Fishing Report | Holding The Line Guide Service

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

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‘Twas a Tad Toasty – 141 Fish

September 18th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This past Tuesday evening I was joined by first-time guests Ted Wong and Robert James. The two men got acquainted through their church in the Waco area. Ted works in the automotive industry, and Robert is retired from coaching football at the college level, most notably, at Baylor University.

DATE: Tuesday, 17 September 2024 (PM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 19 (PM), 20 (AM), 23-27 Sep. (AMs and PMs)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Robert James and Ted Wong worked in the fairly windless heat for 4 hours and were rewarded with a catch of 141 fish on Lake Belton. 130 of their 141 fish were taken on MAL Originals with chartreuse tails worked with a “smoking” tactic.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Fishing has gotten much easier and much more productive ever since the brief cold snap we experienced for a 4-day run, beginning on Sept. 6.

Once again today, despite less than optimum wind and cloud cover, we found heavily schooled fish tight to bottom. These fish were 1) willing to chase a lure moving at a fast clip, and 2) stayed beneath the boat for long periods of time allowing a significant number of fish to be landed before having to move and find more fish.

We used the MAL Original with chartreuse tail with a smoking tactic to catch 130 of our 141 fish. We used this bait and this tactic from our start, up until about 7:10. Then, with about 40 minutes of light left, I could see fish beginning to move shallower, thru the 30 foot depths, into about 25 feet of water. As they did this, the fanned out, thus making a horizontal tactic more likely to produce.

I changed us over to White Tornados (white, 3/4 oz. version) and we wound up picking up 11 more fish right up until they quit at dark. As has been the case even before the Sept. 6 cooldown, the ratio of quality white bass increased during this brief low-light period.

This was the first trip since Lake Belton reopened in early July where I did not feel downrigging would outproduce other methods at any point during this 4-hour trip.

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We smoked MAL Originals vertically. We cast White Tornados horizontally. Find all MAL Lures and White Tornados here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 141 fish caught and released, including 1 largemouth bass, 6 short hybrids, and 134 white bass

OBSERVATIONS:

2) Zero topwater action at dusk.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:35 AM on Saturday, September 7 , then again around 6:10AM on Monday, September 9…

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 3:50P

End Time: 7:50P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 92F

Elevation: 1.03′ low and falling slowly with a 52 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 85.5F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: S0-6 all afternoon.

Sky Condition: ~40% white cloud cover on a light blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 99% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1743 – smoking MAL Originals for 43 fish

Area 1269 – smoking MAL Originals for 27 fish

Area B0107G – smoking MAL Originals for 38 fish

Area B0304G – smoking MAL Originals for 7 fish (all small, so left them biting)

Area B0245G/1506 – smoking MAL Originals for 15 fish (all small, so left them biting)

Area 1788 to B0156C – moved shallower with the fish as light failed, sawtoothing White Tornados for 11 fish

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

They Were “Gladden” They Came Today — 204 Fish (w/ Magnum White Bass Photo)

September 15th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This past Saturday morning I was joined by the Gladden family – Kelvin, Angela, and Tevin — for the second weekend in a row to pursue white bass on Lake Belton on an all catch-and-release basis.

DATE: Saturday, 14 September 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 17 (AM), and 18-19, 23-27 Sep. (AMs and PMs)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Kelvin, Angela, and Tevin Gladden with but a few of the 204 fish they landed in just 4 hours on this September weekend trip on Lake Belton. The largest white bass of the trip, being held by Angela, went 15.75″ – a true Texas magnum.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Fishing was very straightforward and very productive this morning. We spent a very short time between 6:50 and sunrise downrigging in water less than 20 feet deep for roving schools of white bass, catching 13 white bass before the sun’s direct rays struck the water and drove fish deeper.

From that point on, we hit only four additional areas, and “camped out” for substantial lengths of time at each, working MAL Originals with chartreuse tails vertically for an additional 191 fish landed through our quitting time around 11 AM.

