Night Bite – 65 Fish with the Youngs

CLIENTS: This evening, Friday, August 7, I fished with a returning crew from Lubbock, Texas, with roots here in the Temple – Belton area. Joining me was Dr. William Young and his kids, Millie (age 16), and Hub (age 14).

As I got to interact with this family, a few things very much impressed me about them, and I thought it would be uplifting to them to mention it. I could not help but notice how complementary the kids were towards one another and toward their father. I shared with them some Scripture which explains that what comes out of a person’s mouth originates in their heart (Luke 6:45).

TODAY’S DATE: 07 August 2026 (PM)


NEXT OPEN DATES: 19, 20, 27 Aug. 2026 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Hub, Millie, and William Youung with some twilight white bass we took in the last 75 minutes of light. The fish began getting active and coming off bottom in 25-30 feet of water in well dispersed schools which we targeted by downrigging. Once the came into water 16 feet and less, we used the sawtooth method with MAL Bridge lures to seal the deal.

PHOTO CAPTION: We invested our first 2 hours into the pursuit of catfish at two different baited areas using punchbait to tempt both blue cats and channels. The first area produced 20 fish, and the second produced 21 with very steady action at both.

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

This time of year, my preference is always to fish crews in the morning as the temperatures are cooler and the morning bite tends to be longer and stronger, however, the Youngs were only in town for a short while and an evening trip is all I had to offer, so they took me up on that, as the calendar is otherwise full through August 19th.

My plan was to prorate this trip for 3.5 hours and begin at 5 PM and wrap up just after 8:30 PM so we could avoid the hottest part of the day which, on Lake Belton, is typically unfruitful.

From 5:00 until 7:15 PM we fished two previously baited areas for catfish using punchbait. To my relief, everyone got the hang of adjusting their bait correctly up off the bottom, detecting bites, and setting the hook, all in rather short order. After that, it was just gravy.

The Young’s caught 20 catfish at our first area in about 27 feet of water, and another 21 catfish at our second area in about 25 feet of water.

By 7:15, our bite at the second catfish area had slowed and so at that point we transitioned to fishing for white bass.

From 7:15 until right around 8 PM, we downrigged for fish in the 20-27 foot range. As the sun got to within about 20 minutes of setting, the same fish made a shoreward migration, and although they did not come up on top, they were heavily concentrated on the bottom in around 16 feet of water. In this situation we cast MAL Bridge lures horizontally and worked them using the sawtooth method.

My crew landed a total of 24 white bass in about an hour and a quarter.

We wrapped up with 65 fish boated and headed back into the dock, thankful that the wind had blown gently all afternoon, thus making this August outing more than bearable.

RESULTS: 65 fish, all caught and released

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH THE MAL LURE WITH A SAWTOOTH METHOD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ[/video]

OBSERVATIONS:
-USACE has finally reduced the flow of water through the dam to the “normal” summertime rate of 52CFS — just a trickle to keep fresh water moving downstream.

-No topwater action this evening

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Taken on Lake Belton on 06 Aug. 2026, approx. 6:05AM …

Taken on Lake Belton on 28 July 2026, approx. 6:05AM …

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