Fishing Report | Holding The Line Guide Service

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

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THEY WORKED FOR EVERY LAST FISH — 50 FISH @ BELTON

December 28th, 2022December 28th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, Dec. 28th, I fished with John Wilson and his college-aged son, Jared.

John oversees the operation of Baylor Scott & White’s pharmacy operations, and Jared is in his first year at Oklahoma University in Oklahoma City.

John first learned of my guide service through his Bible study class at a local Church of Christ fellowship, led by a long-time client of mine, Mr. MJ Linder.

My next weekday openings are on 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: John and Jared Wilson spent some father-and-son time in search of white bass while Jared was on Christmas break from Oklahoma University in Oklahoma City, OK.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday, 28 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Once again we faced pretty tough conditions this morning with cold water, yet another total lack of bird activity (third consecutive trip), and a lull in weather between fronts.

Wherever we encountered white bass, they were broken into small groups of up to 30 fish or so, with several yards between these small groups. Due to the cold water, these fish would not move to us despite the commotion we created, hence, we had to move frequently.

We again noted that we’d catch just a few fish, usually in the first few minutes following our arrival, and we would then experience a sharp decline in interest. Again, the solution here was to move frequently.

I experimented with all three sizes of Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (3/8, 5/8, and 3/4 ounce). While the white bass did not refuse any of these slabs, the 3/8 oz. wound up producing best, but also took a lot of time to reach bottom when we fished in over 34′ or so.

The slow-smoking tactic worked best for fish which were primarily bottom-dwelling today. We did find that dead-sticking with jigheads and soft plastics worked well for suspended fish IF they were not moving parallel to the bottom. As usual, the Garmin LiveScope was a tremendous aid in knowing when and where to present our baits, especially concerning suspended fish.

We had 41 fish in the boat by the time the standard 4-hours had passed. With John and Jared’s permission we stayed an extra hour shooting for the 50 fish mark and finally eclipsed that just after 1P.

Our tally of 50 fish consisted of 1 largemouth bass, 5 freshwater drum, and 44 white bass, of which 4 were short.

TALLY: 50 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) No helpful bird activity for 3rd consecutive trip. 2) On 21 Dec. the temperature profile to 55′ was a constant 58.2F; temperature is now 52.6F down to that same depth.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 8A

End Time: 1P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 41F

Elevation: 13.36 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 51.6F on the surface

Wind Speed & Direction: S7 at trip’s start, steadily ramping up to S18 by trip’s end with occasional higher gusts.

Sky Condition: High, thin white cloud cover at 60% on a light blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 33% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1815 – 3 fish

Area 150 – 12 fish

Area vic 714 – 7 fish

Area 2062 – 11 fish

Area 1943 (2 hops) – 9 fish

Area 1126 – 8 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

BOBBY & THE BOYS — 77 FISH @ BELTON

December 27th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This evening, Tuesday, Dec. 27th, I fished with Mr. Bobby Golding III and his two sons Bobby Golding IV, and Billy Golding.

Bobby III, a U.S. Army veteran, has worked for many years at an industrial supply business in Temple, Bobby IV is a Tech Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Florida where he works with aircraft-based weapons, and Billy is a heavy equipment mechanic working for a construction firm in Austin.

Bobby owns his own (very nice) Bass Cat bass boat, but doesn’t chase white bass routinely. He just wanted to make sure his sons “got their strings stretched” and to spend some time with the both of them while they were home for the holidays, so, I was honored that he called on me to help with that.

We were originally scheduled for this past Saturday, but the frigid weather forced a rescheduling.

My next weekday openings are on 03 – 05 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Bobby Golding III, Bobby Golding IV, and Billy Golding, each with 2 of the 77 fish they landed under tough conditions brought on by the recent, rapid cooling of Lake Belton.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 27 December 2022 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

We faced pretty tough conditions this afternoon with yet another total lack of bird activity.

We found fish were scattered, and that some fish had moved up to depths as shallow as 24′.

Even where we found concentrations of fish, those fish were in multiple, distinctly separated groups of perhaps 12-30 fish each.

Fish would generally get interested in our presentations immediately, allowing us to catch a few fish, then they would shut down fairly quickly. Having seen this routinely this winter, I knew we needed to move on to find new fish as soon as the slowdown occurred.

We used white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs the entire trip using a slow-smoking tactic and Garmin LiveScope. Of the first 51 fish we caught, only 1 white bass was short, however, of the final 26 fish we landed, only 4 were of legal size.

When all was said and done the Goldings landed 77 fish including 1 short hybrid striped bass, 5 largemouth bass, 2 freshwater drum, and 69 white bass, of which 23 were short.

TALLY: 77 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) No helpful bird activity for 2nd consecutive trip. 2) On 21 Dec. the temperature profile to 55′ was a constant 58.2F; temperature is now 52.6F down to that same depth.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1:00P

End Time: 5:00P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F

Elevation: 13.35 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 51.8F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE5 at trip’s start, peaking at SSE12 by 4P, then settling back to SSE6 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: High, thin white cloud cover at 40% on a light blue sky.

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 33% illumination.

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area B0022C – 8 fish

Area B0075C – 7 fish

Area vic B0063G – 7 fish

Area B0159G – 7 fish

Area B0173G – 8 fish; second hop – 7 fish

Area 1291 – 33 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

Better Than Talbot’s Parking Lot! — 60 Fish @ Lake Belton

December 26th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, Dec. 26th, I fished with brother Steve and David Weaver. David lives near Florence, TX, and makes his living as a veterinarian. Steve and his wife drove in from the Gulf side of Florida where he retired recently from a career in law enforcement.

This was my first trip since the great temperature slide brought on by a multi-day arctic blast which hit Central Texas on Dec. 22nd.

I let Steve and David know we had the deck stacked against us with such a rapid cooling of the water over such a short span of time, but, as Steve put it, “It’s still better than waiting in the Talbot’s parking lot,” referring to the alternative of chauffeuring his wife around to post-Christmas sales.

My next weekday opening is on 03 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Steve Weaver (left) and his brother, David, landed 60 fish on this first trip I’ve conducted since the water temperature plummeted starting on 22 Dec.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 26 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

A few of the adjustments I’ve learned to make over the years when the bite gets tough due to rapidly falling water temperature including downsizing my baits and making use of snap-jigging, if necessary. Fortunately, the water temperature is still above 50F, so, I did drop down to 3/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs, but we were still able to catch fish by slowly “smoking” these baits steadily upwards off bottom in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope.

Things were pretty tough until the wind kicked in around 10:10A. When the breeze finally materialized, it ramped up to WNW12 right away. The fish responded within about 12-15 minutes of the start of the wind.

We encountered both bottom-oriented and suspended fish at just about every location we fish, and, generally speaking, we caught more fish when we focused on presenting the slabs very precisely to those suspended fish. They were simply more aggressive and willing to follow further and overtake the rising slabs.

Our final area fished was the most productive and came after we’d had the longest period of wind moving the water.

We kept on fishing this area until we hit the 60 fish mark so I knew we’d at least landed a legal limit of white bass (50 fish over 10″) even though it meant staying out a bit longer than usual. As long as the fish stayed active, I felt we had a chance, and, since the fish started late thanks to the late-developing wind, we had fish continuing to flare up with aggression past 12:30P.

When all was said and done, Steve and David landed exactly 60 fish including 2 short hybrid striped bass, 2 largemouth bass, 3 freshwater drum, and 53 legal white bass with our two largest whites going right at 13.50 inches.

TALLY: 60 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) After 21 consecutive trips being aided by gulls in finding fish, this morning there was no helpful bird activity. 2) On 21 Dec. the temperature profile to 55′ was a constant 58.2F. Here is what the pre-dawn temperature profile looked like following the recent chill:

0 feet 51.7F
5 feet 52.5F
10 feet 52.6F
15 feet 52.6F
20 feet 52.6F
25 feet 52.6F
30 feet 52.6F
35 feet 52.6F
40 feet 52.6F
45 feet 52.6F
50 feet 52.6F
55 feet 52.3F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:40A

End Time: 12:40P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 26F

Elevation: 13.34 feet low, 0.02′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 51.7F

Wind Speed & Direction: just rippling from WNW until 10:10A, then quickly picking up to 12mph

Sky Condition: Clear, bluebird skies

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 23% illumination.

GT = 25

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1386 – 6 fish

Area BG0026 – 9 fish

Area 1205 – 4 fish

Area 1141 – 8 fish

Area 1548 – 7 fish

Area 953 – 26 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

21 DEC. 2022 SUMMARY PLACEHOLDER – 37 Fish

December 22nd, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

Fished only 3 of 4 hours with Charles and Gilda C. and their 14-year-old grandson whose parents did not want to appear/be mentioned on social media.

Landed 37 fish on Lake Belton. Wrapped up early as clients were under-dressed for 49-51F weather.

Fish were temperamental all afternoon until ~3:40p when birds began to work. We took our count from 22 fish to 37 fish in a matter of minutes, but by then the family was too cold to continue.

Found fish at:

B0171C thru B0173G

B0186C

B0005G

120/1373 under birds

THE LULL BETWEEN THE FRONTS

December 21st, 2022December 21st, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 20th, I was joined by long time client Steve Niemeier, accompanied by his granddaughter, Macy Fowler, who is a veteran of many trips with me, as well.

Steve and I put this trip on the books when he knew he’d be able to take his grandkids out fishing during their Christmas break from school, but, neither of us had a crystal ball for weather when we did so. As it turned out, the weather was just so-so — a day stuck in the middle between fronts and one on which the fish were neither truly fired up nor completely turned off.

My next weekday opening is on 02 Jan. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Steve Niemeier and his 14-year-old granddaughter, Macy Fowler, with a few of the white bass they worked for on this cool, grey day in between fronts.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, 20 December 2022 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

The bird activity today (the 21st consecutive fishing trip during which I’ve enjoyed helpful bird activity) mimicked the fish activity — both came in brief spurts spread across the afternoon with one final, hard feed right before dark.

Our approach was to take advantage of the bird action when it existed, not so much to fish under the birds, but to use them as an indicator as to the general location of fish and bait. Once the birds got us close, we closed the deal with sonar, relying mainly upon side-imaging looking for large groups of bottom-oriented fish instead of the aggressive, suspended fish up near the surface which the birds were focused on.

When the birds quit, we relied exclusively upon sonar. Things were tough when the birds were not flying, as the reason those birds quit feeding was because the fish below them quit chasing aggressively. In this regard, the birds were truly a barometer of fish activity.

We fished with white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs all afternoon until we got into fish under a heavy flock of birds right at last light. The birds fed so closely to the boat that I could see with great detail the size of the shad they were plucking from the water. This caused me to bump Steve and Macy’s slabs up to the 3/4 oz. size to more closely match the adult threadfin shad the fish and birds were feeding on.

As it grew darker, the fish up closer to the surface were by far much more likely to strike our presentations than those down lower in the water column. So, using Garmin LiveScope, I encouraged Steve and Macy to try to single out specific fish and to time the rise of their lure to pass right off the tip of these fishes’ noses by observing the direction the fish were swimming, This tactic accounted for multiple fish in our final 30 minutes of fishing.

As the fish quit roughly 10 minutes after the final bird activity of the day faded, Steve and Macy had landed a total of 55 fish, including 4 short white bass, 1 short hybrid striped bass, 1 largemouth bass, and exactly 49 legal white bass.

TALLY: 55 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 21st consecutive trip with helpful bird activity. 2) Temperature profile to 55′:

0 feet 58.2F
5 feet 58.2F
10 feet 58.2F
15 feet 58.2F
20 feet 58.2F
25 feet 58.2F
30 feet 58.2F
35 feet 58.2F
40 feet 58.2F
45 feet 58.2F
50 feet 58.2F
55 feet 58.2F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 1P

End Time: 5P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 48F

Elevation: 13.17 feet low, 0.00′ change in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 58.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW12 all afternoon

Sky Condition: Fully greyed skies all afternoon

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 5% illumination.

GT = 45

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1177 – 15 fish

Area 970 – 4 fish

Area 1152- 6 fish

Area 1177 – 13 fish

Area 1270 to 976 – 17 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

INCREDIBLE BEGINNER’S LUCK STREAK — 58 FISH

December 19th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: On Sunday afternoon, Dec. 18th, I conducted the 2022 season’s 15th SKIFF trip for military kids separated from their parents by their parents’ military duty.