In each case these fish were scattered at first, as seen on sonar. They consolidated under the boat thanks to the splasher, and they remained under the boat as the splasher and the commotion created by catching and releasing fish attracted additional fish. In each case, we left fish still biting as the action at each location peaked, and then began to taper off as I felt the conditions (with wind and cloud cover) would allow us to find additional schools of fish which were more active.

Last week, the Gladden party included 4 with their son, Kelvin, who did not make it today. This week, the three of them landed 204 versus the 117 which all four of them landed last week. I attribute this both to the returning south wind which began late this past Thursday, and the fact that the Gladdens had no learning curve to work through today.

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We downrigged with #12 Pet Spoons. We smoked MAL Originals vertically. Find all MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 204 fish caught and released, including 1 freshwater drum, 9 short hybrids, and 194 white bass

OBSERVATIONS:

2) Third day of helpful southerly winds (and with good velocity of 10+ mph) following 7 days of northerly winds.

3) The harder the wind blew, the better our result, hence a 99 fish catch at the last stop of the morning when we were just shy of whitecapping at 12-13 mph from due south.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:35 AM on Saturday, September 7 , then again around 6:10AM on Monday, September 9…

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time: 11A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 77F

Elevation: 0.99′ low and falling slowly with a 52 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 80.7F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: S9-13 all morning

Sky Condition: Fair skies with high, thin, white cloud cover at ~70%

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 82% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Areas 1802 & 1923 – downrigging pre-dawn with #13 Pet Spoons for 13 fish

Area B0302G – smoking MAL Originals for 55 fish

Area 683/B0301G – smoking MAL Originals for 22 fish

Area vic 1012 – smoking MAL Originals for 15 fish

Area 086/346 – smoking MAL Originals for 99 fish

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

CALL IT A “TWO-FER” — 54 + 115 = 169 FISH

September 14th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: On Friday, Sept. 13, I saw that the north wind we’d had in place for 7 days was due to shift to the south. This usually helps the fishing, but also relocates fish. I wanted to stay on top of any fish movements, so, I took my wife on a morning scouting trip. Our intention was to check a lot of areas, catch no more than five fish in order to gauge activity level and size, then move on to the next area. Well, that effort resulted in 54 fish landed and multiple fish-holding areas identified. Just as I hopped in my truck to back down my trailer, I got a call. Long story short, Ariel and Paige Merhav were at Ft. Cavazos, visiting from Utah and wanted to go fishing. So, I met them back at Lake Belton at 4p, and we did a full 4-hour trip. He’s a firefighter, she’s a physician, and they were great anglers and great company.

DATE: Friday, 13 September 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 17-19, 23-27 Sep.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Paige and Ariel Merhav landed 115 fish during their 4-hour evening trip on Lake Belton. This handsome smallmouth was the largest of the lot.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Thanks to a bit of thin, high cloud cover and a nice, steady southerly breeze at 9-10 mph, we got right on fish this afternoon and stayed on them for a full four hours. Up until 7p, our fishing was focused on the increasing numbers of white bass beginning to occupy segments of the bottom which have not seen fish since the spring in as much as 50 feet of water.

We used one lure, one way to put 96 fish in the boat. That was the MAL Original with chartreuse tail. Ariel and Paige had lots of prior fishing experience, and that certainly helped them maximize their potential. Garmin LiveScope definitely placed a positive roll, as it showed when large schools of fish were moving in from the left or right so the two of them could time the rise of their lures correctly.

With about 20 minutes to go until dark, the fish count stood at 96, and we all wanted to break that 100 fish mark, but, the wind died and made the low-light period a bit tough (same thing is reported in my writeup from Sep. 10). After trying horizontal casting from a fixed position, I suggested we downrig in order to cover water and intersect with some of the patrolling schools of whites clearly showing on side-imaging. This worked out well. With two 3-armed umbrella rigs working 6 Pet Spoons, we put a final 19 fish in the boat coming as singles, doubles, and triples, thus ending the evening with 115 fish caught and released.

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We downrigged with #12 Pet Spoons. We smoked MAL Originals vertically. Find all MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 115 fish caught and released, including 2 smallmouth, 1 largemouth, 2 short hybrids, and 110 white bass

OBSERVATIONS:

1) The number of bottom-oriented schools of white bass encountered since the summertime patterns kicked which are “camped out” for more than just a few minutes at a time continues to increase steadily.

2) Second day of helpful southerly winds following 7 days of northerly winds.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:35 AM on Saturday, September 7 , then again around 6:10AM on Monday, September 9…

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 4P

End Time: 8P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 91F

Elevation: 0.97′ low and falling slowly with a 52 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 80.91F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: S9-10 through 6:30P, then dropping off to S1-3

Sky Condition: Fair skies with high, thin, white cloud cover

Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous moon at 73% illumination.

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1376 -10 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 1012 – 28 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0302G – 47 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area B0303G – 11 fish smoking MAL Originals

Area 811 through 1746 -19 fish downrigging #13 Pet Spoons

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

NO DEBATE — THIS WAS AN AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL — 91 Fish

September 11th, 2024September 11th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This afternoon I welcomed aboard Mr. George Garza who chaperoned his own two children, Gabrielle and George, as well as George’s friend, Jace. The boys are both 10, and Gabrielle is 15. George, a U.S. Army disabled veteran, had gone out with me previously via the Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) program on a very cold morning in late winter. This afternoon there was enough daylight between the end of school and dark to get in a “Kids Fish, Too!” trip wherein only the kids did the fishing.

This is a great time to get kids out after school. My kids trip start around 4:30 and go until 8. Those times will get earlier as our daylengths get shorter

DATE: Tuesday, 10 September 2024 (PM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 12, 16-19 Sep.

PHOTO CAPTION: George Garza with his daughter, Gabrielle (15), and one of the 91 white bass she, her brother, and his friend landed on this comfortable September evening on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION: George Garza (10) and George Garza with one of the 91 white bass the kids pulled in during their 2+ hour evening trip. The younger George was not real sure about holding the fish, even with a fish-holder attached.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jace Rivas (10), who has been friends with George Garza for about a year, help up his end of the bargain tonight, landing his fair share of the 91 fish the kids landed.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Our original plans were just for the two boys to fish, but, at the last minute, Gabrielle’s dance practice was cancelled, so, she joined us, as well. That resulted in a bit of delay and, bottom line, this went from a 3.5 hour trip to a 2 hour, 20 minute trip. So, I had to get on fish and stay on fish to make the most of this.

Fortunately, the weather this afternoon was atypical. We had a remnant north wind from last Friday’s cold front still moving the air, and we had some outer bands of Hurricane Francine’s weather move over us from 5:40P through 7P, then clear off.

Fishing was excellent while both the wind blew and the cloud cover existed, but, at 7P, when both decreased sharply, the bite dropped off with it. To illustrate this point, the kids landed 72 fish from 5:50 through 7P, then only 19 additional fish in the final hour from 7P to 8P.

We started off downrigging with a pair of ‘riggers, each equipped with an umbrella rig sporting three #13 Pet Spoons. This was so as to have baits in the water as I covered ground with sonar looking for concentrations of fish we could hover atop of and fish for vertically.

We didn’t have to downrig long to accomplish that. The fish hit the ‘riggers faster than I could take the fish off, untangle the leaders and redeploy the umbrella rigs. Each of the kids had a turn catching fish, then, after George (who went first) finished up his second round, I stopped over a large school of bottom-hugging fish, Spot-Locked atop them, and had the kids use a smoking tactic with MAL Originals (chartreuse tails) to catch fish non-stop for right at an hour. During this time, I switched over Gabrielle to an MAL Mini. It caught more fish, but it also take a bit more finesse to get and keep the small spinner blade going, so, I kept the younger boys on the MAL Original and all was well.

