding The Line Guide Service

Post-frontal Fishing … Again! — 41 Fish @ Belton

April 13th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, April 12th, I fished with long-time clients affiliated with Pride of Texas Irrigation & Landscaping, including the owner, Justin Pride, former employee and friend Brian Badour, and business associate Ricky Guenat of the Pulte Group. The trip was coordinated by Rob Ramey, an employee of Pride of Texas; Rob couldn’t make it because his step-daughter made it to the finals in high school soccer and the family headed to McAllen to watch her play (where they won 12-1!!!).

PHOTO CAPTION: Justin Pride, owner of Pride of Texas Irrigation & Landscaping, with a sweet Lake Belton largemouth bass that took a large, live threadfin shad in 41 feet of water.

PHOTO CAPTION: Despite the post-frontal conditions, the east wind blew hard enough, long enough to stir up a bit of white bass action right around 11:15am. We landed 31 fish in our final hour or so on the water. The fish responded to smoking and then snap-jigging as we used 3/8 oz., white Hazy Eye Slabs/Stingers.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multispecies trip in which we used both artificial and live baits.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 12 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED:

After a great morning of pre-frontal fishing yesterday, this morning we awoke to post-frontal conditions. Yesterday’s NW winds brought clear, calm, cold conditions overnight, dropping the ambient air temperature to 44F before sunrise this morning. Then, an ENE wind slowly kicked in. Seeing all of this developing while keeping my eye on the forecast, I suggested we reschedule this trip, but my crew simply valued the downtime, fish or no fish, so we pressed on with our plans.

Fishing was predictably slow with scattered, suspended fish that just were not interested in much. We contacted white bass in two locations, one at around 7:45a and the other at around 11:15a. The first school was loosely congregated about 2-3 feet off bottom, and the second was much more dense and aggressive, with far more individuals in that school.

The first school required a snap-jigging tactic, while the second school was active enough to go for a smoking tactic. Once the initial surge of interest waned, we reverted to snap-jigging to add another 10 fish to the tally.

Most places we went we slabbed on one side of the boat and I hung bait out the other side, but the interest in live bait was nearly non-existent this morning with only 2 white bass and 1 largemouth (out of a total of 41 fish) taken on shad.

OBSERVATIONS: Very few birds witnessed on Belton other than black-headed gulls forming up to migrate.

TALLY: 41 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 12:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 44F

Elevation: 0.49′ above full pool with a 0.05′ 24-hour drop

Water Surface Temp: ~65.4F

Wind Speed & Direction: ENE all morning, starting at just a ripple, and building slowly and steadily to 13mph

Sky Conditions: No cloud cover.

GT = 63

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area SHAD 21 – 130 threadfin in ~45 minutes’ effort (dark)

**Area vic 381 – light white bass action on slabs ~7:45a

**Area 1917/1362 – bass on livebait at 41′

**Area B00147C/B0066C – 31 white bass in ~7 minutes on slabs via smoking, the snap-jigging

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)

MARRIAGE-MAINTENANCE THURSDAYS

April 11th, 2019April 11th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

If you know me or have fished with me, you’ll know I’m a stickler for maintenance. My vehicles, boat, rods & reels, lawnmower, etc. all look good, run well, and last a long time because I’ve developed a disciplined approach to maintenance.

As our 23rd wedding anniversary approached in July of 2018, I considered what level of maintenance I was putting into my marriage with Rebecca. Long story short, as part of our anniversary last year, I signed us up to go to our first ever marriage conference/retreat put on by Family Life in the Arboretum district of Austin. This organization took a very God-honoring, biblically-sound approach to the topic.

Another long story short, one of the action items that resulted from attending this 2.5 day conference with Rebecca was that we both decided to dedicate one day a week (Thursday) to being with one another. No guided fishing trips, no church work, no individual appointments with others. Since I retired 3 years ago, and since Rebecca works part-time at our church’s nursery, this is very doable in this season of our life.

Today was an especially enjoyable Marriage Maintenance Thursday. I woke at 5a, and Rebecca at 6a, we ate breakfast and were out the door by 6:30a and on the water by 6:45a.

Between 7:07am and 9:07am, I caught exactly 70 fish from an aggressive near-surface feed by white bass on Stillhouse and then left them still biting to continue our day. After a quick nap, a visit to Kohl’s and lunch at Freebirds, we headed to Mountain Creek Range, a very well-run and affordably priced indoor ranged on Hwy. 195 between Killeen and Florence. We sharpened up our .22 caliber handgun skills on paper targets and then headed to Target in Harker Heights to do some birthday shopping for a relative.

Yes, the getting up early to fish was a bit of a sacrifice for Rebecca, and walking through the doors of Kohl’s and Target (or any retail establishment other than Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, or Academy) was a bit of a sacrifice for me, but, that is a lot of what marriage maintenance is all about.

Dinner followed around 6:30p at home. Along the way today we got to talk about our short- and long-term plans, about work, about our parents (who are total blessings to us), about our extended family, about our relationships with others and with the Lord, and more.

It was a great day with a great person with some great weather, to boot.

PHOTO CAPTION: This white bass and many others this morning fell for a presentation I learned of from Australian fishing guide Matt Langford. I’d been waiting since early February for a time to try this out, and this morning was just right thanks to overnight air temps that were higher than the water temperature. More about that some other time …

CATCH LOCATION: Area 1697-1724, all in <14′. 70 fish in exactly 2 hours’ time.

