New Math: 12 x 3 = 62 Fish with a Youthful Crew
CLIENTS: This morning, Tuesday, May 19, I fish with three young men all 12 years of age. Two, Vion Miller & Kaylor Chapa, were from Lampasas and already done with school for this year, and the third, Rook Miles, is from Harker Heights High and still has about two weeks still to go in the school year.
Vion‘s mom, Janda McQueen, set this trip up for them after contacting me earlier in the spring about what sort of trip would be appropriate for the boys. When I understood how much they had fished previously and how long they would stay at it when they went, I felt confident that a full, four-hour trip would be just fine for them.
TODAY’S DATE: 19 May 2026 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING: 15-17 June 2026 (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: From left: My all-12-year-old crew of Rook Miles, Vion Miller, and Kaylor Chapa worked MAL Dense Lures vertically and horizontally all morning under grey cloud cover to land 62 white bass on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir.
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
Some small storms were falling apart to our southeast, which caused some stronger than expected winds right as we were getting launched, but, fortunately those dissipated quickly leaving only dark gray cloud cover in their wake. That cloud cover stuck around for three of our four hours slowly thinning, and allowing the skies to brighten throughout the morning.
We found fish up on fairly shallow bottom topography in about 22 feet of water which allowed for a catch of 17 fish, all of which were taken on the MAL Dense, and most of which were taken using it vertically. Once the fish showed a reluctance to chase vertically any longer, we threw out horizontally using the sawtooth method and mopped up until the area no longer produced fish.
Our next solid catch was made by observing terns which were feeding on shad out over open water. The shad were being forced to the surface by schoolie largemouth bass and white bass.
By the time we encountered these fish, which would be the most aggressive we would counter all morning, the boys had all the kinks worked out of their technique and really got down to business. We landed exactly 25 fish at this location before the birds lifted, and the sonar indicated the fish were settling down. These fish were in 34 feet of water.
After doing a little looking and not finding a whole lot, the last group of fish we got on top of I found in 44 feet of water. These fish were meandering in schools of about 40 fish each. It was feast or famine fishing. When a good school would come under the boat they would respond positively, and the boys would hook at least one or two fish out of that school before they moved on. Then it got slow until the next school appeared, and so on. We wound up tacking on a final 20 fish here for a grand total of 62 fish landed. 100% of these were white bass and 100% of them were taken on the MAL Dense with silver body and chartreuse tail.
RESULTS: 62 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW WORK AN MAL LURE VERTICALLY:
OBSERVATIONS:
-USACE is running water through the Stillhouse Dam at a rate of 201 CFS.
-Terns (and a few laughing gulls) were helpful in locating fish this morning, especially at mid-morning.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Taken on Stillhouse Hollow on 19 May 2026, approx. 6:35AM…
0 feet 77.4F
5 feet 77.4F
10 feet 77.4F
15 feet 77.4F
20 feet 77.4F
25 feet 77.6F
30 feet 77.1F
35 feet 74.2F
40 feet 71.3F
45 feet 65.5F
50 feet 61.1F
55 feet 58.7F
60 feet 57.8F
65 feet 57.5F
Taken on Stillhouse Hollow on 20 April 2026, approx. 6:55AM…
0 feet 71F
5 feet 71.0F
10 feet 71.0F
15 feet71.0F
20 feet 71.0F
25 feet71.0F
30 feet 71.2F
35 feet 70.3F
40 feet 65.1F
45 feet 60.6F
50 feet 58.2F
55 feet57.4F
60 feet 56.7F
65 feet 56.5F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:00A
End Time: 11:10P
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 76F
Elevation: Stillhouse is 0.71′ high with a -0.02′ change in the last 24 hours. USACE is releasing 201 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 77.4F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE12-13 all morning
Sky Condition: 100% grey clouds for 3 hours, then thinning with some blue sky beginning to show in the final hour.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 12% illumination
GT = 65
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area 702 – 17 fish on MAL Dense Lures (silver body, chartreuse tail)
Area 2467- 25 fish on MAL Dense Lures (silver body, chartreuse tail)
Area vic SH0047C – 20 fish on MAL Dense Lures (silver body, chartreuse tail)
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: https://www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle