Belton Lake Fishing Guide | Fishing Report

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NORTH WIND NEGATED BY RISING METABOLISM – 46 FISH @ BELTON

May 6th, 2020May 6th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, May 6th, I welcomed aboard Derrick Fontenot, his girfriend, Veronica Merritt, and their friend, Tony Siefner, whom Derrick works with. All three are veterans — Derrick and Veronica served in the U.S. Army, and Tony served in the U.S. Navy.

The trio came out with me once prior for hybrid striped bass back in early June of 2019, and Derrick has done a one-on-one sonar training with me for his Lowrance equipment.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tony Siefner started the day off right with this 6.75 pound Lake Belton hybrid. This is the largest hybrid I’ve had a client land in the 2020 season-to-date.

PHOTO CAPTION: This long-bodied hybrid landed by Veronica Merritt weighed in at 5.75 pounds.

PHOTO CAPTION: In addition to this 5.25 pound hybrid, Derrick Fontenot also managed a 5.00 pound blue catfish this morning.

WHEN WE FISHED: 06 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Because my crew had an above-average result on their last outing for hybrid back in 2019 (95 fish, of which 44 were legal hybrid), the very first thing I mentioned this morning was how I anticipated the post-frontal conditions we experienced (north wind, bright, cloudless skies, and lower temperatures) would negatively impact the fishing. Fortunately, the water temperature is in the high 60’s and has been trending warmer, so fish metabolism is high. This induces fish to feed, but they just don’t binge aggressively under such conditions.

We hedged our bet this morning using smaller baits and cutbait for fish that were more tentative.

We continued fishing these baits on a tightline suspended up off bottom using what is essentially a Carolina rig terminated with a Kahle hook.

In all, we landed 46 fish, of which 15 were legal hybrid stripers. Were this not a catch-and-release trip, we’d have wrapped up by 9:30 with a 5-fish limit per angler.

As always, we released 100% of our catch and continued fishing until right at 11:30, with our final fish coming at 10:45. I’m of the opinion that folks are not paying me for a meat haul, only to go back to the dock when a certain number of a certain kind of fish are caught, but, rather, they are paying me for an outdoor experience, and I feel I owe them every bit of the time they are compensating me for.

10:30 seems to be the time these fish start wrapping up their feed and settling down until evening, as the fish have demonstrated in each of the hybrid-specific trips I’ve conducted now, and as they confirmed again this morning.

When all was said and done, in addition to the 15 keeper hybrid, we landed 2 short hybrid, 1 freshwater drum, 3 blue catfish, and 25 white bass in the 1, 2, and 3-year class.

TALLY: 46 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: No shad at SHAD014. Shad were moving off-shore in 8′ of water at Area 011. I netted sparse shad at Area SHAD026

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 11:30A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 57F

Elevation: 0.93′ high, 0.05 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: N8 at sunrise, shifting to NE10 by trip’s end

Sky Conditions: Clear skies with 80% high, thin, white clouds building in from the E. beginning around 10A

GT = 120

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD026

**Area vic LOST ROD 2

**Area vic 682

**Area 1945/1552

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

SORE ARMPITS AND HIGH WINDS — 29 FISH @ BELTON

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

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, I fished with Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen from near Troy, Texas. The Maedgen’s have fished for white bass on Stillhouse with me a number of times, and have done sonar training with me for their Lowrance equipment on Tommy’s bass boat. This morning they wanted to give Lake Belton hybrid stripers a try and reserved the date some months ago.

NOAA’s weather forecast had been all over the map since Sunday, the normal 2-days-in-advance date by which I make a call on where and when to meet clients. As I headed to bed last night, the cold front was due to arrive just after noon. As I woke this morning, there were flashes of lighting to the north and the revised forecast called for the strong winds on the lead edge of the cold front to hit before noon. Since the fishing has been so good for hybrid from 7 to 10:30A, we gave it a go.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen with a pair of hybrid taken just moments apart, in fact, I landed both in one net at the same time.

WHEN WE FISHED: 05 May, 2020, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Pretty straighforward fishing this morning — find ’em, feed ’em, reel ’em in. The hardest part is finding them. You just can’t go out with a “spot” mentality, head to a waypoint that produced fish three years ago (or even three days ago) and expect to catch fish. A waypoint can certainly get you close, but I rely on colored sonar, side-imaging, and down-imaging to really hone in on exactly where I’m going to commit to fishing before putting baits out.

The rigging was essentially a Carolina rig with an 80-pound braided mainline, a 3/4 oz. weight, a sinker cushion, a quality VMC ball bearing swivel, 25 pound fluorocarbon leader, and a snelled Kahle-style hook by Gamakatsu.

The fish showed a definite preference for live shad this morning (over cut bait). The bite peaked around 8:15 when it was all we could do to keep up with 2 rods per angler. After her third hybrid, Sylvia, who relied on placing the rod’s long butt up under her arm for leverage, said she was sure she was going to be sore tomorrow. Tommy just held on tight and grinned on every one of the hybrid he hooked up with. It sure was fun while it lasted.

Although our trip got shortened by incoming foul weather, we landed 29 fish, of which 24 were legal hybrid, 2 were short hybrid, and 3 were white bass. No catfish this morning.

TALLY: 29 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Found spawning shad at SHAD014 and Area 011, but both were quite sparse

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: 9:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 73F

Elevation: 0.93′ high, 0.05 foot 24-hour rise, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 70F

Wind Speed & Direction: SE5 before sunrise and staying SE6-8 prior to the front’s arrival at 9:15A

Sky Conditions: Grey skies all morning

GT = 120

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Shad @ Area SHAD014

**Area vic LOST ROD 2

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

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

#fishingaddict #fishingpicoftheday #fishingtime #fishinggear #fishingday

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow #BeltonFishingGuide #LakeBeltonFishingGuide

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

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

SPRING BREAK 2020 – 60 FISH @ STILLHOUSE

March 14th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Friday morning, March 13th, I fished with three buddies who all became acquainted through Temple Bible Church — Shawn Leverington, Paul Spinn, and Adam Kuykendall.

Shawn is a U.S. Army company commander at the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Hood, and fished with me once before when he and his dad, a missionary in Turkey, joined me over this past holiday season. Paul works at Grey Base, the joint use military/civilian airfield on West Fort Hood, working operations for chartered military aircraft, and Adam is a student — going back to school at Temple College in Temple, TX.

It was a bit surreal being out on our own little island (my boat) while the global spin-up around coronavirus began to have significant local implications around us — hording at grocery stores, school cancellations, limiting of public gatherings, imposition of airline flight restrictions, and more.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Paul Spinn, Shawn Leverington, and Adam Kuykendall, each with mature, girthy white bass taken on mid-depth flats using bladebaits in a horizontal presentation.

WHEN WE FISHED: 13 March, 2002, AM

HOW WE FISHED: Fishing started a bit tougher this morning despite the now-routine gull activity, as the winds were dead calm and remained that way for the first full hour of the morning. We found fish scattered and feeding on mid-depth flats, but the number of fish and the activity level of these fish was much reduced versus this first hour of low-light in the previous four mornings this week.

Around 8:30, a light SE ripple began to disturb the surface and we experience the strongest 45 minute period of the day as this wind became sustained (albeit still quite light, under 6mph). During this time we fished bladebaits horizontally and scored on every 3rd or 4th cast while working these vibrating lures in 30-34 feet of water.

Once that activity tapered to nil, around 10:20, we began searching channel edges for fish. We did find what we were after, but, in addition to a few pockets of active fish, we also encountered fish very reluctant to feed, or, which fed as soon as we made our presentations, but then quit short afterward, refusing to “fire up” for any sustained period of time.

TALLY: 60 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: No more Sandhill Cranes noted migrating today despite southerly winds to carry them north. Likely they’ve all moved through now. Credible reports of fish arriving at Gravel Crossing/Log Jam areas.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:35A

End Time: Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F

Elevation: 2.93′ low, +0.0 24-hour change, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 62F

Wind Speed & Direction: Calm for 70 minutes, then light SE breeze at 6

Sky Conditions: Grey overcast the entire trip

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic 1960 – light action on blades under birds over mid-depth flat

**Area vic SH0010G – light action on blades under birds over mid-depth flat

**Area vic 553 – light action on blades under birds over mid-depth flat

**Area vic 0288 – brief action on slabs by channel-oriented whites

**Area vic 0234 – brief action on slabs by channel-oriented whites

**Area SH0018G – brief action on slabs by channel-oriented whites

**Area vic SH0011G – brief action on slabs by channel-oriented 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)

SPRING BREAK 2020 – SKIFF TRIP #3 – 67 FISH

March 12th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This evening, March 11th, 2020, was Day 3 of the week-long spring break for most of our local school districts.

