Fishing Report | Holding The Line Guide Service

On The Flip Side of a Cold Front — 42 Fish

November 11th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This past Saturday afternoon, November 9th, I fished with a group of first time anglers – – Pam Elahi, her sister, Tammy Carter, and Tammy‘s adult kids, Alexandria Lopez and Isaiah Carter.

Pam’s family owns an operates the Liberty Mart convenience store/Dickies barbecue restaurant located just up the hill from Temple Lake Park on Lake Belton. I first got to know them when they were gracious enough to allow me to sell my MAL Lures and Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs at that brick and mortar location.

We were originally scheduled to fish the morning prior, but given Tammy’s arrival time in from Seattle and the very wet forecast, we made the call early to postpone to this afternoon.

This afternoon’s fishing took place under less than ideal conditions following the passage of yet another cold front. Read more about timing these fronts here: Timing Fall Cold Fronts

DATE: Saturday, 08 November 2024 (PM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2-6 December (weekday AMs). Next Saturday opening: 14 December (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Tammy Carter, Alexanderia Lopez, Pam Elahi, and Isaiah Carter with a few of the fish they really had to work for under calm, bright post-frontal conditions.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pam Elahi landed our largest fish of the trip. This largemouth bass inhaled her MAL Lure after mixing in with a group of white bass in about 28 feet of water.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Although the weather for this trip was beautiful for being in the outdoors, it was not all that great where fishing was concerned. Although the morning’s conditions were great thanks to increasing north winds following the arrival of a cold front the night before, those winds peaked around 11:30 and then rapidly fell off.

We fished under calm to barely rippled conditions for all four hours this afternoon. We were able to locate fish in a number of areas, and got an initial response from most of those fish we located, but, none of the groups of fish we found stayed active very long, thus we managed a handful of fish at each location and then had to move on.

As the sun sank in the western sky in the last hour of daylight, the winds went absolutely calm and the bite flattened out with it.

The fish we did catch were all landed on MAL Originals fished vertically using a smoking tactic in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope. Although Pam grew up up north and fished during that time, she could not remember once fishing without bait on her hook, so, actually using the artificial lures I sell at her shop gave her greater insight in that style of fishing.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

RESULTS: 42 fish, including 1 largemouth bass, and 41 white bass.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The long run of fantastic fall fishing which began in early September has now begun to be impacted by increased frontal activity. The fishing has now become cyclical, following the arrival and departure of cold fronts.

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Saturday, 10 Nov….

0 feet 72.7F

5 feet 73.5F

10 feet 73.8F

15 feet 73.9F

20 feet 73.9F

25 feet 73.9F

30 feet 73.9F

35 feet 73.9F

40 feet 73.9F

45 feet 73.8F

50 feet 73.5F

55 feet 73.5F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1:40P

End Time: 5:40P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F

Elevation: 2.31′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 72.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW4 at trip’s start, falling to flat calm by sunset

Sky Condition: Clear, blue, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: First quarter moon at 56% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0119G – 14 fish in 3 short hops smoking MAL Originals

Area B0316G – 11 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 0154 – 13 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 1659 – 4 fish smoking MAL Originals

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 #austinsubaru

Timing Fall’s Cold Fronts – 122 Fish

November 10th, 2024November 10th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Saturday, November 9, I fished with a crew of four including Aaron Baggett, his dad, Kelly Baggett, Paul Funk, and Paul’s son-in-law, Jake Brown.

Aaron is a professor of psychology at University of Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton, Kelley is a retired public school superintendent who is currently serving as an interim superintendent out in West Texas, Paul is a retired army officer, and Jake supports the advertising company he works for with technology.