At 7P, the wind stopped, the skies cleared, and the bite tailed off. We took a snack break (the kid brought an entire party tray of meats and cheeses!!), took photos while the light was still good, and then went back to fishing for fish which were now much less enthused. We primarily downrigged, adding 19 fish to the count to then the trip with a grand total of 91 fish.

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We downrigged with #13 Pet Spoons. We smoked MAL Originals and Minis vertically. Find all MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 91fish caught and released, including 1 crappie, 1 drum, and 89 white bass

OBSERVATIONS:

1) No topwater action.

2) We fished on a continuing N. wind which swept in late Friday night and both cooled and dried the atmosphere. It also started water temps trending downwards.

3) The traditional summertime “sunset bite” was weak tonight as the fish fed heavily from 7 to 8P with wind and cloud cover generating ideal conditons.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:35 AM on Saturday, September 7 , then again around 6:10AM on Monday, September 9…

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 5:40P

End Time: 8:00P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 90F

Elevation: 0.90′ low and falling slowly with a 52 cfs flow; .02′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 80.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW8 thru 7P, then dying

Sky Condition: Light grey skies w/ clouds spinning off Hurricane Francine through 7P, then clearing

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 43% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 164 – limited time meant we’d make the most of the first concentration of fish I found. We stayed in this vicinity the entire trip.

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

COOL MORNING, HOT FISHING — 117 FISH

September 9th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning I fished with father and son team Tommy and Ryan Stinson. This was the Stinson’s first time out with me after being pointed my way by Mrs. Terri Covington, the queen of Belton real estate. Tommy works in operations in the manufacturing industry in Temple, and Ryan is in the banking industry. Flooding forced a postponement of this trip, but, that worked out for the better. Although we may have caught as many fish over the summer, we definitely would not have enjoyed it nearly as much as we did in this morning’s autumn-like conditions.

DATE: Monday, 09 September 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 10-12, 16-19 Sep.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Ryan Stinson and his dad, Tommy, with deepwater whites and blacks which shot up off bottom after their “smoked” MAL Lures this morning.

PHOTO CAPTION: We all watched this nice smallmouth shoot up off bottom in ~35 feet of water, overtake and then strike Tommy’s MAL Lure after running about 14 feet straight up to get it as viewed on Garmin LiveScope.

PHOTO CAPTION: This Lake Belton hybrid striped bass was mixed in with white bass and struck one of three Pet Spoons trailing behind an umbrella rig set at 24′ over a deeper bottom.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

What a pleasant morning to be outdoors, with a 55F start, a cloudless sky, and low humidity. We began our morning fancasting to scattered fish in under 15′ using MAL Originals, landing 4 fish and missing one more before the sun’s rays brightened the sky and pushed these fish down and out further.

We then retooled, got the downriggers going with the balls set at 24′ over a deeper bottom and wore out the suspended white bass until some distant topwater action got my attention. For variety’s sake, I chased these topwater fish, but the action ended by the time we made the run to them, so, I returned to the scene of the downrigging success and decided to Spot-Lock on bottom-oriented schools and work them with MAL Lures (Originals and Minis) smoked upwards off the bottom.

This turned out very well, helping us take our count to 81 fish landed by 9AM.

After a while, these fish started to trend small and thin out, so, it was time to move. I looked over two areas, only finding a few scattered fish on them. We picked up three whites at one of these two areas, and I passed on the other.

I looked for yet another area with similar depth and topography, and found yet another cooperative school on bottom. We finished up the trip here, staying on these fish for a full 50 minutes until the morning bite died. I found that the best quality fish would come first on the MAL Originals, then we could follow up with MAL Minis and continue to catch plentiful, smaller fish with that smaller bait.

In all, Ryan and Tommy landed 117 fish in right at 4 hours’ time.

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We downrigged with #13 Pet Spoons. We smoked MAL Originals and Minis vertically. Find all MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 117 fish caught and released, including 1 smallmouth, 1 largemouth, 6 short hybrids, 1 drum, and 108 white bass

OBSERVATIONS:

1) No topwater action.

