stillhouse 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

PRE-FRONTAL WX SETUP YIELDS 106 FISH @ STILLHOUSE

March 2nd, 2020 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, March 2nd, 2020, I fished with returning guests Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen from near Troy, TX. Tommy has fished with me twice before, both in pursuit of white bass on Stillhouse. Sylvia joined him for one of those trips. Then, just last month, they both returned in their own boat to do some sonar training with new Lowrance gear installed on both console and bow. Our next trip will be after Belton hybrid in May, Lord willing.

I was excited about getting on the water this morning, as I am any time pre-frontal conditions are brewing. Making this morning even sweeter was the fact that it came on the end of a 4-day warming spell.

PHOTO CAPTION: Tommy and Sylvia Maedgen joined me for a nice Texas late winter morning of white bass fishing on Stillhouse. The couple’s last trip with me yielded 53 fish; this morning, we persisted until we doubled that figure. The grey skies and southwesterly breeze helped fire up the bite this morning until right around noon.

WHEN WE FISHED: 02 March, 2002, AM

HOW WE FISHED: As hard as it was to ignore bird activity this morning, that is exactly what it took to put fish in the boat. The “resident” population of wintering gulls on Stillhouse have become conditioned to feed every morning in about 4 distinct locations, whether or not white bass are present. Although there are a few white bass in these areas, this morning sonar quickly revealed they were few and far between. Most folks fail to recognize the root cause of the gull action right now is loon activity, not white bass activity. These loons kill and cripple sunfish which then float or linger near the surface and become easy targets for the gulls, which then draw anglers. A few anglers draw more anglers, and , before you know it, there’s a whole lot of boats and none of them catching anything. Thanks to a state holiday, a few areas with this gull/loon scenario looked like boat parking lots this morning, but few fish were taken in those areas.

Rather, the breakline dropping into the old Lampasas River channel continues to be a steady producer of not only quantities of fish, but quality fish, as well, especially in comparison to the unusually high number of smallish white bass Belton has been pumping out since September.

A few times we commented on how slowly the fish were swimming and reacting to our presentations, all because their surroundings are still in the low 50’s. Indeed, one white bass I pulled up near trip’s end when the air was warmest felt like an ice pack when touched.

Accordingly, presentations were painfully slow this morning, but consistency in that regard was rewarded over and over again as we used an easing tactic in combination with “match-the-hatch” sized 3/8 oz. Hazy Eye Slabs with stinger hooks attached. Garmin LiveScope was the ticket to knowing when to move the slab and when to lay off.

I’ve arrayed my infinitely-adjustable LiveScope transducer to view both downward and along the starboard gunwale of my boat. I position as many clients on that side as possible. I have two Garmin GPSMAP 1242xsv Touch units mounted on that gunwale so as many as 5 anglers can watch what is happening below them in real-time. Although the same raw sonar data is being fed to both units from a single transducer, the displays are independently adjustable so those toward the bow can isolate their little “patch” of bottom, and those clients toward the stern can do likewise. This way, everyone gets a zoomed view of just the vertical segment of water they are working. It is a sweet setup. It keeps everyone engaged, enhances their success, and makes us very efficient.

Every once in a while we encountered slightly more active fish up higher in the water column which required a “slow smoking” retrieve, but most fish were bottom-oriented this morning.

Our bite wound down to nothing by noon, with peak activity from 9:15 to 11AM.

TALLY: 106 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: Spotted the first couple mosquito hawks of the year last night while working outdoors.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:00A

End Time: Noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 65F

Elevation: 3.27′ low, +0.01 24-hour change, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 54F

Wind Speed & Direction: SW8-12 the entire trip

Sky Conditions: 100% grey cloud cover

GT = 15

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1512 – scattered fish under gulls with loon activity

**Area 988/2017- scattered fish under gulls with loon activity

**Area vic 1358 – channel breakline congregation of whites

**Area vic SH0001C – channel breakline congregation of whites

**Area 103/746 – channel breakline congregation of whites

**Area vic SH0023C- scattered fish under gulls with loon activity

**Area vic SH0014G – 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)

WE PASKO-TIZED ‘EM — 60 FISH @ BELTON

January 15th, 2019January 16th, 2019 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Tuesday morning, January 15th, I fished with long-time friend Bill Pasko on Lake Belton. Bill is a great multi-species fisherman originally from upstate New York, on the shores of Lake Ontario. After a short stint as a U.S. Army Infantry officer in Vietnam, Bill worked through age 55 putting his chemistry background to work for him and others. He’s now retired and fishes nearly as much as I do!!

