Fishing Report | Holding The Line Guide Service

That Little Bait Shop on the San Clemente Pier — 29 Fish

March 23rd, 2018March 23rd, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Wednesday morning I fished with returning guests Rick Snelgrooes and his teenage son, Sean. Rick also brought his former next door neighbor from California, Scott Shipley. Scott recently bid for, and was awarded, the contract to run a small bait shop near the end of the 1,300-foot long San Clemente Pier nestled between Dana Point and the San Onofre nuclear power plant right in Orange County, CA. Scott asked a lot of great questions as he tried to compare and contrast our freshwater fishing efforts with the saltwater pier fishing he is accustomed to, and as he tried to understand the sonar images we saw over the course of the morning.

From left: Rick Snelgrooes, Sean Snelgrooes, and Scott Shipley, each with a hybrid striped bass caught seconds apart as a “wolfpack” of these fish came under the boat and attacked our baits. Note the body shape of Sean’s fish — it is one of the “pygmy” hybrid which TPWD looked into last year after quite a few were caught on Lake Belton with their unusually shaped, short, stocky bodies.

Rick Snelgrooes came up with an 11-pound bonus this morning while we were fishing slabs in deep water for white bass. This smallmouth buffalo vacuumed in his slab and the fight was on!

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on both white bass and hybrid striper

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday morning, 21 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: We had “inbetween weather” today — the slow change from post-frontal conditions to lower pressure, more humid and more cloudy conditions with lighter winds. The bright skies and light breeze which persisted through 10am certainly didn’t do us any favors. We caught fish, including some really nice hybrid striped bass, but it was a slow, steady pick of fish. Rick and Sean have been with me a number of times now, and each time in the past we’ve targeted high numbers of white bass. Although the hybrid fishing is not yet what I anticipate it will be come April and May, the fishing is getting more predictable and the results are slowly trending better. For this reason, I came prepared to fish for both hybrid and white bass, spending more time targeting quality hybrid than gunning for quantities of white bass. When all was said and done, we put multiple 5-fish limits of hybrid in the boat with our morning take of 29 fish.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 1. Hybrid showed as much or more interest in chunk bait as they did live shad this morning. 2. Just a few small flocks of gulls and terns now remain on Lake Belton and their activity has become sporadic, at best.

TALLY: 29 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:20a

End Time: 12:10p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 44F

Water Surface Temp: 62.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm through 10am, then SSE7-8

Sky Conditions: <5% white cloud cover

Water Level: 2.41 feet low and falling

GT = 105

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area B0062C – live shad for 21 hybrid, 2 blue cat, 3 white bass (fished here early and late)

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

THE STARS FELL ON MY BOAT — 61 FISH

March 22nd, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Tuesday afternoon I fished with two retired U.S. Army generals, Major (two-star) General George Harmeyer of Harker Heights, TX, and Lieutenant (3-star) General John Sylvester of College Station, TX. The two are avid fishermen, and regularly fish in both freshwater and salt, and with both conventional tackle and fly gear. This evening they opted to take a multi-species approach, so, we fished for both hybrid striper and white bass on Lake Belton. Both are also involved with the “Warriors Afield Legacy Foundation” with sponsors several outdoor events each year for wounded military personnel.

George Harmeyer with our largest hybrid of the trip, a 5.75 pound fish that took a large, live threadfin shad set at 18′ over deeper water.

John Sylvester with a 5.25 pound fish we found holding around 22′ in 41 feet of water. It took a cutbait.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on both white bass and hybrid striper

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday evening, 20 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: The last northwesterly breezes from a mild, dry cold front moved through this afternoon with mild temperatures, clear skies, and winds under 11mph. We fished live bait for the first 2.5 hours, then, as the shadows lengthened and the light decreased, we looked up shallower for white bass and had our search aided by some light bird activity. We fished live shad and chunk baits on downlines for the hybrid, and we used an easing tactic and a smoking tactic for the white bass.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: Just a few small flocks of gulls and terns now remain on Lake Belton and their activity has become sporadic, at best.

TALLY: 61 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:45p

End Time: 7:45p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F

Water Surface Temp: 62.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: WNW 11 and tapering off near dusk

Sky Conditions: <5% white cloud cover

Water Level: 2.41 feet low and falling

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

N/A

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area B0059C – 8 hybrid striper

**Area B0060C – 6 hybrid striper

**Area B0061C to Vic 2032 – 47 white bass

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

SPRING BREAK GRAND FINALE — 209 FISH

March 20th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday morning I fished with 4 generations of Huttos. Tom and Jeanean Hutto, two of their sons, Don and Frank, Don’s son, Heath, and Heath’s son, Hunter, all made this trip. This was the tenth and final Spring Break week 2018 trip I conducted. The conditions for today’s trip were perfect — the warmest water of the spring thus far (62.2F), humid, grey skies, and a manageable southerly breeze with some instability in the weather slowly approaching from the SW. The fish fed long and hard, thus making this the most productive trip of the spring break week. 209 of the week’s total of 1,102 fish were landed by the Huttos this morning.

