Fishing Report | Holding The Line Guide Service

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CHEETOS IN ONE HAND, HYBRID IN THE OTHER — 62 FISH @ BELTON

May 4th, 2020May 5th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, May 4th, I fished with returning guests Glen Wagoner and David Burke, accompanied by their friend, Steve Pennington, who fished with me for the first time today. This morning, our efforts were focused on hybrid striped bass on Lake Belton.

David is a U.S. Navy veteran. Back in the day, he was a shipboard helicopter refueler. He went on to become a counselor after the military. Glen manages an estate in the DFW area, and Steve owns his own business, Wind Deflector, producing wind blocking devices for high-end convertible automobiles.

PHOTO CAPTION: Steve Pennington with a wide, solid 5.75 pound Lake Belton hybrid striped bass taken on live threadfin shad.

PHOTO CAPTION: Glen Wagoner took this fish from deep, clear water. It went 5.50 pounds.

PHOTO CAPTION: David Burke of Belton took this dandy on cut bait. It also went 5.50 pounds.

WHEN WE FISHED: 04 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Today was the third day of southerly wind which had me expecting good things, and we were not disappointed. The bait-catching was easy and so was the fishing.

We went to exactly one area and fished it for 4 hours, catching fish continuously through 10:30 with a slowdown thereafter.

As is my custom during the threadfin shad spawn (which is running at peak condition right now), we used live threadfin shad as bait fished on multiple downlines in the lower third of the water column to tempt the hybrid stripers we landed.

We once again used a combination of live and cut bait. The live bait slightly outperformed the cut bait for hybrid. The cut bait also caught its fair share of hybrid, as well as other species, which kept the action going and made the morning engaging.

For the 3rd consecutive trip, the action tapered sharply around 10:30.

We landed 62 fish in total, of which 32 were legal hybrid striped bass up to 5.75 pound, in addition, we landed 1 short hybrid, 2 drum, 1 flathead catfish, 1 channel catfish, and a mixture of 25 white bass and blue catfish.

As the action peaked around 9:15, it was all we could do to keep 3 livebait rods and 3 cutbait rods in the water. Glen actually cut back to 1 rod for a spell because the fish had him running around missing fishing on one rod while he was trying to lower his presentation on the other. Somewhere in the frenzy, David yells, “I need help. I got my Cheetos in one hand and a hybrid in the other.” If I recall correctly, Glen took the rod with the fish on it, leaving David with Cheetos — hey, what are friends for?

TALLY: 62 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Found spawning shad at SHAD014, as well as Area 011 – with “one and done” quantities present at both.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F

Elevation: 0.89′ high, 0.05 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: S8 before sunrise, increasing steadily to S12-13 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: Nearly cloudless, blue skies

GT = 30

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD014

**Area vic B0089C/B0084C

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

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SKIFF TRIP #5 w/ RYAN, MATTHEW, & CALEB — 100 FISH @ BELTON

May 3rd, 2020May 4th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, 02 May, I conducted the 5th Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) trip of the 2020 season. Prior to the Coronavirus outbreak, I had this family on my SKIFF list, scheduled for Saturday, April 11^th. The boys, Matthew and Caleb were separated from their dad, Ryan, as he was on a temporary duty (TDY) assignment away from Fort Hood. Because Ryan’s assignment had concluded by this time, he was able to join his sons on the water.

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 to 4 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.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Ryan, Matthew, and Caleb with a sampling of their catch of 100 fish, which included 97 white bass and 3 freshwater drum.

WHEN WE FISHED: 02 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Fortunately, the weather cooperated this morning, complete with a stiff southerly breeze which kept some anglers home and other anglers off of the open water so the zoo-like weekend conditions often encountered on Belton did not materialize this morning.

Because I continued to scout baitfish and gamefish locations on my own during the shutdown, I was able to keep up with the movement and locations of both, and was able to put the fellows on fish from start to finish.

We fished 4 locations, all in deep, clear water, and found very willing white bass congregated in large schools at each. Using my white, ¾ oz. Hazy Eye Slabs with stinger hooks attached, we fished vertically while the boat was held still by the Spot-Lock feature on my trolling motor.

Using the smoking tactic, we got the fish excited and kept them that way for an extended period at each of the places at which we stopped.

We began our trip at 7AM, and by 10AM had amassed a catch of 88 fish. Based on what I saw on sonar, I felt we still had a shot at hitting 100 fish, even though by this time the morning bite was definitely waning.

At this point, I changed up a bit (primarily to offer Caleb a bit of variety), and introduced the fellows to downrigging. Our first pass over a group of white bass holding near bottom in 40 feet of water yielded a triple – one fish on each of the 3 lures on the 3-armed umbrella rig we were downrigging with.

We stopped atop these fish and worked them until we landed our 100^th fish right at 10:30AM.

TALLY: 100 fish caught and released, including 97 white bass and 3 freshwater drum

OBSERVATIONS: High winds reduced heavy weekend boat traffic, particularly on open stretches of water. Shad spawn going full-throttle.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7A

End Time: 10:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F

Elevation: 0.80′ high, 0.03 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 68F

Wind Speed & Direction: S9 at trip’s start, tapering up to S17 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: 20% high white haze on blue skies

GT =N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 677

**Area vic 2059

**Area vic 1743

**Area vic 472

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

ALL ABOUT EATER CATFISH – 21 FISH @ BELTON

May 3rd, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday evening, May 1st, I welcomed returning guests Rick Powell and Ricardo Cisneros aboard. During the Coronavirus shutdown, I took my wife, Rebecca, and a handful of friends out fishing specifically for blue catfish on Lake Belton. Ricardo, who regularly follows my Facebook posts, saw this and hoped to duplicate the effort on occasions where he hoped to catch a few “eating-sized” catfish (12+ inches).

He requested I take he and his friend (and boss) Rick Powell out to show them what I’d learned.

No, I’m not starting to guide for catfish and don’t intend to do so in the future, but, as the fishery offers consistency and as the quality of these fish continue to improve on Lake Belton (due to zebra mussel consumption, I suspect), I will no doubt routinely mix in some catfishing in my multi-species trips. Additionally, my 100% C&R policy still pertains to this species.

PHOTO CAPTION: This is what the methods I’ve pieced together (with a good bit of help from Steve Webb) typically produce – smaller “eater-sized” blue catfish, two of which provide 4 fillets — just enough for a 1-person serving if kept and cleaned properly. Most fish are 12-15 inches, like this one held by Ricardo Cisneros.

WHEN WE FISHED: 01 May, 2020, PM

HOW WE FISHED: First, I search for blue catfish concentrations on sonar. Next, I Spot-Lock and chum with range cubes, then get right down to fishing vertically with my “Catfish Plumb” bait holders tipped with fresh, dead shad or non-stink doughbait. To enhance things, I’ve brought Garmin LiveScope to bear, which allows slightly suspended fish to be targeted. Otherwise, the default bait position is just inches off bottom.

Concentration is a must, as the catfish typically take only one swipe at the bait, during which time a quick, hard hookset is a must.

In 3.5 hours’ time, some of which was set aside for Humminbird side-imaging explanation and Garmin LiveScope explanation, we put 22 blue cat over the side of the boat with just as many missed on the hookset.

TALLY: 22 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: As I searched for spawning shad, a definite, shallow-water and shad-oriented fishery is also ripe for picking, albeit short-lived with the action drying up about the time the direct sun peeks over the eastern horizon.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:00P

End Time: 7:30P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 82F

Elevation: 0.77′ high, 0.06 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: S17 at trip’s start, tapering to S14 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: 30% high white haze on blue skies

GT =28

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic B0073C (fished it at start of trip and end of trip with 2 other non-productive stops in between)

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

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THE WAIT IS OVER!! – 40 FISH @ BELTON

May 2nd, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday morning, May 1st, I conducted my first guided trip since the 24th of March when all non-essential businesses in Texas were closed by executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott. This morning I fished with returning guest Jeff Arbogust of Kempner, TX. Jeff is a retired landscape architect who fished with me one time previously as we pursued white bass on Stillhouse. This morning, our efforts were focused on hybrid striped bass on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION: With the threadfin shad spawn at its peak right now, these Lake Belton hybrid are ready to eat after returning to the lake from the tributaries during their ‘false spawn’.

PHOTO CAPTION: That’s 10+ pounds of fish landed about 45 seconds apart, both caught while fishing with live shad on tightlines.

WHEN WE FISHED: 01 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: As is my custom during the threadfin shad spawn (which is running at peak condition right now), we used live threadfin shad as bait fished on multiple downlines in the lower third of the water column to tempt the hybrid stripers we landed.