The main focus today was to introduce Bill to many of the capabilities of the Garmin LIveScope technology. It also served as a scouting opportunity for me, as I’d not fished Belton since 04 Jan. when the lake flooded once again. Bill called me the day before after seeing my 11 Jan. 2019 post comparing the spread diameter of two kinds of cast nets at depth. His curiosity was piqued and so, off we went this morning in search of fish.

Long-time Lake Belton multi-species angler Bill Pasko with a pair of hybrid we caught over 50′ of water. These fish were suspended and on the move, but readily identified using the Garmin LiveScope technology. We used soft plastics on jigheads to seal the deal.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Tuesday, January 15th, 2019

HOW WE FISHED: Today’s fishing was focused around the 34-37 foot mark and involved both snap-jigging with slabs for fish we saw on bottom and sniping with soft plastics on jigheads for fish which were suspended. The deeper the water, the better the fish responded to the thumper. The fish activity correlated with windspeed.

OBSERVATIONS: I was pleasantly surprised to see even smallish white bass eagerly strike Bill’s 4″ long soft plastics as we sniped for suspended fish. I’ve traditionally defaulted to smaller presentations. We experienced one episode of helpful bird action offered by ~8 terns over a short 10 minutes span, despite hundreds of ring-billed gulls sighted over open water.

TALLY: 60 fish caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 7:30a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 42F

Water Surface Temp: 49.9 – 51.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: Winds were calm through about 9:30, then blew SSE6 for the remainder of the trip.

Sky Conditions: 100% coverage of light grey clouds

Water Level: 10.75′ high with 24-hour drop of 0.21 feet; slowly falling water flowing @ 2,984 CFS

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic B0107C – snap jigging

**Area vic B0110C – snap jigging

**Area B0117C to B0111C – slow smoking/sniping under minimal bird activity

**Area B0129C – sniping for suspended “thumped” fish

**Area 1291 – deep, slow smoking for “thumped” fish in 50′

Bob Maindelle, Belton Lake Fishing Guide

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

Mom: The Coordinator!! — 81 Fish with the Torralvas

November 26th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Wednesday afternoon I fished with Mr. Joe Torralva and his son, Adan, as well as Adan’s uncle, Scott Mullins, visiting from Virginia. Joe just came along for the ride while Adan and Scott did all the fishing. All of this was nicely coordinated in advance by Joe’s wife, Nicole, the week prior.

Scott runs an HVAC business on the East Coast where he pursues multiple species on multiple bodies of water, including targeting striped bass on the famed Buggs-Kerr Reservoir where some of the first freshwater stripers were stocked decades ago.

Joe works in the drinking water treatment business.

Adan Torralva of Temple, TX, and his uncle, Scott Mullins, of Virginia, put together an 81 fish catch using a slab/Hazy Eye Stinger hook combination under fully clouded skies.

Freshwater drum have become a very common by-catch this season. Here, Joe Torralva looks on as his son, Adan, hefts a drum approaching 4 pounds.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass. We also landed numerous drum and largemouth bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday evening, November 21, 2018

HOW WE FISHED: As we began the trip, we still had a light easterly wind pushing the water and rippling the surface. We scored over 20 fish on our first stop in ~50′ of water at the end of a gentle, deep point. By the time these fish quit, the wind had laid down to calm. We struggled to find fish for the next hour; however, gulls continued to work during this time, primarily attracted to loon activity. The fish really turned on in the last 90 minutes before the obscured sunrise; this action coincided with the appearance of many schools of small shad feeding on the surface all over the lake after the winds had been calm for about an hour. A smoking tactic used with a moderate cadence was the best producer this afternoon

OBSERVATIONS: We had a strong start and a strong end, with a slow hour in the middle. The fish really turned on in the last 90 minutes before the obscured sunrise; this action coincided with the appearance of many schools of small shad feeding on the surface all over the lake after the winds had been calm for about an hour.

