Hill Country White Bass Run 2024

FISHING WITH U.S. ARMY SSG NARIMANOV’S KIDS — 74 FISH

February 24th, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Saturday, February 24th, I conducted the 9th SKIFF trip of the 2024 season.

I welcomed aboard 13 year old Milan Narimanov and his sister, 9 year old Roxana Narimanov. The children’s mom, Tetyana Zeyda coordinated the trip for them, but declined to join them over her concern about motion sickness.

The children’s father, US Army Staff Sergeant Ramai Narimanov, has served for 12 years as a Russian language interpreter. He is currently in the midst of a months-long deployment to Southwest Asia.

ABOUT SKIFF: SKIFF trips have been provided to military families at no charge since May of 2009. SKIFF is funded by donations from Austin Fly Fishers, The McBride Foundation, & Austin Subaru. S.K.I.F.F. provides children of military personnel separated from their families by duty commitments with the opportunity to fish. SKIFF trips are also provided to Gold Star families who have lost their service member. In mid-2019, SKIFF began providing trips to kids of bona fide disabled veterans. I conduct these 3.5 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir year ’round. Call or text 254.368.7411.

Next available dates are 27-29 Feb. (AMs)

Here is how the fishing went…

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Milan and Roxana Narimanov proudly display a portion of their 74-fish late-February catch taken on white, 5/8-oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs.

PHOTO CAPTION: This nice freshwater drum struck Milan Narimanov’s slab right on bottom in around 42 feet of water.

PHOTO CAPTION: With fingerless gloves and rosy cheeks Miss Roxana Narimanov battled this largemouth bass into the boat early on in the trip with an air temp. around 43F.

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 24 Feb. 2024 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

Although both kids had been on a boat previously, neither had ever gone fishing before. Sometimes, that is not a bad thing, as instead of having to undo bad habits, i can jump right into teaching good ones.

I explained the importance of a smooth, steady retrieve, and demonstrated how to grip the spinning reels handle lightly so the kids kept their rod tip nearly motionless as they retrieved their baits.

We would fish five areas this morning with the fishing getting increasingly better add each one as the skies grew brighter and the wind, although light, became steady and continuously rippled the surface.

We relied on one lure and one tactic this morning. The white, 5 eighth ounce bladed hazy eye slab worked with a slow smoking tactic drew strikes all morning from fish which were both bottom oriented, especially in the 1st 70 minutes, and from fish which were suspended, including fish from as much as 35 to 42 feet deep over a deeper bottom.

As has been the case all week, fish eating birds, namely ring build goals, were helpful in getting to the general locations fish were using in the first 90 minutes or so. Well tuned side imaging then helped find the spot on the spot. After the birds dissipated, fish had to be found solely with sonar.

In 3.5 hours’ time, my young rookies landed exactly 74 fish, including 71 white bass, two large mouth bass, and one freshwater drum.

Here is a tutorial on the snap-jigging method … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGtrnAQ_T94&t=55s

Here is a tutorial on the slow-smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 74 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Although the cold front which came in on Thursday afternoon was mild, it did cause bright, cold, low wind conditions, and definitely hindered the bite in the first hour or so of this morning’s trip.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:20A

End Time: 11:00A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 43F

Elevation: 16.81 feet low, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 54.1F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW 3-7 all morning

Sky Condition: Cloudless, pale blue skies

Moon Phase: Full moon at 100% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Vic 100 (4 fish), vic 338 (13 fish), vic 1536 (20 fish), vic 074 (13 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)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

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THIRD TIME’S A CHARM!! — 57 FISH WITH THE GARZAS

February 22nd, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, February 22, I fished with father and son Jason and Kash Garza (age 8). We were originally scheduled for Saturday, February 10th, in the morning, got rained out, then rescheduled for that afternoon, only to have thunderstorms develop to our west as I was literally in the act of launching my boat.

The third time was a charm however, as this morning’s wind and weather, and the warming trend we have enjoyed since late January, all worked together to really get the white bass fishing more reliable and productive.

A friendly wager was made right at the onset of the trip, with $1.00 riding on the largest fish, and another dollar riding on the most fish. Kash declined the option for $1.00 for the smallest fish.

Here is how the fishing went…

Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are Feb. 26-29 (AMs)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jason and Kash Garza with a few of the tanker-sized whites they landed. The one in Kash’s right hand (photo left) measured 14 7/8 inches and was ripe with eggs.

PHOTO CAPTION: Certified scale read 5.00 pounds!! From just over 40 feet of water — it came off the bottom whereas the white bass were suspended up higher.

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 15 Feb. 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

We had a change of weather forecast today with west-southwesterly winds at 9 to 12 this morning in advance of a very mild, dry cold front due in at early afternoon.

This fairly thick gray cloud cover kept the early morning bite a bit subdued and the fish really tight to bottom, but, as the clouds thinned and we saw the first broken rays of direct sun come through at mid morning, the fishing picked up as the fish began to patrol more quickly and to lift up off the bottom for the first time all day.

For both simplicity sake, and because it is simply very effective right now, I had both clients use spinning tackle to present white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically in conjunction with both Garmin LiveScope and my thumping device which serves a second purpose as a metronome helping clients keep their retrieve speed satisfactory.

The fishing was very straightforward. When small schools of white bass passed from left to right or right to left on the screen, I had Kash and Jason essentially intercept them with their rising lures to draw strikes.