This morning’s fishing took place under ideal conditions following the passage of yet another cold front. Read more about timing these fronts here: Timing Fall Cold Fronts

DATE: Saturday, 08 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2-6 December (weekday AMs). Next Saturday opening: 30 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Paul Funk, Kelly and Aaron Baggett, and Jake Brown with a portion of their 122-fish haul taken just after the passage of a Pacific cold front hours before sunrise.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

I was encouraged about this morning‘s trip back as far as Monday, when a Pacific cold front was due to hit on Friday night, thus leaving clearing skies, cooler temperatures, and increasing wind velocity in the forecast for this morning. Although the front was pretty weak, we did enjoy those factors and they did give the fishing a bit of a bump this morning. With the water temperature still around 73° from top to bottom in as much as 60 feet, the white bass are still very heavily feeding on shad and moving quite frequently.

I got everyone familiarized with the smoking tactic and everyone used MAL Originals with chartreuse tails nearly 100% of the time this morning to land a total of 122 fish in right at four hours of effort.

At our first stop, as the fish were fairly aggressive, and in shallowest water we would encounter them in all morning, Jake and Aaron gave the White Tornado a try, fished horizontally. They did as good as the older two fellows who stuck with the vertical tactic, but, from that point on, everyone used the MAL Lure with a smoking tactic exclusively.

One thing I have noted since we have been seeing these frequent cold fronts come down is that fish, even large schools of fish with hundreds of individuals in them, can be reluctant, or become that way very soon after the first few lure drops are made. Once those fish at the bottom become reluctant, it is then time to focus on individual fish up higher in the water column, “sniping“ at them by racing the lure pass their noses as they traverse the screen from right to left or vice versa.

With Belton water fairly turbid due to recent rains and high winds, I found no fish deeper than 35 feet today with our first fish coming out of 18 feet.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

RESULTS: 122 fish, including 1 largemouth bass, 1 hybrid striped bass, and 120 white bass.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:00 AM on Saturday, 10 Nov….

0 feet 72.7F

5 feet 73.5F

10 feet 73.8F

15 feet 73.9F

20 feet 73.9F

25 feet 73.9F

30 feet 73.9F

35 feet 73.9F

40 feet 73.9F

45 feet 73.8F

50 feet 73.5F

55 feet 73.5F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:35A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 56F

Elevation: 2.31′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 72.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW8 at trip’s start, building to NW10 by mid-morning, then leveling off at NW6 the rest of the trip

Sky Condition: Clear, blue, cloudless skies

Moon Phase: First quarter moon at 56% illumination.

GT = 85

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1619 – low-light bite in 19′, 60 fish smoking MAL Originals and casting White Tornados (white, 1 1/8 oz.), 2 short hops

Area B0314G – 11 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0171G – 51 fish smoking MAL Originals

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

Baby On Board — 48 Fish with Jack, Jude, & Brynn

November 8th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Friday, November 8, I fished with first time guests — Vicky Le and Cody Lawrence, and their four kids: Brynn (age 7), Jude (age 5), Jack (almost 4), and Liv (10 months) — all from the Katy, TX, area.

This trip was in celebration of Jack’s birthday and took place on Lake Belton, very near the family’s get-away home near the Leon River on Lake Belton’s upper end.

DATE: Friday, 07 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2-6 December (weekday AMs). Next Saturday opening: 30 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Baby Liv (10 months), Vickie, Jack (~4), Cody, Jude (5), and Brynn (7) fished Lake Belton together in celebration of Jack’s birthday. The three older kids landed 48 fish over a 3 hour span.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

As I mention frequently in these reports, when I fish with young children, I make it a point to insert variety and transitions to help keep kids engaged as long as I can.

To that end, this morning, over the course of three hours, we downrigged horizontally for white bass, we fished MAL Lures vertically for white bass, and we fished bait under slipfloats for sunfish up in shallow water.

Brynn was a real champ. Because Cody was covered down on Jack, I was covered down on Jude, and Vickie was looking after the baby, Brynn had to kind of fend for herself, but, she enjoyed the independence and caught most of her fish unaided.

All of the kids overcame their initial fears about touching fish, and each held and gently released several fish by trip’s end. They were all troopers concerning the weather, as well. Several times a heavy drizzle began to fall and they never bat an eye at it, rather, they kept right on fishing.

Although the fish weren’t just absolutely fired up, they cooperated sufficiently that all three kids had multiple opportunities to land multiple fish using all three of the tactics we employed.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

RESULTS: 48 fish, including 1 largemouth bass, 10 sunfish, and 37 white bass.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically & Pet Spoons downrigged horizontally today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) We are in a solid, classic autumn pattern now, which should hold up until the water temperature near bottom falls to around 60F

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Friday, 01 Nov….

0 feet 75.3F

5 feet 75.3F

10 feet75.6F

15 feet75.6F

20 feet 75.6F

25 feet 75.6F

30 feet 75.3F

35 feet 75.3F

40 feet 75.3F

45 feet 75.3F

50 feet 75.3F

55 feet 75.3F

60 feet 75.2F

65 feet 75.1F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 10:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 2.25′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .02′ rise in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 72.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SE6-8 all morning

Sky Condition: Grey skies with occasional light drizzle all morning

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 45% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1658 – 6 fish downrigging with #13 Pet Spoons on 3-armed umbrella rigs

Area B0186C/B0005G – 7 fish downrigging with #13 Pet Spoons on 3-armed umbrella rigs

Area 1819 – 21 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 815 – 10 sunfish on slipfloats and bait

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

These Fellows “Banded” Together — 70 Fish

November 7th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Thursday, November 7, I fished with first time guests, Mike Kasberg and Boyd Rowden. The two have been friends from high school and are now retired after careers as music educators and professional musicians.

The two frequently fish Lake Buchanan together, but after following me for quite some time on social media, thought it would be neat to come observe the methods I use for finding and catching white bass on Lake Belton to see what might be adapted to their “home” lake.

DATE: Thursday, 07 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 November, 2-6 December (weekday AMs). Next Saturday opening: 30 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Fellow retired professional musicians Boyd Rowden (left) and Mike Kasberg have been friends since high school. They took a little road trip in from Kerrville to check out the white bass action on Lake Belton. That fish in Mike’s right hand went 15.25″.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

For the second consecutive day, light winds, this time coupled with very heavy cloud cover, hindered our efforts. Generally speaking, when skies do not brighten around sunrise due to cloud cover, white bass ease slowly into feeding — much more slowly than otherwise. They also tend to use shallower water on cloudy days versus clear days.

Hence, all of our fish-finding today was done in under 30 feet of water, as our efforts to find fish deeper than that were not rewarded. The vast majority of our fish were taken with the smoking retrieve using MAL Originals with chartreuse tails in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope. In our final hour on the water, as wind speed maintained at around 5-6 mph, but our sky conditions brightened to the brightest level we would encounter, we began to witness some light topwater schooling action.

During this time, I had both men cast out horizontally and use a countdown method to allow their lures to sink below the surface to the level which fish were holding and feeding. At first a 9 count worked, then a 12 count, before the fish quit chasing shad and headed back to bottom.

When all was said it done, my two-man crew landed exactly 70 fish including 67 white bass and three largemouth bass. Our single largest white bass was 15.25 inches.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

RESULTS: 70 fish, including 3 bass and 67 white bass.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We primarily used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically & horizontally today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) We are in a solid, classic autumn pattern now, which should hold up until the water temperature near bottom falls to around 60F

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) Post-frontal, near calm, heavily overcast conditions negatively impacted the bite this morning.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Friday, 01 Nov….

0 feet 75.3F

5 feet 75.3F

10 feet75.6F

15 feet75.6F

20 feet 75.6F

25 feet 75.6F

30 feet 75.3F

35 feet 75.3F

40 feet 75.3F

45 feet 75.3F

50 feet 75.3F

55 feet 75.3F

60 feet 75.2F

65 feet 75.1F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 12P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 2.25′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .02′ rise in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 72.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNE4-5 all morning

Sky Condition: Dark, heavily clouded grey skies through 10:50A

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 34% illumination.

GT =65

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1658 – 7 fish smoking MAL Originals & sawtoothing White Tornados

Area vic 1921 – 5 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0316G – 21 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic 138 – 3 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 1819/1624 – 28 fish smoking MAL Originals & counting them down to suspended fish

Area vic 1827 – 6 fish smoking MAL Originals

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

The Bite Corresponded to the Winds — 66 Fish

November 6th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Wednesday, November 6th, I fished with first-time guests Mark and Patty Cullison. The Cullisons are now both retired and are enjoying retirement being near their four kids, as well as grandkids and great-grandkids.

We were originally due to fish together in June, but both Stillhouse and Belton were shut down at that time due to flooding. Although the fishing was tough today thanks to post-frontal conditions, we definitely enjoyed lower, more refreshing temperatures than any June trip would have granted us.

DATE: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 Nov. November, 2-6 December (weekday AMs). Next Saturday opening: 30 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Mark and Patty Cullison caught 66 fish under tough, post-frontal conditions after postponing this trip from back in June due to flooding. They got the hang of working their MAL Lures effectively very early in the trip and maximized their potential despite dealing with reluctant fish all morning.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

One of the first things I shared with Mark and Patty was that the wind would make us or break us today. After the passage of the season’s first strong cold front Monday night into Tuesday morning, this morning’s weather was classic post-frontal, complete with clear, bright skies, nearly calm winds, and cold temperatures (48F at the ramp as the sun was rising).

Finding fish was difficult; finding biting fish was even more difficult. But, we persisted and in the end the two of them were able to land a total of 66 fish.

The first hour gave me some hope, as there was at least a NW ripple, and the light fog over the lake dimmed the light level just a bit. Mark and Patty landed 7 fish at our first stop as they “picked off” mainly suspended white bass which were “driving by” to check out the commotion from the splasher.

As the fog cleared, the winds went calm, and we spent close to an hour searching for concentrations of fish to present to, finding little. Around 9:15, a still-light 2-3 mph ripple from the NW began and, in about 26-28′, I found a few fish. As Mark and Patty presented MAL Originals to these fish, the breeze persisted, and the bite strengthened. We stayed on those fish for 1.5 hours, taking their tally to 59 fish before the wind shifted and strengthened, just as these fish were about to give up.

I moved us to the most wind-exposed area I felt would hold fish at this time of the morning, and, in the final 25 minutes of the trip, the Cullisons landed another 7 fish to finish up with exactly 66 fish landed on the morning, every one of which came on a slowly smoked MAL Original with chartreuse tail.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

RESULTS: 66 fish, including 6 hybrid striped bass and 60 white bass.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS:

1) We are in a solid, classic autumn pattern now, which should hold up until the water temperature near bottom falls to around 60F

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) Post-frontal clear, calm, cold conditions negatively impacted the bite this morning.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Friday, 01 Nov….

0 feet 75.3F

5 feet 75.3F

10 feet75.6F

15 feet75.6F

20 feet 75.6F

25 feet 75.6F

30 feet 75.3F

35 feet 75.3F

40 feet 75.3F

45 feet 75.3F

50 feet 75.3F

55 feet 75.3F

60 feet 75.2F

65 feet 75.1F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F

Elevation: 2.26′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .03′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 72.6F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW0-3 all morning until 10:45, then shifting N12

Sky Condition: Cloudless, bluebird skies

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 25% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1740 – 7 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0315G – 52 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 150 – 7 fish smoking MAL Originals
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

Winds from the North, These Fishermen Went Forth — 151 Fish

November 5th, 2024November 5th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Tuesday, November 5th, I fished with returning guests Ken Powell and Jay Florence. Ken is a retired high school football coach now residing in Burnet, TX, and Jay runs his own lawn fertilization company in the Odessa area.

DATE: Tuesday, 05 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 29 & 30 Nov. November, 2-6 December (weekday AMs). Next Saturday opening: 30 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jay Florence and Ken Powell took white bass up to 14 3/8″ using a “sawtooth” retrieve with 1 3/8 oz. White Tornados for fish feeding aggressively as winds increased following a cold front’s passage.