Joining me this afternoon was Michael Gilman III. His dad, Michael Gilman Jr., is a U.S. Army Sergeant who served previously in the U.S. Marine Corps. In all, SGT Gilman has served for 11 years. He is currently deployed to Europe as part of a Field Artillery unit. The Gilman family is from south Georgia.

Mrs. Jessica Gilman, the homefront parent, towed her other three kids, all younger than Michael, with her to and from our meeting site in order to make this opportunity become a reality for her son. The Gilman’s heard of SKIFF through Mrs. Denise Igo’s Ft. Hood Area Events Facebook page.

Although Michael had gone fishing before, he’d never caught a fish, nor had he ever been on a boat.

ABOUT SKIFF: This fishing trip was provided to this military family at no charge. S.K.I.F.F. stands for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun. This program began in May of 2009. It is funded by the donations and fundraising efforts of the Austin Fly Fishers and other organizations they have partnered with. S.K.I.F.F. provides the children of military personnel separated from their families due to duty commitments with the opportunity to go fishing. SKIFF trips are also provided, free of charge, to Gold Star families who have lost their service member while he or she was on active duty. In mid-2019, SKIFF also began providing trips to dependents whose parents are bona fide disabled veterans. I coordinate and conduct these ~3.5-hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, just outside the gates of Fort Hood in Bell County, TX, year ’round. Call or text 254.368.7411.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: Talk about beginner’s luck!! Michael had never fished before, nor been on a boat before. During his 3.5 hour SKIFF trip, he landed (from left) a 19″ hybrid striped bass, a 3.00 pound freshwater drum, a 2.875 pound largemouth bass, a 4.75 pound blue catfish, and a mess of nice white bass, all on the white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Sunday, 19 November 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

I normally don’t fish on Sundays, but, with cold and/or wet weather forecast for the week ahead, and a pending request to get 8-year-old Michael out on the water, I wanted to fish with him while the water and the air were still warm. If this coming Thursday’s cold front pans out as forecast, we likely will not see water the temperature it is now until well into March.

I had my work cut out for me this evening with an 8-year-old who had never landed a fish nor been on a boat. Fortunately, Michael was very enthusiastic and willing to be coached in order to enjoy success.

I kept it simple by just working a white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slab vertically through fish we found both under birds and/or on sonar.

We enjoyed about an hours’ worth of strong bird action. This allowed Michael to gain experience through repetition as he hooked (and also missed) fish. This also gave me an opportunity to point out small adjustments he could make in his technique to improve, one at a time. By the time the birds settled down, he was fishing very well and was then able to take on the tougher conditions we experienced as the fish became less aggressive as (obscured) sunset approached.

Michael and I fished side-by-side as we watched Garmin LiveScope and landed a total of 58 fish including 1 legal hybrid, 1 short hybrid, 2 drum, 2 largemouth bass, 1 blue catfish, and 51 white bass.

TALLY: 58 fish caught and released

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

OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 20th consecutive trip with helpful bird activity.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 2:00P

End Time: 5:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 54F

Elevation: 13.17 feet low, 0.03′ fall in last 24 hours, 24CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 58F

Wind Speed & Direction: ESE10 all afternoon

Sky Condition: 100% grey cloud cover all afternoon

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 29% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

B0169G to B0120C – 16 fish

B0184G – 10 fish

B0186C – 20 fish

BDH008 – 12 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

THEIR CHRISTMAS FISHES CAME TRUE — 134 FISH @ BELTON

December 17th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, 17 Dec., I was joined by returning guests Richard and Linda Schneider, accompanied by their daughter, Ashley, and Ashley’s friend, Armando Leos.

Everyone was able to take a little break this morning from their weekday routine, where Richard drives an 18-wheeler, Linda works for one of our Central Texas cities’ water department, Ashley helps prevent fraud at a local bank, and Armando works as an estimator at an automotive paint & body shop.

This trip was in celebration of Ashley’s 22nd birthday.