TALLY: 81 fish, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 1:15p

End Time: 5:15p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 60F

Water Surface Temp: 56.6

Wind Speed & Direction: <E6

Sky Conditions: Full, grey cloud cover all afternoon

Water Level: 11.6 feet high and falling by about 0.14 feet daily w/ 1,186 cfs flow

GT = 105

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area SH0069C – deep fish in lower 1/3 of water column taken on moderate smoking tactic

**Area vic 089 – suspended fish responding to thumper in ~30′, suspended at 20-25′ and taken with a moderate smoking tactic

**Area SH0068C – fish in ~25′ which fed hard for last 90 minutes prior to obscured sunset. Took eased, smoked, and snap-jigged slabs, as well as blades

Bob Maindelle, Belton Lake Fishing Guide

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

102 FISH AND A NEW LAKE RECORD WITH THE WAGNERS

August 18th, 2018 by Bob Maindelle

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning I fished a multi-species trip with Kris Wagner and his sons, 14-year-old Nick, and soon-to-be 10-year-old Charlie. Kris makes his living as a urologist at Scott & White and enjoys biking. Nick is the real fisherman of the family, looking for opportunities to fish whenever and wherever he can, be it for sunfish in Nolan Creek or catfish at summer camp. Charlie landed our fish for the record books — a spotted bass. More about that, with a photo, in my Sunday “Guide Lines” column on Aug. 26th, though.

From left: Nick, Kris, and Charlie. Because our fish were coming up from 35+ feet this morning where the water temperature was much cooler, we had to handle our fish quickly to ensure they could be released in excellent shape. These three fish were actually all caught by Nick at the same time on his 3-armed umbrella rig. I unhooked them, handed one to each family member, and we snapped a photo — all in a matter of seconds. We then watched these all dig back down to that deep, dark, cool water they’d come from.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR: This was a multi-species trip focused on white bass.

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday morning, 18 August 2018

HOW WE FISHED: We fished 4 areas and found fish at three of them. I also ran sonar over 2 other areas and passed on them due to lack of fish and bait. When fish and bait showed on sonar, we downrigged successfully and, whenever a mass of bottom-oriented white bass would show on sonar (typically setting both downriggers off as we passed over), we would stop the boat, hover atop of them and work tailspinners vertically. This approach yielded 54 fish including 2 drum, 1 spotted bass, and 51 white bass through around 11a. As we headed back to the ramp, I spotted some surface feeding action on a flat adjacent to the river channel. Sonar revealed heavy schools of young of the year shad present with white bass throughout the lower third of the water column right there with them. We went right to working tailspinners given how concentrated these fish showed to be on sonar, and wound up staying an additional hour working these fish over, and taking our tally up to 102 fish (adding 47 white bass and 1 drum to our prior total of 54 fish).

OBSERVATIONS/NOTES: It was surprising to see fish feeding so aggressively at Area SH0053C between 11a and noon after the strong bite we’d experienced elsewhere had clearly died to nil. This was the best topwater action I’d seen since Monday.

TALLY: 102 fish, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 6:45a

End Time: 12:00 noon

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 76F

Water Surface Temp: 83.8F

Wind Speed & Direction: Light winds under 4mph from S for first 90 minutes, pick up up to WSW12 for the remainder of the trip.

Sky Conditions: ~20% cloud cover

Water Level: 7.36 feet low and falling

GT = 55

Wx SNAPSHOT:

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area SH0052C thru 1425 – scant

**Area 1448-495-1970 – white bass via downriggers and tailspinners

**Area SH0053C – 48 white bass between 11a & noon – location revealed by surface action in SW wind at 12 mph

Bob Maindelle, Central Texas Fishing Guide

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

E-mail: Bob@Holding elle TheLineGuideService.com