PHOTO CAPTION: Taking full advantage of side-imaging, I had my clients cast either to the port or starboard side as we watched aggressive schools of hundreds white bass chasing shad in ~22′ . The 1 3/8 oz. White Tornado helped select for larger fish thanks to its profile closer to a gizzard shad than a threadfin shad.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

It looks like (and now feels like) autumn is finally here. A strong cold front moved into Central Texas around 6P last night, and dropped about 1 to 1.5″ of rain area wide through around 10P. Light showers and grey cloud cover persisted through our 7A start time, and the air temperature dropped to 61F.

The fishing got off to a later start today, but, once the fish began feeding, they fed hard for a full 3+ hours.

Deeper water did not produce well early on as the thick cloud cover kept it pretty dark in 30+ feet. I moved shallower and we found our first fish of the morning in 24′. We never moved off that location for 2.75 hours, taking a total of 109 fish there, all on the heaviest White Tornado (white color, 1 3/8 oz.).

Once that area played out as the clouds got a few holes and allowed some sun to come through, we found another group of fish in 31′, catching another 15 white bass there through 10:35. All of these fish were taken on “smoked” MAL Originals (chartreuse tails) fished vertically.

We made one final move, this time finding fish (all small whites and small hybrid) scattered throughout the water column in 37′. Once again, we smoked MAL Originals vertically with the aid of Garmin LiveScope to capitalize on this find, landing a final 26 fish before we wrapped up at 12:30p.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

RESULTS: 151 fish, including 6 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 91 white bass.

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically & white, 1 3/8 oz. White Tornados today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 101 fish, including 9 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 91 white bass.

OBSERVATIONS:

1) We are in a solid, classic autumn pattern now, which should hold up until the water temperature near bottom falls to around 60F

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) As NW winds ramped up following a cold front’s passage, we saw light gull activity (the first of the fall), and some topwater action. We also spotted a mature bald eagle and numerous osprey.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Friday, 01 Nov….

0 feet 75.3F

5 feet 75.3F

10 feet75.6F

15 feet75.6F

20 feet 75.6F

25 feet 75.6F

30 feet 75.3F

35 feet 75.3F

40 feet 75.3F

45 feet 75.3F

50 feet 75.3F

55 feet 75.3F

60 feet 75.2F

65 feet 75.1F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 12:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 61F

Elevation: 2.20′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .00′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 73.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW10-12 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% heavy grey cloud cover all morning, with short breaks in the clouds beginning around 10:30A

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 16% illumination.

GT = 55

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1845 – 109 fish sawtoothing White Tornados

Area B0314G – 15 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area B0315G – 26 fish – 5 smoking MAL Originals; 10

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

Same Kid, Different Decade — 92 Fish

November 2nd, 2024November 2nd, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Saturday, November 2nd, I fished with returning guests — the father and son team of Alex and Gabriel Morales.

I first got to fish with these fellows when they were invited along to fish with Mr. John Stephenson of Salado, back on Sept. 20, 2014. Alex is originally from the Bronx and came on active duty as an enlisted medic, then worked his way up to become a medical doctor and commissioned officer, retired from the Army, and now continues serving as an orthopedic surgeon.

Gabriel, now 19, is studying mechanical engineering at Central Texas College. He plans to pursue cybersecurity through the military and obtain his degree through Texas A&M.

DATE: Saturday, 02 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 11, 21, & 22 November (weekday AMs and PMs). Next Saturday opening: 30 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Alex Morales and his son, Gabriel, with a few hands full of fish taken from Lake Belton this morning.

PHOTO CAPTION: This “blast from the past” shows, from left, Alex and Gabriel, then age 9, fishing with me on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir back in 2014.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

For the second consecutive day, thick, grey cloud cover caused the fish to “ease” into a feed, instead of “leap” into one, as has been the case on clearer mornings of late.

We began picking up fish with consistency beginning around 8:40A, and steadily plucked fish right through our wrap up time at 12:30P.

The fish never went into overdrive this morning, as is often the case when a damp, easterly winds seems to put them in a bit of a funk. We found fish readily, and, in most cases, got an instant, positive response, only to have the fish quickly lose enthusiasm. We were then faced with a choice: either stay and catch at a low rate, or move frequently to cash in on that initial enthusiasm repeatedly. I chose the latter.

We worked the MAL Original (with chartreuse tail) all morning, save for a ~10 minute window when, while on a deep flat, I saw enough fish out to our port side that I felt it would be worthwhile to cast and use a “sawtooth method” for them. During that window, I chose white, 1 3/8 oz. White Tornados, and, as is often the case, the fish Alex and Gabe caught on these were of better quality thanks to the sheer size of the lure keeping smaller fish from being drawn to it.

When all was said and done, the fellows landed 92 fish, including 10 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 81 white bass.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

RESULTS: 101 fish, including 9 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 91 white bass.

TALLY: 101 fish, including 9 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 91 white bass.

OBSERVATIONS:

1) We are in a solid, classic autumn pattern now, which should hold up until the water temperature near bottom falls to around 60F

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) Fish were sluggish thanks to an E. wind and gloomy, grey sky conditions.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Friday, 01 Nov….

0 feet 75.3F

5 feet 75.3F

10 feet75.6F

15 feet75.6F

20 feet 75.6F

25 feet 75.6F

30 feet 75.3F

35 feet 75.3F

40 feet 75.3F

45 feet 75.3F

50 feet 75.3F

55 feet 75.3F

60 feet 75.2F

65 feet 75.1F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:45A

End Time: 12:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 2.25′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .03′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 73.4F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE11-13 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% heavy grey cloud cover all morning

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 1% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area BHYD03- 31 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic 151 – 12 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area vic B0313G – 15 fish – 5 smoking MAL Originals; 10 sawtoothing White Tornados
Area vic B107G/1269 – 15 fish smoking MAL Originals (2 hops)

Area vic 098 – 19 fish smoking MAL Originals (4 hops)

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

Autumn Slowly Advances — 101 Fish

November 1st, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Friday, 01 Nov., I fished with returning guest Mr. Gary Emory from the Georgetown, TX, area. Joining Gary for the first time aboard my boat were his daughter, Megan, and Megan’s son, Nolan, age 12.

Gary retired from the roofing business in 2023, Megan runs a doggie-daycare, and Nolan is working his way through middle school, also in the Georgetown area.

DATE: Friday, 01 November 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 11, 21, & 22 November (weekday AMs and PMs). Next Saturday opening: 30 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Gary Emory (center), treated his daughter, Megan, and grandson, Nolan, to a morning fishing trip on Lake Belton. The trio landed exactly 101 fish using MAL Original Lures worked vertically in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Thanks to a thick, low deck of grey clouds following the arrival of a damp cold front yesterday morning, this morning’s bite started later than I’ve observed recently on clearer, brighter days.

8:10AM had been when the fish began moving and biting, but this morning, it wasn’t until 8:40A that the white bass got it in gear.

From that point, and until my three-angler crew landed their 101st fish and decided to hang it up a bit early, the fish fed steadily. The time period from 9A to 10:30A was best. The NW wind scaled back around 10:30 and the intensity of the bite scaled back with it.

The only tactic necessary this morning was the smoking tactic, and the only lure needed with that tactic was the MAL Original with chartreuse tail.

Although my crew varied the upward speed of their retrieve as fish mood dictated, this tactic produced well all morning. Everyone commented how helpful and fun the Garmin LiveScope was, as everyone got to see in real time just how the fish were responding.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 101 fish, including 9 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 91 white bass.

OBSERVATIONS:

1) We are in a solid, classic autumn pattern now, which should hold up until the water temperature near bottom falls to around 60F

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) Gulls were present all morning, but did not help find fish. Cormorants and coots are also increasing in numbers.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Friday, 01 Nov….