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)

THERE WE WERE … FULDA GAP … 1966

April 10th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, April 10th, I fished with old Army buddies George Harmeyer and Bruce Overbay, and their wives, Phyllis and Melissa. George and Bruce first met as lieutenants during the Vietnam era. George was already stationed in Germany and Bruce was just arriving when an “alert” caused their paths to cross; the two have been friends ever since. Bruce retired from Exxon a few years ago, and he and Melissa now roam the nation in their motorhome. George retired as a major general (2-star), lives with Phyllis in Harker Heights, and is involved with the “Warriors Afield Legacy Foundation” with sponsors several outdoor events each year for wounded military personnel.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: George and Phyllis Harmeyer, and Melissa and Bruce Overbay with a few of the 34 fish we landed on yet another tough weather day.

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: 10 April 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: This trip broke down into two distinct components. The first action we experienced came right off the bat as white bass drove shad through the water column and to the surface thus giving their position away by the commotion they made as they fed on shad over a shallow flat under calm/light ripple conditions. As the ladies learned to cast spinning gear, they got through the learning curve quickly and were routinely landing white bass on Cicada bladebaits, as were the fellows. That spree lasted about 75 minutes and gave up 21 fish landed, with several others missed.

We then endured about a 2-hour slow period during which time the wind remained light, ultimately to begin blowing from the SSE at 13-14+ mph by around 10am. By mid-afternoon the winds were exceeding 22mph straight-line, with higher gusts.

Once this wind had worked on the water for a bit, we checked a wind-impacted underwater point in about 34 feet and found the bait and fish we had been searching for. Using LiveScope technology, we very accurately presented baits to individual, suspended fish and put another 13 fish in the boat with a few more missed before the bite subsided around 11:30am. The lure of choice here was the 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slab/Stinger combination.

OBSERVATIONS: 1) I noted a lot of refusals of our baits today as we observed fish passing beneath the boat on LiveScope, which, based on size, number, and behavior, were definitely white bass. 2) The following is the temperature profile I measured before sunrise today:

0 feet 68.5 F

5 feet 68.4F

10 feet 67.4F

15 feet 66.1F

20 feet 65F

25 feet 63.8F

30’ 62.3F

35 feet 61.2F

40’ 59.8F

45 feet 57.8F

50 feet 56.9F

55 feet 55.5F

60 feet 54.9F

65 feet 54.7F

TALLY: 34 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 11:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 0.62 feet high, with a 0.05 foot 24-hour fall

Water Surface Temp: ~68.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: Light NW ripple for ~1 hour after sunrise, then light and variable for about 2 hours, then picking up with gusto from the SSE at 14+

Sky Conditions: No cloud cover.

GT = 85

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area SH0092C to 1697 – low light, shallow water action on bladebaits for white bass chasing shad in under 14′, lasting about 75 minutes

**Area SH0107C – wind-driven action for suspended 2-year class white bass using 3/8 oz. slabs in conjunction with LiveScope technology, lasting about 90 minutes

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Tougher than Tough

April 9th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

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

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

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 09 April 2019, AM

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

After the wind died, the bite soured.

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

TALLY: 13 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 11:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F

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

Water Surface Temp: ~63.4F

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

Sky Conditions: No cloud cover.

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area from B0140C to B0146C

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

We Like Strong Finishes – 67 Fish with FBCRR Crew

April 8th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

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

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

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

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: 08 April 2019, AM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TALLY: 67 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 1:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F

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

Water Surface Temp: ~63.6F

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

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

GT = 60

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1697 – low light bite on blades

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

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

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Fruitcake Fishing — 26 Fish @ Belton

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: 05 April 2019, AM

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

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

TALLY: 26 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:15a

End Time: 12:00a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F

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

Water Surface Temp: ~63.2F

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

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

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 778/691/437

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

PRE-FRONTAL FEEDING FRENZY – 92 FISH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: 30 March 2019

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

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

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

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

TALLY: 92 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:05a

End Time: 10:40a

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

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

Water Surface Temp: 65.2F

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

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

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1967 to bank

**Area 730 to 999

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

THEY CAME, THEY CAUGHT, THEY WENT TO THE MOVIES

March 30th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

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

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

S.K.I.F.F. stands for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun. This program began in May of 2009. It is funded by the donations and fundraising efforts of the Austin Fly Fishers. S.K.I.F.F. provides the children of military personnel separated from their families due to duty commitments with the opportunity to go fishing. Full-time, professional fishing guide Bob Maindelle coordinates and conducts these 3.5 to 4 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, just outside the gates of Fort Hood in Bell County, TX.

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

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

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: 29 March 2019

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

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

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

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

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

TALLY: 3 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:15p

End Time: 6:30p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

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

Water Surface Temp: 65.4F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE16

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

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 729 thru 1967 – flatlining

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

45 FISH FOR ANDY’S 6TH BIRTHDAY!!

March 28th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

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

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

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: 28 March 2019

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

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

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

TALLY: 45 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:15p

End Time: 7:45p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 76F

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

Water Surface Temp: 66.8F

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

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

GT = 55

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 729 thru 1967 – flatlining

**Area SH0106C – snap jigging

**Area 114 thru 703 – flatlining

**Area 116 thru 291 – flatlining

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com