We fished 4 areas. All yielded fish, but only 2 yielded hybrid. The hybrid we landed this morning were very tight to the bottom and came in one or two at a time; we never saw a large, aggressive feed develop beneath the boat.

We used a combination of Kahle and circle hooks — both performed about the same. We also used a combination of live and cut bait. With the fish we found showing a bit sluggish on sonar (small groups, tight to bottom, not willing to come upwards for chum very far), we actually landed more legal hybrid on the cutbaits than on the live.

The action tapered sharply around 10:30.

TALLY: 40 fish caught and released, including 10 legal hybrid, 2 short hybrid, 3 blue catfish, and 25 white bass

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 58F

Elevation: 0.77′ high, 0.06 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 68F

Wind Speed & Direction: S6 at 5:15A slowly and steadily ramping up to S16-17 by trip’s end, as forecast

Sky Conditions: Nearly cloudless, blue skies

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD014

**Area vic 1604 (all white bass)

**Area vic 1269 (mix of whites and hybrid)

**Area vic B0089C (best hybrid producer, with a few blues and whites)

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

MAKIN’ HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES — 70 FISH @ STILLHOUSE

March 19th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, 19 March, 2020, I fished with the Osbourn crew from Liberty Hill, TX, including Hollie (mom), and her sons: Tucker (13), Rhys (12), and Deacon (10), all in celebration of Deacon’s 10th birthday as he opted for the same birthday adventure Tucker was treated to last fall, accompanied by his dad, Conard.

Many of you know I normally set aside Thursdays to be with my wife in what we call our “Marriage Maintenance Day”, which we implemented in the summer of 2018. Only by mutual consent do we postpone/reschedule this. Well, seeing foul (cold, wet) weather on the way for Friday and Saturday (for me), and given a women’s ministry planning meeting (for her) today, we bumped our special day to Friday and I got the Osbourns out on the tail end of another extended warming trend on Stillhouse. I knew Deacon was looking forward to it, I knew their originally planned date of Saturday would not yield good results, and I knew the fishing would be fairly kid-friendly today, so we made it happen today, thanks to Hollie’s flexibility.

From the looks of it, fishing will decline through Sunday, then start bouncing back again come Monday.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Rhys, Deacon, Tucker, and Hollie Osbourn with some plump Stillhouse white bass taken with a variety of tactics this morning as the kids enjoyed an extended Spring Break thanks to the Coronavirus.

WHEN WE FISHED: 19 March, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We mixed it up a good bit today both because the fish allowed for it, and because the variety kept the boys engaged. We started off throwing bladebaits as long as the fish would go for them. When the blade bite slowed around 10am, we changed over and did some flatline trolling. We picked up a crappie and three white bass right away, but, more importantly, it kept the boys active while giving me a chance to comb the area we were in with side-imaging to see if the fish were done feeding, of if they’d just moved off the area at which we’d last contacted them with bladbaits. It quickly became obvious that the fish were still present, only a bit deeper, so, after the boys got a taste of trolling success, we went right back to throwing blades and connecting with fish. Once this “rebound” bite ended, I gave birthday boy Deacon the options and the odds of catching fish via throwing blades, trolling,and looking for stacked fish to vertical jig for. He chose Option #3, partly because Tucker had “talked up” the use of Garmin LiveScope in combination with vertical jigging.

As it turned out, this gamble paid off. We did, indeed, find fish stacked on the edge of the river channel and ended the trip on a strong note as the Osbourn crew put a final 25 fish in the boat in the closing half-hour of the trip, taking our tally from 45 fish up to 70 fish on the morning.

TALLY: 70 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Over the past three days as the white bass bite has moved shallow with the water temperature rising into the low 60’s, I correlated the hatching of this small insect with this white bass activity. These insects are about a 1/4″ long, hover from ground level up to about 7′ above the ground, and have appeared in the heat of the afternoon over the last three days:

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 69F

Elevation: 2.88′ low, 0.02 foot 24-hour rise, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 63F

Wind Speed & Direction: S4-7 all morning

Sky Conditions: Grey overcast all morning

GT = 65

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1960 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 120 – SH0066C – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 713 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 733 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits, then via flatline trolling through to Area 745

**Area vic 092 – vertical slab work for white bass stacked on the channel edge (25 fish in final ~30 minutes)

Bob Maindelle

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

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

GO HORIZONTAL, YOUNG MAN! — 113 FISH @ STILLHOUSE

March 18th, 2020March 18th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, 18 March 2020, I fished with a crew of 5 experienced anglers including trip organizer David Vahrenkamp, two colleagues of his from Bates Nissan — Clay O’Dell and Mike Farris, as well as Clay’s brother, Robin O’Dell, and Robin’s adult son, Tyler O’Dell.