2) We fished on a continuing N. wind which swept in late Friday night and both cooled and dried the atmosphere. It also started water temps trending downwards.

3) Second consecutive trip finding bottom-oriented schools of white bass “camped out” for more than just a few minutes at a time. We were able to Spot-Lock on them, present to them, and draw responses repeatedly for up to 40 minutes at a time.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:35 AM on Saturday, September 7 , then again around 6:10AM on Monday, September 9…

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time:11:05A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 55F

Elevation: 0.85′ low and rising slowly with a 52 cfs flow; .03′ rise in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 80.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW7-11

Sky Condition: Light blue, cloudless skies all morning

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 33% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 010 – 4 fish fancasting in shallow water under low-light, pre-dawn conditions

Area B0297G – downrigging #12 Pets which lead to smoking MALs for a total of 77 fish at this area

Area B0298G – smoking MAL Minis and Originals for a final count of 117 fish by 11A

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

NUDGING TOWARD BETTER FALL FISHING — 102 Fish

September 7th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This morning I fished with returning guests Kelvin and Angela Gladden, and their adult sons, Kelvin and Tevin. After poor results scouting for white bass on Stillhouse this past week, I continued fishing Lake Belton with the Gladdens this morning. Autumn was in the air as a stiff north wind ushered in cooler, dryer air which will nudge us toward better fall fishing.

DATE: Saturday, 07 September 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 10-12, 16-19 Sep.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Tevin, Angela, Kelvin, and Kelvin Gladden with a few of the white bass they took using downrigging and smoking tactics. In addition to 93 white bass, there were 6 short hybrid, 1 largemouth, and 2 smallmouth included in their catch.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Generally speaking, fishing on an incoming cold front is better than average; that said, timing is the key. That span of time after any storms occur as the front’s lead edge arrives and until the wind velocity peaks is typically the best of the best. Fortunately, we got in on that this morning.

We got right down to business using downriggers to cover water and to find and catch fish. We fished two areas via downrigging with #12 Pet Spoons behind 3-armed umbrella rigs and boated 42 fish before 8AM. The 6 fish we took before the sun’s direct rays struck the water were shallow and orienting to the bottom; the 36 fish we took after the sun rose were suspended at or below 25′ and we got them with the balls set at ~24′.

Around 8:20A, the fish we found began to dissipate. I got back on fish around 9A, after stopping three different times in unsuccessful attempts to draw fish in with the splasher.

Around 9A, we picked up five more white bass via downrigging with balls set to 28′, but, as I ran over a breakline, I saw fish on bottom in as much as 36′. We put the ‘rigging gear away and spent the rest of the trip Spot-Locked atop three distinct schools of bottom-hugging white bass, all within an eighth of a mile of one another. The splasher definitely worked its magic to draw and hold these fish, and, although the MAL Original caught fish on the first few drops at each location when the fish were most fired up, the MAL Mini continued to put fish in the boat once they got finnicky. We used a smoking tactic supported by Garmin LiveScope.

This last scenario was encouraging, as it represented the first time after summertime patterns kicked in that I’ve seen fish return to bottom in deep water and stay put long enough to fish for with a positive outcome. This is a big deal which most anglers wouldn’t recognize nor see the significance of.

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We downrigged with #12 Pet Spoons. We smoked MAL Originals and Minis vertically. Find all MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 102 fish caught and released, including 2 smallmouth, 1 largemouth, 6 short hybrids, and 93 white bass

OBSERVATIONS:

1) No topwater action, although I was not fishing in areas where I’d anticipate topwater action would materialize.

2) We fished with rising wind velocity as a cold front passed last night and as high pressure began to build in today.