When all was said and done, father and son had landed a total of 57 fish including 7 largemouth bass, 1 freshwater drum, and 49 white bass. This all took place in under 3 hours’ time, as Jason planned to get Kash back to Central Texas Christian School to finish out the day.

Birds remain helpful in finding fish during the first two hours following sunrise, afterwhich fish must be found with sonar exclusively.

Here is a tutorial on the snap-jigging method we used … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGtrnAQ_T94&t=55s

Here is a tutorial on the slow-smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 57 fish caught and released.

OBSERVATIONS: Here was the water temperature profile taken on 22 Feb.:

0 feet, 57.2F

5 feet, 56.0F

10 feet, 55.2F

15 feet, 54.5F

20 feet, 54.2F

25 feet, 54.0F

30 feet, 53.9F

35 feet, 53.5F

40 feet, 52.9F

45 feet, 52.5F

50 feet, 52.2F

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 10:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F

Elevation: 16.76 feet low, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 57.2F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: WSW winds 9-12

Sky Condition: Grey cloud cover at near 100% for two hours, then slowly thinning

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 96% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic SH0080C (3 fish), Area 265 (9 fish), Area SH0240G (39 fish), Area 1692 (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)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

PRESIDENTS’ DAY AFTERNOON – 59 FISH WITH CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER QUINTANA’S SON

February 21st, 2024February 21st, 2024 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This Presidents’ Day Monday I set aside both my morning and evening trips to take soldiers’ kids out on the water fishing through the SKIFF program.

This afternoon I welcomed aboard Sebastian Quintana (age 17). Sebastian is a junior at one of Killeen’s high school and has plans to pursue veterinary science in college following graduation. He is the currently the proud owner of two turtles, a dog, and a bird.

Sebastian’s father, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 William Quintana, has served for 18 years. He is currently deployed within the Americas in the aviation maintenance field on a year-long mission. Sebastian’s younger brother, Mateo, was slated to join us, but wasn’t feeling well. Mrs. Farah Quintana, Sebastian’s mom, and a native of the Dominican Republic, joined us.

Next available dates are 26-29 Feb. (AMs)

Here is how the fishing went…

PHOTO CAPTION: The white bass were pretty “perky” this afternoon and readily chased Sebastian’s well-presented slab.

PHOTO CAPTION: From October through early March, largemouth bass and freshwater drum are a consistent bycatch as we target white bass. Today proved no different.

PHOTO CAPTION: Oddly, despite pursuing white bass, our first three fish landed this afternoon were all drum (and the only drum we would land).

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

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 19 Feb. 2024 (PM)

HOW WE FISHED:

I opted to take Sebastian to Lake Belton this afternoon because Stillhouse typically does not fish well in the afternoon, and that is especially true if it has produced well in the morning, which it did today.

I arrived well in advance of our start time to give myself some time to do a little scouting to see if I could find fish and/or bait. I was able to locate two small groups of fish in about 27 feet of water. The fact that they were both in the same depth of water was, in itself, helpful as it gave me a starting point for my search for fish for the remainder of the trip.

As we got underway, I returned to these two areas, finding nothing still present at the 1st and catching 3 drum at the 2nd, while also seeing a few small, suspended schools of white bass zip by.

We would go on to fish 4 additional areas, each progressively further up one of Lake Belton’s tributaries

At each of the four locations I found tightly grouped white bass on a “shoulder” area and found these fish were already up off the bottom and in a feeding posture when we found them. Such an appearance on sonar typically means very easy fishing. Indeed, Sebastian simply dropped a white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab to the bottom and began cranking it upwards keeping beat with the rhythm created by the thumper. The fish just drilled his bait repeatedly.

By the time the fish played out at the final area we would fish, it was 4:45 PM. Although the air temperature was in the high 60s, the water temperature was in the low 50s, thus it was chilly on the surface, and both Farah and Sebastian had dressed a bit lightly. They had both had enough of the outdoors by this time, and we rode back in well before the sun began to set, which would only serve to make it even cooler.

For his efforts, we boated 59 fish including three freshwater drum, one short hybrid, one largemouth bass and 54 white bass. Although most of these white bass were legal, many were barely so.

A note: we witnessed no helpful bird activity, despite literally hundreds of ring-billed gulls rafted and resting on the surface between Frank’s Marina and Westcliff Park.

Here is a tutorial on the snap-jigging method … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGtrnAQ_T94&t=55s

Here is a tutorial on the slow-smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 59 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: I spotted the first mosquito hawk of the spring this morning, and the first red-winged blackbird just showed up at our bird feeder.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 2:15P

End Time: 4:45P

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 66F

Elevation: 12.48 feet low, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 52.1 F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: SSW 11 all afternoon

Sky Condition: Cloudless, pale blue skies

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 78% illumination.

GT = N/A

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area 472/B0042C (3 drum), Area 714 (3 fish), Area B0120C/B0169G (24 fish), Area B0118C (17 fish), Area vic B0186C (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)

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Fishing Report

Holding The Line Guide Service

Hill Country White Bass Run 2024

FISHING WITH U.S. ARMY SSG NARIMANOV’S KIDS — 74 FISH

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM!! — 57 FISH WITH THE GARZAS

PRESIDENTS’ DAY AFTERNOON – 59 FISH WITH CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER QUINTANA’S SON