With weather today forecast to be nearly identical to yesterday’s weather, I chose to head to Stillhouse for the quality white bass fishing it has been producing.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Robin, Tyler, and Clay O’Dell, David Vahrenkamp, and Mike Farris, each with mature white bass caught and released this morning from Stillhouse Hollow on bladebaits.

WHEN WE FISHED: 18 March, 2002, AM

HOW WE FISHED: These five guys all arrived early and ready to fish — heck, Mike even showed up before my own traditional 30-minutes-pre-trip arrival time! Once we got handles on the correct side of the spinning reels for everyone, I went over safety stuff and the tactics we’d use as we fished bladebaits for white bass. We prayed for our nation’s leaders in dealing with the Coronavirus, then we were off to catch fish.

Helpful bird activity led us to our first fish of the morning — a catch of 21 fish at our first stop on a mid-depth flat in about 31 feet of water.

After the birds gave up here, we were on our own to find fish without bird assistance. I really think the lake’s population of gulls got so used to feeding in a handful of reliable areas all winter, that they are now having to re-figure things out with the water warming and the action moving shallower, hence, they are scattered more than just a few days ago.

We found fish at two more areas, both giving up 1, 2, and 3 year class fish. 100% of my crew’s fish were taken on horizontally worked bladebaits today. Once the fish up shallow quit biting around 11:05, we were hard-pressed for anymore options. Every deepwater haunt I searched had only scant bait, if that. Although we kept looking and tried a few locations, we landed only 1 drum after that 11:05 stoppage. It was at that time that the first direct sun of the day broke through the clouds and, within the span of 20 minutes, we experienced bright sun, dark clouds, blue skies, grey skies, light rain, a cool breeze, and a return to overcast, balmy conditions as a small “patch” of weather moved through.

The Cicada has been hard to beat these past several mornings worked in a “lift-drop” fashion. A number of time during the morning the fellows commented on how jolting the strikes were when they came. I really love these baits because, due to their shape, they very rarely hook fish in anything other than the lip.

As fish move shallower, my dependence on side-imaging gets greater and greater. Seeing organized packs of white bass patrolling an area in high numbers out beyond the “spook radius” of the outboard is a big deal, and is reason to stop and fish.

We landed 111 white bass, 1 crappie, and 1 drum

TALLY: 113 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 12:05P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 2.89′ low, 0.02 foot 24-hour rise, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 62.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: S5-7 all morning

Sky Conditions: Grey overcast all morning with brief breaks from 11 to Noon

GT = 120

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 0302 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 100– mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 713 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

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)

#BeltonLakeFishingGuide #stripers #stripedbassfishing #rockfish #sandbass #freshwaterfishing #fishing

#bass #bassfishing #whitebass #panfish #crappie #fishingonaboat #fishingtackle #fishinglife #fishingsport

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

BIRTHDAY TRIP YIELDS “TPWD BIG FISH AWARD” FOR CHINA SPRING BOY

March 17th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, March 17th, I fished a “Happy Birthday” trip for 9-year-old Luke McKown from near China Spring, TX, accompanied by his dad, Mark McKown.

A few weeks ago, Luke’s grandmother, Kathy Sievers of Gatesville, TX, contacted me about arranging a birthday trip for Luke after long-time client Steve Niemeier recommended this to her.

Thanks to a returning southerly wind, balmy temperatures and grey cloud cover, the stage was set for solid fishing this morning.

PHOTO CAPTION: Luke McKown captured this 16.25-inch long Stillhouse Hollow white bass as we fished a 30′ flat under grey skies with southerly winds. We were working bladebaits near bottom when this white bass slammed his offering. This fish well-surpassed the TPWD minimum length of 15″ for a Big Fish Certificate.

PHOTO CAPTION: Even the “smaller” white bass we caught this morning were no slouches! The fish are definitely moving shallower, chasing harder, and feeding more aggressively now that the water temperature has broken the 60F mark. From left: Mark and Luke McKown.