My next weekday opening is on 27 Dec. My next weekend opening is Sat., 07 January 2023.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Richard, Linda, & Ashley Schneider and Armando Leos with four of the 134 fish they landed on a chilly December morning on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION: In addition to our target species of white bass, we also picked up a nice by-catch of hybrid striped bass. We landed 5 legal (18″ or greater) hybrid, and 14 additional hybrid, all but one of which were 16-17 inches in length. This bodes well for a Lake Belton hybrid rebound!

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 17 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

This morning’s bite rode a “bell-shaped curve”, starting at zero activity prior to sunrise, then quickly climbing to a peak, plateauing at the peak until around 10:25, then declining rapidly to nearly zero activity once again by around 11:15.

My crew did one thing and did it well today, and that was to slowly and steadily work the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab vertically in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope. They all knew their goal was to get fish to chase their lures and then to keep a steady cadence even as the fish chased — not speeding up, slowing down, stopping, pausing, or prematurely setting the hook. Everyone got off to a strong start on this discipline, and then continued improving as the morning went on.

For the 19th consecutive trip (since mid-November), birds (mainly gulls now with a few terns mixed in) were helpful in pointing the way to fish location. This morning we enjoyed a full 3 hours (of our 4 hours on the water) with bird assistance. These birds were not always on the most fish, but they pointed the way to active fish and to a point where I could “close the loop” with side-imaging.

Our final total was 134 fish landed, which included 5 legal hybrid, 14 short hybrid, 4 largemouth bass, 1 freshwater drum, and 110 white bass of which ~30 were short.

TALLY: 134 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 19th consecutive trip with helpful bird activity. 2) We had a much higher percentage of short white bass in our catch today than I’ve seen thus far this fall/winter. 3) 3+ hours of solid, helpful bird activity.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:15A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 43F

Elevation: 13.12 feet low, 0.03′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 58.7F

Wind Speed & Direction: NW10 at sunrise, slowly increasing to NW13 by trip’s end

Sky Condition: Broken grey skies for 1.5 hours, slowly clearing to cloudless, blue skies by trip’s end

Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 39% illumination.

GT = 85

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic B171G – 48 fish (~50% short whites under stationary birds)

Area vic B0101C – 4 fish (under moving birds)

Area B0097G – 18 fish (under moving birds)

Area B0061G – 8 fish (under moving birds)

Area 835 – 40 fish (under birds as feed began to wind down)

Area B0183G – 16 fish (stationary, suspended fish over deep water as morning feed ended)

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

SORTA SOGGY, SORTA SLOW — 74 FISH

December 12th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, December 12, I fished with long-time clients from the Oliver family. Joining me this morning were brothers Jack, Joe, and Jamie, as well as Jack’s adult son, Asa.

My next weekday opening is on 14 Dec. My next weekend opening is Sat., 31 Dec. (New Year’s Eve)

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jamie, Joe, Jack, and Asa Oliver. These fellows had to work for each fish they landed today as the very foggy conditions left the fish in a funky mood all morning. Slowly raised Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs were the ticket to getting bit, but for every bite there were many, many other outright refusals.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 12 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Today’s fishing was made difficult by an unforecast, persistent fog which, in an atypical fashion, actually grew heavier towards the end of the trip. Fog is one of just a handful of weather scenarios which really make me concerned about client success.

We experienced a slow buildup of fish activity over the first 75 minutes on the water, then, just as the fog begin to thin, the skies begin to brighten, and the birds begin to work, we enjoyed a very brief window of moderately successful fishing, then struggled once again as the fog returned, even devolving into an occasional, light drizzle.

The fishing was pretty tough and pretty technical, in that we had to present our lures consistently at a very slow speed to fish which were very reluctant to leave the bottom and chase. As is often the case with stubborn fish, we found that by moving frequently and catching a few fish before our presentations’ novelty wore off, we were able to put at least a few fish in the boat at each of the numerous places we stopped at today. When all was said and done we caught 100% of our fish on a slowly smoked, white, 5/8 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab with stinger hook.

This was the 18th consecutive trip in which birds contributed, at least in part, to finding and catching fish. As I have noted previously, these birds were only focused on small groups of very mobile fish, and were no guarantee that an abundance of fish were present where they were working. Having seen this now for multiple consecutive trips, I have begun to use the birds more of a barometer of fish activity, than a shortcut to the location of heavy concentrations of fish.