Joining me this afternoon on Lake Belton were siblings Michael and Leilani Brown, accompanied by their mom, Santa Brown.

This trip was a SKIFF program trip which I provide, free of charge, to children who are separated from their parents by military duty.

In this case, the kids’ dad, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Brown, is away on extended field time. Brown has served in the military for 14 years and currently works with drones.

Mrs. Brown is a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Chemical Corps. I met her and her children at the Neighborhood Walmart Market about two weeks ago when I noticed the kids staring at the fish logo on my wife, Rebecca’s, car.

PHOTO CAPTION: Michael Brown III and Leilani Brown show part of their catch made on a spring break SKIFF program fishing trip while their dad is away from home on military duty.

WHEN WE FISHED: 11 March, 2002, AM

HOW WE FISHED: I opted to take the kids to Lake Belton this evening, as the evening bite on Stillhouse is typically pretty weak when it comes to white bass. Also, the high numbers of small white bass now in Belton would help ensure the kids stayed engaged.

We found three different schools of willing white bass in two distinct areas and fired them up with a slow-smoking tactic.

Unlike the fish we’ve been catching at Stillhouse, these fish were not relating to the river channel, rather, they were on a gentle slope leading to a deeper basin area.

When all was said and done, the kids landed drum, largemouth, and white bass and lasted right up until sunset, amassing a catch of 67 fish. We relied on the white, 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slab with stinger hook to get the job done.

TALLY: 67 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Lake Belton still has a strong bird population. We spotted strong numbers of gulls resting on the water in loose groups. The only activity from the birds was that of feeding on insects; nothing helpful to finding fish this evening.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 4:00P

End Time: 7:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 79F

Elevation: 0.93′ low, +0.06 24-hour change, 17 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 58.4F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE8-9

Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy with 60% white clouds

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area B0195C

**Area B0130C/B0117C

**Area B0017G

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)

SPRING BREAK 2020 — NOT JUST FOR KIDS — 65 FISH

March 11th, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, March 11th, 2020, was Day 3 of the week-long spring break for most of our local school districts.

Joining me this morning was Mr. Jeff Arbogust of Kempner, TX. Jeff retired from the landscape architecture business to a ranch outside Kempner fairly recently, and gave me a call to discuss sampling the fishing this area had to offer.

Jeff previously lived east of Austin where he kept a kayak for fishing on the Colorado River, and kept a boat for fishing on Walter E. Long Reservoir.

Today we pursued white bass on Stillhouse.

PHOTO CAPTION: For a third day in a row, we took quality largemouth on deep flats while working bladebaits for white bass. This largemouth weighed 6.50 on a certified scale.

PHOTO CAPTION: Fat, egg-laden female white bass were once again ready to eat this morning.

WHEN WE FISHED: 11 March, 2002, AM

HOW WE FISHED: We enjoyed the “standard” sunrise bird action this morning, but, as soon as it was over, we experienced the deadly combination of sun and lack of wind. Things got pretty quiet until a SSW wind began to push around 9:50AM. I hated to lose that magic low light period, but, there was nothing to be done about it.

Once the wind picked up, the fish immediately went into gear and engaged in a late morning feed.

We fished under the birds for 21 fish over two distinct mid-depth flats, picked up another 25 fish as soon as the wind began blowing as we located over the river channel breakline, then finished up the trip with a final 19 fish at yet another channel breakline. We worked 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs with stinger hooks for these channel-oriented fish.

TALLY: 65 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Temperature profile down to 35 feet:

0 feet 58.3F

5 feet 58F

10 feet 58.2F

15 feet 57.5F

20 feet 57.1F

25 feet 56.9F

30 feet 56.6F

35 feet 56.5F

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:40A

End Time: 12:10P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 67F

Elevation: 2.97′ low, +0.01 24-hour change, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 58.4F

Wind Speed & Direction: Light and variable thru 9:50 when a SSW developed and ramped up over the next hour to SSW12-13

Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy with 40% white clouds on a blue sky all morning

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1980 – blades for white on mid-depth flat

**Area 551/552- blades for white on mid-depth flat

**Area vic 0111/0114 – channel breakline congregation of whites

**Area vic 0234 – channel breakline congregation of 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)