WHEN WE FISHED: 17 March, 2002, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We didn’t get off to a great start this morning as Mark and Luke ran into fog before hitting I-35 in Waco, thus delaying their arrival. The birds had already been working for a while before by the time we got to them, but, we started catching as soon as we could. I gave my normal safety brief “on the fly” and described what we needed to do to catch fish as the Minn Kota was Spot-Locking us on fish — both things I normally do in a more relaxed manner at dockside.

Long story short, we were able to find actively feeding fish on flats of various depths from our first cast until around 10:15 when the nice grey cloud cover broke a bit and allowed some direct sun on the water. The fishing faltered a bit at that time, but, we got in almost another productive hour of fishing from 11:15 to 12:15 once the skies darkened again and the southerly winds continued.

All of our fish caught on the flats were taken “chunking and winding” bladebaits. The fish we caught from 11:15 to 12:15 were congregated on a breakline and were much less aggressive. We used both slabs and Gulp! 3″ Minnows on jigheads to tempt these more reluctant fish.

We took 51 fish on the flats before the sun interrupted us, then took a final 10 fish on the breakline before they shut down for the morning.

TALLY: 61 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 12:15P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 2.91′ low, 0.01 rise, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 62F

Wind Speed & Direction: S9-12 all morning

Sky Conditions: Grey overcast with light mist prior to sunrise, continued grey skies through 10:15, then partly cloudy, then a return to full grey by 11:15A thru trip’s end

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 0304 – mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 1897– mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area 531 thru 100 – multiple short hops on mid-depth flats with bladebaits

**Area vic 746 – handful of reluctant whites on slabs

**Area SH0019G – 10 whites on slabs/Gulp! & jigheads

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)

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide

GOLD STAR GAME WARDEN — 42 FISH FOR GARY YODER

March 16th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Monday, 16 March, I conducted the 2020 season’s fourth SKIFF program trip, welcoming 13-year-old Gary Yoder III of Belton, Texas, aboard. The Belton Independent School District was one of many districts which extended spring break over concerns about the corona virus.

Gary is a member of a U.S. Army Gold Star family. In most of American life, a gold star is a good thing. In the Army, Gold Star status means you’ve lost a loved one while he/she was serving on active duty. Gary lost his father, Captain Gary Yoder II, while he was on active duty, stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Captain Yoder was 33 years old when he passed away, leaving his wife, Lisa, and two boys, Gary III and Levi, behind.

Retired Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Warden Major Jeff Gillenwaters learned of Gary’s situation through his mother, Lisa Yoder, and provided my contact information to her. She contacted me late last week and I got Gary on my schedule as quickly as possible.

As it turns out, Gary is considering becoming a game warden when he grows up, so, during our trip I pointed out various fish species, their length and bag limits, various kinds of fishing equipment we observed (trotlines and juglines), and coached Gary on operating my boat and using trim to enhance boat performance. Oh, yeah — we also caught plenty of fish!

PHOTO CAPTION: Gary enjoyed some mixed-bag angling this morning. Our catch of 42 fish included 4 species — white bass, hybrid striped bass, freshwater drum, and blue catfish.

PHOTO CAPTION: This aggressive blue cat hit a bladebait late in the morning as we worked over a school of white bass as they livened up near midday with increasing light levels following a very murky, grey morning.

WHEN WE FISHED: 16 March, 2002, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We once again had a pretty challenging weather forecast to fish against this morning. When I headed to bed last night I was encouraged by the wind shift to the south at 10mph we were to experience overnite. I awoke to a very different forecast (and reality): we had a northeast breeze with a cool mist mixed in which was supposed to shift through the east then to ESE but remain low velocity all morning — pretty hard to get excited about.

Nonetheless, we got out there and used our “fish sense” and our sonar to observe and piece together clues, and we wound up making a pretty nice catch of 42 fish, including some mature white bass for a change.

Notable this morning was the shift of fish activity into shallow water. We did not land a single fish in over 22 feet of water, with some coming from under 10 feet of water. Even in deep water, the life (bait and gamefish) was suspended up high in the water column.

We used a combination of vertical jigging (easing with my 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs) and horizontal casting (with Cicada bladebaits) to put together our catch.

Gary, who enjoys football and history, stuck with the program and stayed focused, ignoring his cold hands and feet and breaking only now and then for a snack.