3) Found the first bottom-oriented schools of white bass I’ve encountered since the summertime patterns kicked in “camped out” for more than just a few minutes at a time. We were able to Spot-Lock on them, present to them, and draw responses repeatedly.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:35 AM on Saturday, September 7 …

0 feet 83.1F

5 feet 83.8F

10 feet 84.0F

15 feet 84.0F

20 feet 84.0F

25 Feet 84.0F

30 feet 84.0F

35 feet 84.0F

40 feet 84.0F

45 feet 84.0F

50 feet 83.1F

55 feet 80.5F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:50A

End Time:11:00a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F

Elevation: 0.85′ low and rising slowly with a 52 cfs flow; .03′ rise in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 83.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW11-14

Sky Condition: Light blue, cloudless skies all morning

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 17% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1746 – downrigging #12 Pets for 6 fish prior to sunrise

Area vic B0109C – downrigging #12 Pets for 36 fish between sunrise and 8A

Area 971/473, Area 971/B0022C, and Area vic B0096C – 60 fish between 9 & 11A smoking MAL Originals and Minis

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

I Flip-Flopped, But, My Values Are Unchanged – 51 Fish

September 4th, 2024September 4th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This past Sunday evening (Labor Day weekend) I made an “exception to policy” for the Oliver family of Temple, and ran a fishing trip on a holiday weekend. I normally don’t fish on weekends between Spring Break and Labor Day, and I normally don’t fish on holiday weekends at any time of year. I just feel the extra traffic reduces the aesthetic value of a trip, and limits the number of places I can search for fish without getting close to others. But, the Olivers are one of my longest-running clients, and have booked more trips with me than any other clients. Aside from that, they are always uplifting to have aboard, so, holiday weekend or not, we went for a shortened 2 hour trip for the low-light evening bite on Lake Belton to close out the family’s mini-reunion celebrating the birthday of Betty Jean Oliver (mom, grandma, great-grandma) now in her early 90s. Aboard were Joe and Dicque Oliver, and their three adult kids, Corey, Amber, and Thomas.

DATE: Sunday, 01 September 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 5, 10-12 Sep.

PHOTO CAPTION: Two generations of Olivers, from left: Corey, Amber, Dicque, Joe, and Thomas. The family converged on the Temple/Belton area to celebrate Joe’s mother’s birthday. Mrs. Betty Joe Oliver is in her early 90s. After the 1p Sunday party ended, all the “young folks” went fishing with me!!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

Although several areas have produced well in the evenings all through August, the evening bite is short, and this evening, we’d really only have enough time to hit one, or at most, two areas.

With a crew of 5, I went with a downrigging approach. Downrigging is very effective all summer when fish are moving fast and small schools tend to be scattered and often suspended.

Our first area was a bit of a bust, but, we also hit it a bit earlier than the timespan when the evening bite has really been getting underway. Additionally, due to a north wind, this area was not being as heavily impacted by wind as it had been with SE winds.

We picked up 5 fish on downrigged Pet Spoons and moved on.

The second area we hit was a bit more steeply sloped and a bit deeper. The fish here were suspended, although not more than 5-6 feet off bottom. As it turned out, these fish were all small and although they were hitting eagerly, we moved once again after everyone had a round or two catching these on #12 Pet Spoons.

The third area we went to, and the last at which we would downrig, held a mix of sizes of fish, and the fish were willing to chase and strike to some degree, although not overly aggressive. We worked this area thoroughly right up until the sun went behind a thick, grey cloud bank in the west and the light level decreased sharply. At this point we had 45 fish landed.

I headed us up shallow in hopes that a few fish would come up despite the traffic and the mild cold front. I was pleasantly surprised that there were a few fish up in under 15′. I had everyone get on one side of the boat abreast of one another and sling MAL Originals, working them back sawtooth style. My crew landed 6 final fish this way before dark, at which time the fish quit altogether.