0 feet 75.3F

5 feet 75.3F

10 feet75.6F

15 feet75.6F

20 feet 75.6F

25 feet 75.6F

30 feet 75.3F

35 feet 75.3F

40 feet 75.3F

45 feet 75.3F

50 feet 75.3F

55 feet 75.3F

60 feet 75.2F

65 feet 75.1F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8A

End Time: 11:40A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 2.22′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 75.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW3-7 all morning

Sky Condition: 100% moderate grey cloud cover all morning

Moon Phase: New moon at 0% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0312G- 42 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area B0313G – 31 fish smoking MAL Originals
Area vic 1012/150 – 28 fish smoking MAL Originals

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

He Should “Laminate” That Retirement Gift — 152 Fish

October 28th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Monday, 28 Oct., I fished with first-time guests Danny Teague and Dennis Sohns. Both men worked many years for, then retired from, Wilsonart International, headquartered in Temple, TX. Wilsonart produces high-pressure decorative laminate for countertops, cabinetry, and more. During my own nine years of employment there between the military and ministry, I got to know both men. This morning’s trip was Danny’s retirement present to Dennis.

DATE: Monday, 28 October 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: Next open dates: 18, 22 November (weekday AMs and PMs). Next Saturday opening: 30 November (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Wilsonart “old timers” Danny Teague and Dennis Sohns celebrated Dennis’ retirement from the Temple laminate manufacturer with a morning fishing trip on Lake Belton. The pair landed 152 fish.

PHOTO CAPTION: The ~5/8 oz. MAL Original with chartreuse tail (above) accounted for 127 of our 152 fish, with the 1 3/8 oz. White Tornado catching the balance of 25 fish. The White Tornado, with its much greater weight and larger profile accounted for better quality fish.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Excellent fishing continued this morning as pre-frontal warming in advance of an incoming cold front squeezed the atmosphere and got winds blowing over 10 mph before sunrise. Those winds increased to 14 mph by trip’s end. Add to that a bit of cloud cover, and the fuse was lit for a great morning of fishing.

We fished six areas this morning and found fish tight to the bottom at all of them.

The first three areas gave up a total of 82 fish to a smoking tactic as Danny and Dennis used MAL Original lures vertically in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.

We visited a fourth area after seeing a solid congregation of fish on side imaging, but, once we got set up on top of them, the fishing didn’t go as well as I anticipated. I looked at side-imaging once again and saw the fish had shifted off to our starboard side, so, I had Danny and Dennis cast White Tornados (1 3/8 oz. version in white) cross-wind to these fish in ~42′. The two men took 25 fish here. It was interesting to note that the fish they caught here averaged a much better size. I suspect this was thanks to the larger profile of the slab portion of this bait being too large to be of interest to smaller fish.

We went on to fish two more areas using the vertical tactics with MAL Originals, accounting for a total of 152 fish before the bite tapered off to nothing by just after noon.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used MAL Originals (w/ chartreuse tails) vertically, and White Tornados (1 3/8 oz., white) horizontally today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 152 fish, including 8 hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and 143 white bass.

OBSERVATIONS:

1) We are in a solid, classic autumn pattern now, which should hold up until the water temperature near bottom falls to around 60F

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) For the fourth consecutive trip now, I saw multiple large (several hundred individuals) schools today in multiple locations as the fish begin to coalesce heading into the fall/winter.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Saturday, 26 Oct….

0 feet 75.6F

5 feet 76.1F

10 feet 76.4F

15 feet 76.4F

20 feet 76.3F

25 feet 76.3F

30 feet 76.1F

35 feet 76.1F

40 feet 76.1F

45 feet 75.9F

50 feet 75.7F

55 feet 75.3F

60 feet 75.2F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:55A

End Time: 12:10P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 64F

Elevation: 2.13′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .04′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 75.6F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE11-14 all morning

Sky Condition: White cloud cover on a blue sky starting at 80%, tapering down to <10%.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 13% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1604- 18 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0237G – 28 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic 150 – 36 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic B0310G – 25 fish sawtoothing White Tornados

Area B0168G/B0107G – 3 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 151 – 42 fish smoking MAL Originals

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

These Chiropractors Needed No Adjustments — 130 Fish on MAL Lures

October 26th, 2024October 26th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning, Saturday, 26 Oct., I fished with returning guest Dr. Patrick Lin. Pat was joined by his office staff, including Jen Joyner, Malia Monroy, and Julissa Gomez — all first time guests of mine. Pat and his wife, Dani, run Symmetry Health Chiropractic Center in Round Rock, TX.