Four generations of Huttos landed 209 fish in four hours. From the left, that’s Tom, Don, little Hunter, Heath, Frank, and Jeanean.

We “hung bait” in our last 40 minutes on the water, and put 3 hybrid and several more white bass in the boat. Heath landed the largest of the 3 hybrid, and the largest hybrid I’ve seen thus far for 2018. This fish went 23.5″ and 5.75 pounds on a certified scale. It was a very thick, heavy fish for its length.

Grandma Jeanean landed two fish on the same lure at the same time. She was full of such tricks this morning!

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday morning, 17 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: Grey, humid, breezy conditions in advance of a change of weather had fish fired up and feeding long and hard this morning. We had a full 3.5 hour long bite for white bass, then hung bait for a few hybrid for variety’s sake in our last 40 minutes.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: Boats all around us were moving and snap-jigging with next to no success. Staying in one area and using a smoking tactic really shined this morning.

TALLY: 209 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 67F

Water Surface Temp: 62.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW 18-20

Sky Conditions: 100% light grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.50 feet low and falling

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area B0058C / B0056C / B0054C / B0055C

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

GO HORIZONTAL, YOUNG MAN! — 68 FISH WITH THE WALKERS

March 20th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday evening I fished with Mr. Todd Walker and his 12-year-old son, Rylee. This was the ninth Spring Break 2018 trip I conducted. It was Rylee’s interest in fishing that got his dad back into the sport. The pair typically pursue largemouth bass from the bank in the north Austin area, often hitting 180-acre Lake Pfluegerville, near their home. We faced tough, bright, windless conditions this afternoon, with an extra dose of recreational boat traffic as folks got of work and tried to cram in a little Spring Break time on the water. We struggled, catching only a handful of fish in our first two hours using a variety of tactics at a variety of locations, but, finally, downrigging cracked the code allowing a catch of 68 fish when all was said and done.

Todd Walker and his 12-year-old son, Rylee, wore out the white bass on downriggers under tough, calm, bright conditions on Spring Break Friday.

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday evening, 16 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: Our first 2 hours were as slow as they get — only 8 fish taken from 3 areas after stopping and fishing at 6 areas. Finally, around 5:45p, after going back to the very first area where we’d found (and caught 2) fish, I saw an abundance of fish carpeting the bottom in 26-31 feet along a gentle slope. We stopped and attempted vertical jigging, using a snap-jigging tactic and got exactly 1 strike, despite the continued presence of fish on sonar. I had just about decided to leave the segment of the lake we were fishing and go elsewhere, but I thought to give fishing horizontally with downriggers a try before we pulled up stakes altogether. That horizontal presentation turned out to be the ticket. Fishing horizontally for inactive fish allows the angler to present the bait over top of a lot of inactive individuals in order to tempt the low percentage that are still willing to make a move toward a bait. Long story short, we established a pattern of trolling in an ellipse that allowed thorough coverage of the patch of bottom these fish were inhabiting, and we got 1, 2, or 3 fish per angler (x 2 anglers) on just about every pass we made until the fish shut down right at sunset. In this manner, we put an additional 60 fish in the boat, include a number of “triples” (3 fish on a 3-armed umbrella rig at the same time).

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: The now-stable weather has seen the fish settle into a pattern, doing essentially the same things at the same times and in the same places, thus making fishing very predictable. Should be solid until our next change in weather.

TALLY: 68 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 67F

Water Surface Temp: 60.7F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW 18-20

Sky Conditions: 100% light grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.49 feet low and falling

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 378/380 – white bass via smoking (primarily), blades, and downrigging

**Area B50056C – white bass on live shad

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Goal-Setting 101 – Chief Ellis & Bryson Catch 113

March 20th, 2018March 20th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday morning I fished with Belton police chief Gene Ellis and his 9-year-old grandson, Bryson. This was the eighth Spring Break 2018 trip I conducted. As I welcomed these two anglers aboard, I intentionally asked Bryson how many fish he thought we might catch. He gave this a little though, then said, “Forty”. Around 8:30am, after landing our 38th fish of the trip, Bryson realized he set his expectations to low. I jokingly told him that when just two more fish came aboard we call all reel in and go grab some barbecue. He asked if he could revise his goal. I told him that would be fine, so, he reset our target at 60 fish. About 45 minutes later, went fish number 57 came aboard, I told him, “Well, we can finally quit fishing and go get that barbecue now.” Bryson once again asked to revise his goal, this time raising the bar to 120 fish. That turned out to be a good goal — one you have to push yourself to attain. We didn’t quite make 120 on this morning as things slowed down once the wind let up and the skies brightened, but 113 fish on a day when a 9-year-old thought 40 would be “cool” was just fine with grandpa and me.