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We downrigged with #12 & #13 Pet Spoons. We sawtoothed with MAL Originals up shallow at dark. Find all MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 51 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:

1) No topwater action

2) Grey clouds developed with a mild cold front which brought NNE winds since late Friday

3) Fish were in a neutral mood; not turned off, but not aggressive, either.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:25 AM on Monday, August 26 …

0 feet 87.2F

5 feet 87.6F

10 feet 87.9F

15 feet 87.9F

20 feet 87.9F

25 feet 87.9F

30 feet 87.2F

35 feet 85.6F

40 feet 84.2F

45 feet 83.3F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:15P

End Time: 8:15P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 88F

Elevation: 0.73′ low and falling slowly with a 52 cfs flow; .01′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 86.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNE10

Sky Condition: 100% moderate grey cloud coverage all evening

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 2% illumination.

GT = 45

Wx SNAPSHOT: N/A

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1075 & 1923 – downrigging #12 Pets for 45 fish by 7:55

Area 010 – sawtoothing MAL Originals up shallow for a final bite at dark

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

Find, Consolidate, Catch — 82 Fish

September 3rd, 2024September 3rd, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: This past Friday morning, I fished with a very nice young couple, Jesse Wright and Layne Marr. She’s a farm girl from Canada, and he’s a city kid from L.A. who made good via the military where, after leaving the U.S. Air Force as an enlisted man doing aircraft maintenance, he transitioned to the U.S. Army as a warrant officer in the Field Artillery branch.

DATE: Friday, 30 August 2024 (AM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 4, 5, 10-12 Sep.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jesse and Layne executed three tactics very well and very consistently, and put together an 82-fish morning catch on Lake Belton. The number of quality fish was enhanced this morning thanks to grey cloud cover extending the low-light period.

PHOTO CAPTION: Triple! Jesse landed these three white bass simultaneously on a 3-armed umbrella rig equipped with Pet Spoons. Downrigging served us well from about 7:15 to 8:30A as fish were active, but were also scattered and moving fast.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

We got a reprieve on the long string of bright, calm sky conditions today as clouds moved in from the east early, giving near 100% coverage with a thin grey cloud deck. This extended the low-light time period during which we’ve been catching our quality fish from about 90 minutes to right at 120 minutes this morning.

We began the morning casting MAL Originals with chartreuse tails up shallow for fish in under 15′ and did well for about 15 minutes until the ambient light reached a certain level and drove these fish deeper and caused some scattering.

We pursued these fish using downriggers equipped with 3-armed umbrella rigs armed with #13 Pet Spoons. The downrigger bite lasted until 8:30A and provided continuous action.

After this, we used sonar to search for concentrations of shad with gamefish mixed in, Spot-Locked atop these fish and worked MAL Originals vertically, aided by Garmin LiveScope. This produced well for quality fish until around 9A. The splasher was invaluable in drawing these fish to us and keeping them beneath us.

Around 9A, the now 2.5-hour long bite which had been very productive, began to wane. From this point forward, most of the fish we found were on the small side. We found them with sonar, consolidated them with the splasher, and caught them with the MAL Mini worked vertically

Remember, with these MAL Minis, if you don’t feel the blade spinning as you work it upwards, bend the shaft a bit at a time until it begins to “kick in”. It is also helpful to start the smoking retrieve with the rod tip pointed downward toward the water, then, SIMULTANEOUSLY lift the rod sharply to the point where it parallel to the water’s AND begin turning the reel’s handle. Done correctly, you’ll feel the spinner causing vibration, and you’ll see your rod tip get loaded by the resistance caused by the blade.

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We downrigged with #12 & #13 Pet Spoons. We smoked and sawtoothed with MAL Originals for heavily schooled and fairly stationary fish. We smoked MAL Minis in the latter half of the trip suspended fish drawn in by the splasher. Find all MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 82 fish caught and released, including 3 largemouth bass, 1 blue catfish, and 78 white bass.