DATE: Saturday, 26 October 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: Next open dates: 18-22 November (weekday AMs and PMs). Next Saturday opening: 14 December (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Dr. Patrick Lin brought his chiropractic office staff out for some fun on the water and wound up catching our biggest fish of the trip. This “magnum” white bass measured 15 9/16″ and was released in excellent condition. It was caught on an MAL Original with chartreuse tail.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Patrick Lin, Malia Monroy, Jen Joyner, and Julissa Gomez with a few of the 130 Lake Belton white bass they caught as a late October mild, dry cold front reinforced the already solid fishing for this species which kicked off very suddenly on September 6th, following the fall season’s first cold front.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

This morning saw a continuation of the excellent white bass fishing on Lake Belton which has been taking place since Sept. 6 when the fall season’s first short cooldown occurred. This was bolstered by another cold front on Oct. 16, and then, again, overnight, a very mild, dry front pushed in, shifting the winds to the NW at a speed of 8-10 mph all morning.

The fishing followed a normal- or “bell-shaped” curve this morning, starting off slowly around 8:15, rising to a plateau from about 9:15 to 11:00, then falling off around 11:20, ending at near zero activity by noon.

We needed only one presentation with one lure this morning to seal the deal on a 130-fish catch, and that was a “smoking” retrieve using the MAL Original Lure (with chartreuse tail) presented vertically.

For better or worse, there always seems to be those few anglers who like to creep uncomfortably close on weekends — and today was no exception. If nothing else, they allow me to do an anecdotal comparison on how my clients are doing versus whatever lure or method these others employ. It was really eye-opening how few fish were caught by those yanking slabs up and down all morning, and how few fish were caught by those who could not or would not sit still enough to allow a bite to form beneath them.

Over the four hour span, we fished six areas and caught 130 fish, including 122 white bass and 8 short hybrid stripers.

Garmin LiveScope was certainly instrumental in accounting for a significant portion of these fish, as it allowed my crew to know exactly when suspended fish were passing beneath the boat, thus allowing them to time the rise of their lure so as to tempt those fish. The LiveScope also allow each to keep their lures at rest on bottom while awaiting an incoming school of bottom-hugging fish to make their way over to the commotion the “smoking” method and the caught and released fish were generating.

No, these folks from the chiropractic practice really needed no adjustments today!! Their technique was well-aligned with exactly what the fish wanted.

Here is a tutorial on vertically smoking the MAL Lure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUE

Here is a tutorial on horizontally “sawtoothing” with the MAL Lure or White Tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We used MAL Originals vertically 100% of the time today. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 130 fish, including 8 hybrid striped bass and 122 white bass.

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The number of bottom-oriented schools of white bass now found in deep water AND showing a willingness to remain stationary long enough to allow for presentations to be made for substantial lengths of time have increased sharply; these fish are there to stay, likely until the water temps drop below 60F.

2) Mornings are much more productive than evenings at this point in the fall.

3) For the third consecutive trip now, I saw multiple large (several hundred individuals) schools today in multiple locations as the fish begin to coalesce heading into the fall/winter.

4) A small flock of gulls overnighted out in open water, but flew away from the lake at dawn.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 7:30 AM on Saturday, 26 Oct….

0 feet 75.6F

5 feet 76.1F

10 feet 76.4F

15 feet 76.4F

20 feet 76.3F

25 feet 76.3F

30 feet 76.1F

35 feet 76.1F

40 feet 76.1F

45 feet 75.9F

50 feet 75.7F

55 feet 75.3F

60 feet 75.2F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:55A

End Time: 12:00 Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F

Elevation: 2.07′ low and falling slowly with a 43 cfs flow; .01′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 75.6F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NW8-10 all morning

Sky Condition: 75% white-grey cover on a blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 28% illumination.

GT = 55

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1482- 12 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 1552 – 47 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 1325 – 15 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic B0308G/B0310G – 21 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 1743 – 32 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area vic B0225G – 3 fish smoking MAL Originals

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