Our final total was 74 fish landed, which included three short hybrid, six short white bass, two freshwater drum, and 63 legal white bass.

TALLY: 74 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 18th consecutive trip with helpful bird activity. Persistent fog hindered our efforts.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 13.04 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 60.9F

Wind Speed & Direction: Light ESE breeze all morning around 4-6

Sky Condition: Fully greyed sky all morning with fog and then drizzle in the last half of the morning.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 84% illumination.

GT = 20

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1151 – 3 hops – 34 fish

Area 1945 – 14 fish

Area 354 – 7 fish

Area B0054G – 2 hops – 13 fish

Area B0196C – 6 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

ARMY COMES TO NAVY’S AID — 151 FISH

December 10th, 2022December 10th, 2022 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, December 10th, I fished with returning guests Mike McLaughlin, his son-in-law, Keith Duncan, and Keith’s son, Alex, age 16. Joining me for the first time was Keith’s younger son, Tim, age 15.

Mike is an 80-year-old U.S. Navy veteran and retired state trooper, Keith works in the tech industry, and the boys are home-schooled and working their way through their high school studies with Alex also working at a retail furniture store.

Now, today is the 2nd Saturday in December, which means it is Army-Navy football day. As a proud West Point grad of the Class of 1991, I (reluctantly) held off in inviting divine preference in the game during my opening prayer, however, Mike still felt it necessary to take a cheap shot by goading (probably bribing) his grandsons into shouting “Go Navy, beat Army!” as they left the parking lot at the end of the trip. Anyway, back to fishing …

My next weekday opening is on 12 Dec. My next weekend opening is Sat., 31 Dec. (New Year’s Eve)

Here is how the fishing went …

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PHOTO CAPTION: Three generations aboard this morning! From left: Mike McLaughlin, and Alex, Tim, and Keith Duncan with a mess of white bass, all taken on the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (with stinger hook).

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 10 December 2022 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Thanks to a nice SE breeze which started right at sunrise, the fish started feeding right around 7:40 this morning — no delay due to calm conditions.

In addition to the fish getting going right off the bat, the birds (gulls) got going right along with them. This made it the 17th consecutive trip in which the birds assisted in finding fish for at least a portion of the trip.

Although helpful, the birds were hot on the trail of very active, very mobile fish which were pushing bait to the surface where those birds could get to that bait. Trying to keep up with, then park atop these fish is difficult, allowing for a few fish to be caught before those fish moved on chasing shad.

After seeing this pattern repeat itself, we actually left the birds to go find larger groups of fish holding tight to bottom. When we found what we were after, we found these fish more cooperative and holding in one area for much longer spans of time.

Once again, as will be the case at least until the water temperature drops to around 50F, we used only Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs (white, 5/8 oz.). We used a “smoking” tactic — reeling the lures up off the bottom thus drawing fish up off bottom which would overtake and then strike this lure.

The biggest key to fishing that Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in conjunction with LiveScope is to keep right on reeling without breaking cadence when being chased by a fish. The second key is delaying a hookset until the heft of the fish on the line is felt, thus resisting the urge to set the hook at the first indication of contact.

When all was said and done, we landed 151 fish including 3 just-legal hybrid stripers, 7 short hybrid striped bass, 1 freshwater drum, 6 largemouth bass, 12 short white bass, 1 blue catfish and 121 legal white bass.

TALLY: 151 fish caught and released

Find Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs with Stinger Hook here: https://whitebasstools.com/

OBSERVATIONS: 1) This was the 17th consecutive trip with helpful bird activity.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 13.04 feet low, 0.01′ fall in last 24 hours, 24 CFS flow.

Water Surface Temp: 61.2F

Wind Speed & Direction: SE breeze all morning, starting at a ripple, and building to 9mph

Sky Condition: Fully greyed sky all morning

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 95% illumination.

GT = 40

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 1381 – 13 fish

Area 1378 – 10 fish

Area 1142 – 11 fish

Area B0173G – 14 fish

Area 354 – 16 fish

Area B0054G – 8 fish

Area 1945/B0037C – 30 fish

Area 1325 – 16 fish

Area B0005C – 33 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