OBSERVATIONS:

1) Literally, just seconds of topwater action observed over about a 2 acre area around 10AM

2) Best quality fish came in the first 120 minutes; mainly smaller fish thereafter – the quality fish window ran longer today thanks to grey skies extending the low-light period.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:25 AM on Monday, August 26 …

0 feet 87.2F

5 feet 87.6F

10 feet 87.9F

15 feet 87.9F

20 feet 87.9F

25 feet 87.9F

30 feet 87.2F

35 feet 85.6F

40 feet 84.2F

45 feet 83.3F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:35A

End Time: 10:50A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F

Elevation: 0.72′ low and falling slowly with a 52 cfs flow; .04′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 87.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE3-4

Sky Condition: 100% light grey cloud coverage all morning helping to extend the low-light period and lengthen this morning’s bite for quality fish.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 19% illumination.

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic 1431 – sawtoothing MAL Originals, then downrigging #12 Pets for 47 fish by 8:30

Area B0273G — smoking MAL Originals for 16 fish by 9A

Area vic 1077 to 1362 – smoking MAL Minis for a final 19 fish

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Wednesday’s Scouting Paid Off on Thursday — 84 Fish

September 2nd, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

CLIENTS: Earlier this week I took an evening scouting trip on Lake Belton accompanied by my brother, Andy. I’d not fished an evening trip in over 10 days, and wanted to be sure I knew right where to take my young clients, Jackson (9) and Maverick (6) Pursell, accompanied by their dad, Steve. This evening, that scouting paid off as Steve helped me help his boys be successful as they caught fish using a variety of tactics right where Andy and I had found them the evening before.

DATE: Thursday, 29 August 2024 (PM)

NEXT OPEN DATES: 3-5, and 10-12 Sep.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jackson, Maverick, and Steve Pursell with a sampling of the evening’s catch of white bass taken in the last 3.5 hours of light on Lake Belton.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

We began fishing downriggers equipped with #12 Pet Spoons just above the visible “band of life” down around 30′. This band shows clearly on sonar and is a concentration of life just above the level at which dissolved oxygen levels are too low to support fish life.

We put 30 fish in the boat, including singles, doubles, and triples. As has been the case all summer this year, these fish caught outside the “low light window” which exists from about 90 minutes prior to dark right up until dark, were mostly small fish.

We moved on around 5:30P and began looking for larger fish using the bottom in under 30 feet of water. Based on the prior evening’s scouting, we essentially drove right to these fish and proceeded to catch them consistently right until about 7:50. As the sun dropped into a cloud bank in the west, it got a bit too dark for the downriggers to be effective any longer, so, after finding a sizeable school of fish in about 24′ on bottom, we Spot-Locked on them and smoked MAL Originals to catch them.

Once it got too dark for the fish to feed any longer in that depth, we moved even shallower and fancast MAL Originals for our final few fish.

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

LURES USED SUCCESSFULLY ON THIS TRIP: We downrigged with #12 & #13 Pet Spoons. We smoked and sawtoothed with MAL Originals for heavily schooled and fairly stationary fish. Find all MAL Lures here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 84 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS:

1) No topwater action observed.

2) Best quality fish came in the last 75 minutes; mainly smaller fish before that.

3) Spotted the first flock of migratory teal of the fall on Lake Belton in the morning

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Here was the water temperature profile for Lake Belton, measured with a FishHawk TD device around 6:25 AM on Monday, August 26 …

0 feet 87.2F

5 feet 87.6F

10 feet 87.9F

15 feet 87.9F

20 feet 87.9F

25 feet 87.9F

30 feet 87.2F

35 feet 85.6F

40 feet 84.2F

45 feet 83.3F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 4:45P

End Time: 8:15P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 92F

Elevation: 0.68′ low and falling slowly with a 52 cfs flow; .04′ fall in last 24 hours

Water Surface Temp: 87.9F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SE12

Sky Condition: 35% white cloud cover.

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 19% illumination.

GT = 35

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1604 to 1404 – downrigging for mainly short fish

Area 1924 to 812 – downrigging for quality fish

Area vic B0197C – smoking MAL Originals

Area 1781 – sawtoothing 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)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com