Magnum on Stillhouse During 13-month Study – 44 Fish
CLIENTS: On Saturday, December 13, I welcomed back a very outdoorsy couple – – Brandon and Wendy Hunt from Hutto, Texas. This couple chose to participate in one of the two monthly discounted fishing trips in support of the Temple College white bass study on Lake Belton and Stillhouse Hollow.
ABOUT THE WHITE BASS STUDY:
Through April of 2026, researchers will be measuring and weighing the white bass captured by my clients to consider establish a baseline of fish quality on both lakes. If you come out fishing with me to help collect these fish, you will get $50 deducted from your fee in exchange for allowing researchers to accompany your party on my boat. We have designated one sampling day per lake, per month through April of 2026. We will still be catching and releasing all fish.
REMAINING OPEN DATES FOR DISCOUNTED WHITE BASS STUDY FISHING TRIPS:
January 2026 17th Saturday – Belton – OPEN
February 2026 14th Saturday – Belton – OPEN, 21st Saturday – Stillhouse – OPEN
March 2026 12th Thursday – Stillhouse – OPEN
April 2026 15th Wednesday – Belton – OPEN, 16th Thursday – Stillhouse – OPEN
TODAY’S DATE: Saturday, 13 December 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Christmas Day, 25 December 2025 (AM only)
PHOTO CAPTION: Brandon and Wendy Hunt came up with 44 fish this morning after battling fog followed by calm conditions. That beast Wendy is holding measured 15.76″ — a true trophy white bass!
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
Meteorologists had a very tough time this week figuring out when the next cold front was going to arrive. Earlier in the week, it was due to arrive as early as Friday, then got pushed back to Saturday (which I was most hopeful about!), but, ultimately, it wound up arriving in the early morning hours on Sunday.
As I headed to the boat ramp to prep for this trip, a heavy fog settled in and stuck with us for about 90 minutes into the trip.
Fog is always a tough situation, as it involves both very low light levels and calm conditions.
As we got going, we managed only two drum at our first location, and although white bass were seen on sonar, they simply did not respond well.
As we made our way to a second area (one where I’d fish under birds earlier in the week) I found no birds present, but plenty of fish and the way they appeared on side imaging told me they were feeding. This turned out to be our best stop of the trip. As fish willingly swam up off bottom to overtake the three-quarter ounce, white Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs I had equipped Brandon and Wendy with.
Using the thumper to tune in their retrieve speed (like a metronome used in music), they reeled their lures up off bottom and observed Garmin LiveScope for a follow, then kept right on retrieving if a follow occurred. When the fog cleared, a light north wind developed and I thought we were going to the home free.
Unfortunately, that wind was short-lived, and we struggled through about an hour’s worth of calm conditions. We not only had a tough time finding fish, but, when we found them, we observed they were very reluctant to get excited enough to follow and bite.
Eventually, a light southeast wind developed, along with some clearing (actually, just a thinning of the clouds enough to allow more light through), and we were able to have a solid finale to the trip.
I found white bass scattered along a gently sloping bottom in 24 to 30 feet of water.
Given their scattered array, we cast curltail grubs on tungsten jigheads, and worked them very slowly along the bottom to put a final dozen fish in the boat.
Over this 4+ our trip, the Hunts landed 44 fish, including three freshwater drum, one largemouth bass, and 40 white bass, including Our largest which went 15.76 inches.
RESULTS: 44 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SLOW SMOKE” A BLADED HAZY EYE SLAB VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial
OBSERVATIONS:
-We saw a drastic water temperature decrease (5 degrees F) in less than a week’s time (1-5 Dec.), enhanced by lack of sunlight due to cloud cover all week. Water surface temp. now at ~59.6F, down from 68.5 less than a 10 days ago.
-No birds this morning thanks to a blanket of fog hindering their spotting abilities.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Temperature profile measured on Stillhouse around 7:00A on Thursday, 11 December …
0 feet 59.6F
5 feet 59.6F
10 feet 59.8F
15 feet 59.8F
20 feet 59.8F
25 feet 59.8F
30 feet 59.8F
35 feet 59.6F
40 feet 59.4F
45 feet 59.2F
50 feet 58.7F
55 feet 58.4F
60 feet 58.2F
65 feet 58.0F
Temperature profile measured on Stillhouse around 6:45A on Friday, 28 November …
0 feet 67.4F
5 feet 67.6F
10 feet 67.6F
15 feet 67.6F
20 feet 67.6F
25 feet 67.6F
30 feet 67.6F
35 feet 67.6F
40 feet 67.6F
45 feet 67.6F
50 feet 67.6F
55 feet 67.4F
60 feet 67.4F
65 feet 67.2F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:30A
End Time: 11:50A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 52F
Elevation: Stillhouse is 1.02′ low with a -0.02′ change in the last 24 hours. USACE is releasing 1 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 59.6F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: Calm under fog for 90 min., then 30 min. N3, then calm, then S3-4 for balance.
Sky Condition: Fog clearing after 90 min, followed by moderate grey cloud cover at 100%
Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 32% illumination.
GT = 75
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area 790 – 18 fish on slow-smoked slabs & curl-tail grubs
Area vic 264 – 8 fish on slow-smoked slabs
Area SH0115C/SH0117C -4 fish on slow-smoked slabs
Area 2298 – 2 fish on slow-smoked slabs
Area 104 – 12 fish on curltail grubs
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