When all was said and done, we headed to Sol de Jalisco in Morgan’s Point for a quick bite of lunch (which I like because I can keep an eye on my boat as I eat), just before the Presidential request went out to avoid restaurants and bars. Gary wolfed down a bean and cheese burrito and a Sprite with no ice in record time!

TALLY: 42 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: A very definitive shift up into shallower water has taken place quite rapidly. We caught all 42 fish in under 22 feet of water, with some from less than 10 feet of water. Saw the first signs of bank-running shad this morning midway back in the B0049C Cove.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 12:05P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F

Elevation: 0.85′ low, -0.02 24-hour change, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 59F

Wind Speed & Direction: E7-8 for 2 hours, then SE3-4 for 1 hour, then calm the remainder of the trip

Sky Conditions: Grey overcast the entire trip with light mist from 7:30 to 8:00A

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 0142/0138 – sparse whites on slabs during low-light bite

**Area vic B0049C Cove mouth – whites and hybrid running shad into and out of cove. Used LiveScope to time presentation as fish passed beneath boat

**Area B0001G – mature white bass under birds for a short span on slabs

**Area 0188 – about an hour’s worth of action on gently sloping terrain throwing bladebaits with lift-drop tactic

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)

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide

END OF SPRING BREAK 2020 – 38 FISH @ BELTON

March 15th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday morning, March 14th, I fished with Cooper (age 8) and Riley (age 6) Harkrider of Buda, TX, and their cousin, Isaac Aguilar (age 10), from Wylie, TX, all accompanied by Dave Dedrick and Joey Harkrider, who came as non-fishing chaperones to help make the kids successful (and who did a great job at that).

Mrs. Sarah Harkrider coordinated the trip back in late January. I shared with her that, due to the technical nature of the fishing this time of year and the lack of variety in the presentations used, this time of year can be tough for taking younger elementary-aged kids out. She assured me there would be ample adult supervision and so we agreed to give it a go.

The families camped out at Dana Peak Park on Stillhouse, and we met up and fished on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Isaac Aguilar, Cooper Harkrider, and Riley Harkrider with a few of the Lake Belton white bass they caught this morning as a light mist fell and easterly winds blew.

PHOTO CAPTION: Cooper Harkrider with our largest fish of the trip — a zebra-mussel fattened freshwater drum which fell for his slab. I don’t think you can smile harder than that!

WHEN WE FISHED: 14 March, 2002, AM

HOW WE FISHED: With the kids so young and the vertical presentation pretty demanding as far as consistency with speed of presentation, I took longer than I normally would before we left the launch site to show the kids what needed to be done and then “quizzed” each of the kids by having them demonstrate that they understood what needed to be done, thus giving me a chance to coach any adjustments needed before we began fishing.

We found fish in a number of areas today, but, many of these fish were just shut down and wouldn’t bite, or, if they did bite, did all of the biting as soon as we arrived, but then shut down quickly thereafter — very much a continuation of what I observed on Stillhouse yesterday morning with my party of three adults.

We all fished off of the starboard side of the boat so I could watch the kids’ techniques. Joey hunkered down full-time with Riley, Dave kept an eye on Isaac, and I had Cooper immediately to my left so we could all help keep the kids’ presentations consistent.

Even though we never got into a huge group of active fish that fed for long whiles, the action we experienced was steady and spread well over the morning so the kids stayed engaged. Even Riley, at age 6, showed no signs of letting up until we had already planned to make one final stop before heading in. The kids never set down their rods the whole time and were eager (sometimes too eager) to let down their lines at each new location we arrived at.

NOAA called for southerly winds, but we had easterly winds instead; NOAA also called for winds at 10 at sunrise slowly rising to 14, but we had calm conditions through 8:30, followed by a ramp-up from nil to 16 over the next 3 hours. As the old saying goes, “Winds from the east, fish bite least.”. This was definitely the toughest trip of the spring break week.

TALLY: 38 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Still a good many birds — mainly terns — on the lake, but only saw two instances of them working, neither of which led us to active fish.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 70F

Elevation: 0.85′ low, +0.0 24-hour change, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 57.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm for 70 minutes, then going E and building to E14 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: Grey overcast the entire trip with light mist from 7:30 to 8:00A

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 738/1859/1871 along 18-22′ mark

**Area vic 1736

**Area vic 132 (fished it twice)

**Area vic 097

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)

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide #BeltonLakeFishingGuide