Belton police chief Gene Ellis and his grandson, Bryson, age 9, landed 113 fish on Lake Belton during Bryson’s Spring Break.

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Friday morning, 16 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: Although the bite was such that we could have vertically jigged with slabs successfully for the vast majority of today’s trip, because of Bryson’s age, I added in a few tactics to add variety, including fishing bladebaits horizontally and downrigging. The bladebaits added a few fish to our tally, and, at the very end, we put out a few live baits, again, mainly for variety’s sake, and put a few more white bass in the boat via that tactic.

TALLY: 113 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 67F

Water Surface Temp: 60.7F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW 18-20

Sky Conditions: 100% light grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.49 feet low and falling

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 378/380 – white bass via smoking (primarily), blades, and downrigging

**Area B50056C – white bass on live shad

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

CLOUDS MOVED IN, FISH WENT CRAZY – 160 FISH

March 19th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday evening I fished with returning guests Luis and Tonya Garcia and their kids, Juliana and William Neel. This was the seventh Spring Break 2018 trip I conducted. This would also be the only day of the 9-day run in which the afternoon’s fishing outperformed the morning’s effort. This was due to increased cloud cover and higher winds. We went from cool and clear, with light winds in the morning, to balmy and overcast grey skies with winds around 18-20 in the afternoon.

After catching a boatload of white bass (147 to be exact) in our first 2.5 hours, we devoted the remainder of our trip up until sunset to the pursuit of hybrid stripers. Here, Juliana poses with her largest.

Everyone got a chance to feel the powerful pull of several 18-20″ hybrid taken on live shad. This is Tonya with a nice “palmetto bass”.

Although William was big on catching hybrid, he was far from enthused about sticking his thumb in one’s mouth, thus giving Juliana an opportunity to do a little sisterly mocking!

Like a good dad, Luis made sure wife and kids all had a chance to catch a big one, then it was his turn!.

The white bass fishing was on fire, as it often is under grey skies and windy conditions — we landed 100 fish in our first 75 minutes on the water, and then 47 more in the next 75 minutes.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass with our final hour spent in pursuit of hybrid for variety’s sake

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday evening, 15 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: White bass fishing was 100% smoking with 3/8 oz. slabs & stinger hooks for very aggressively feeding fish which were patrolling the entire lower 2/3 of the water column, and did so for a full 2.5 hours in the 27 feet of water we found them in. The bite was really strong, allowing us a catch of 100 fish in our first 75 minutes, followed by another 47 fish in the next 75 minutes. When the bite at the one and only stop we made up to this point started to get soft, I offered that we could move and continue catching white bass in the 1, 2, and 3 year class as we had been doing, or that we could “leave fish to find fish” in hopes of putting a few hybrid in the boat. Luis gave me the thumbs-up for hybrid, so, off we went. Our first spot was a bust, but our second stop proved much better, giving up 13 keeper hybrid on live shad through sunset.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: Slowly increasing water temperatures, grey cloud cover, and a stiff breeze was a “perfect storm” for line-sides today. Awesome fishing!

TALLY: 160 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:30p

End Time: 7:35p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 52F

Water Surface Temp: 60.3F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW 18-20

Sky Conditions: 100% light grey cloud cover

Water Level: 2.49 feet low and falling

GT = 60

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 709/1024 – 147 white bass

**Area vic 365/1942/1945 – 13 hybrid striped bass

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

HOUSES IN THE HOUSE! – 70 FISH

March 18th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Thursday morning I fished the sixth Spring Break 2018 trip of the week with three elementary-aged students — Claudia House (age 9), her younger brother, David (age 7), and their friend, Bethany Stursma (age 8) who came down for a visit all the way from Pella, Iowa. Accompanying the kids was Mr. Brian House. Young David had me a bit worried at first as he told me he only intended to watch as the girls fished because he didn’t like fishing. Well, like many youngsters, David may not like fishing, but he definitely liked catching, so we tried our best to keep all three kids catching for the 3.5 hours this “Kids Fish, Too!” package trip just for kids would last. When all was said and done, we’d landed 70 fish as the white bass cooperated for a majority of our time on the water, despite nearly cloudless skies.

From left: Claudia House, Bethany Stursma, and David House, each with a white bass caught using slabs fished vertically at the level fish were seen holding at on sonar.

David landed two fish on one lure at the same time — one on the treble hook and one on the Hazy Eye Stinger hook affixed to the line tie.

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday morning, 15 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: Nearly 100% smoking with 3/8 oz. slabs & stinger hooks.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: N/A

TALLY: 70 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30am

End Time: 11:00am

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 52F

Water Surface Temp: 59F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW 9-11

Sky Conditions: <30% white, wispy cloud cover

Water Level: 2.49 feet low and falling

GT = 10

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 378/380 – 54 white bass

**Area vic B0054C – 16 white bass

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

DADDY-DAUGHTER TRIP WITH THE PACHAS – 49 FISH

March 18th, 2018March 18th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Wednesday evening I conducted the fifth Spring Break 2018 trip of the week. Joining me were father and daughter Brent and Grace Pacha of Bartlett, TX. Brent is a plumber by trade and Grace is a middle school student on Spring Break.

Brent and Grace Pacha of Bartlett, TX, with a nice hybrid striper which took a live shad suspended off bottom just before sunset.

After snap-jigging unsuccessfully, we changed to a horizontal presentation by downrigging and scored again and again on large, quality white bass using a 3-armed umbrella rig equipped with Pet Spoons.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip during which we caught a mix of white bass and hybrid stripers

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday evening, 14 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: The after effects of the cold front that came in Monday played out this afternoon as winds went from the NE in the morning, through the E, then calmed this afternoon. That, combined with bright skies, made the fishing tough. We took a few fish via snap-jigging, but saw a lot of bottom-hugging white bass that just were not buying what we were offering. We changed our plan, tried presenting downrigged bait run horizontally over top of the same fish which would not respond to jigging, and wound up find the key to getting these fish to bite. After a long run of successful downrigging, we spent the last 40 minutes or so fishing with live shad for hybrid.

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: 1) Snap-jigging is beginning to lose its appeal, with downrigging or horizontally worked blade baits now producing well when aggressive feeding ends and fish spread horizontally on bottom. 2) Hybrid fishing is still spotty.

TALLY: 49 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:30p

End Time: 7:55p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F

Water Surface Temp: 58.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: SE at less than 5-6 all afternoon

Sky Conditions: <15% white, wispy cloud cover

Water Level: 2.48 feet low and falling

GT = 20

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1126 – B0040C

**Area vic B0052C

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

SPRING BREAK FISHING WITH THE BOYDS — 157 FISH @ BELTON

March 18th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Wednesday morning I conducted the fourth Spring Break 2018 trip of the week with three generations of the Boyd family. Bryan and John own and operate Centex Flooring in the north Austin area, specializing in ceramic tile. The impacts of the cold front that caused me to postpone Monday’s fishing could still be felt with bright skies and low temperatures, but, even though the winds were northeasterly, they were at least moving the water enough to get the fish going. We enjoyed 2 solid hours of fishing under birds for aggressive white bass, then a third, slow hour spent searching for more fish as the winds died down. In our final hour we found a pocket of hybrid striper which had corralled shad into a cove where we caught 13 keeper hybrid , 1 short hybrid, and 2 largemouth bass on live shad.

From left: Bryan, Drew, and John Boyd, each with solid, 3-year class white bass taken in the first two hours of fishing under birds. Slabs did the trick when worked vertically through the water column at the level these fish were holding at.

We cashed in on some hybrid and largemouth action in our last hour on the water. Both species had herded shad into a small pocket and were feeding in the upper half of the water column with fish occasionally breaking the surface. Live shad did the trick fished between 12-17 feet over a deeper bottom.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip during which we caught a mix of white bass and hybrid stripers

WHERE WE FISHED: Belton Lake

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday morning, 14 March 2018

HOW WE FISHED: Fishing for white bass under birds was best with a moderate smoking tactic using 3/8 oz. slabs with the Hazy Eye Stinger attached. Fishing is still spotty and inconsistent for hybrid, with fish taking shad of all sizes, as well as chunk baits; a lot of “sniffs” are still being observed as hybrid race upward to a bait, examine it, then turn away.

TALLY: 157 FISH, ALL CAUGHT AND RELEASED

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30a

End Time: 11:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 38F

Water Surface Temp: 58.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: NE6 in the first two hours, then slowing to E at just a ripple for the last two hours

Sky Conditions: <10% wispy, white cloud cover

Water Level: 2.48 feet low and falling

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 692/381 – white bass on slabs under birds

**Area vic 380 – white bass on slabs under birds

**Area B0053C – suspended, small “packs” of hybrid stripers and largemouth took live shad (medium threadfin) set at 12-17 on tightlines

**Area vic 1371

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)