Spawned Out and Hungry – 67 Fish

CLIENTS: This morning, Tuesday, March 24, I welcomed aboard returning guest Otto Riedel and a neighbor of his, Chris Herndon, who came aboard for his first trip with me.

Until Chris arrived, I only knew his first name. When I asked his last name, and then took a good, hard look, I recognized him and realized the two of us had served in the same U.S. Army Reserves unit after I came off active duty — that was the 980th Engineer Battalion (a combat heavy construction unit) out of Camp Mabry in Austin. Chris’ civilian job was in law enforcement.

This trip was in support of the 13-month-long white bass study being conducted by Temple College.

ABOUT THE WHITE BASS STUDY:
Beginning back in April of 2025, researchers have been measuring and weighing the white bass captured by my clients to consider establish a baseline of fish quality on Lake Belton and Stillhouse Hollow. We have designated one sampling day per lake, per month through April of 2026. All captured fish are released.

TODAY’S DATE: 24 March 2026 (AM)


NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING: 30 March (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Chris Herndon and Otto Riedel with a few of the 67 fish they landed on this “front-loaded”, warm spring morning.

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


WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow


SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

In a word, this morning’s fishing was “front-loaded”. We caught fish fast and furious in the first 90 minutes, but, as often happens on this very clear reservoir, once the sun rose and there was no wind or cloud cover to dissipate it, the fish shut down pretty hard.

While it was early, we used Garmin LiveScope coupled with the attraction of a splashing device to consolidate fish beneath our boat and worked white, 5/8 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically with a smoking tactic in 26 to 32 feet to get bit.

Once the vertical fishing slacked off, I checked side-imaging. If I saw fish on the port or starboard side, we worked White Bass Mini-A Rigs with white/clear soft plastics to keep the bite going. If no fish were seen around us, we dropped live shad down to “mop up” the reluctant fish still beneath us. Once everything stopped responding to all of this, only then did I leave to go look for additional.

We had about an hour’s lull from 9 to 10 during which time it was the brightest and calmest.

Around 10, a light S. breeze kicked in and I once again began to find and catch fish using the same approach described above, only now these fish stayed interested for much shorter periods of time.

When all was said and done, we landed a total of 67 fish, including 2 crappie, 1 largemouth bass, and 64 white bass, all of which were of legal size. Most fish were “spawned out” with no eggs or milt present.

I find these recently spawned out fish some of the most aggressive white bass I encounter all year — willing to chase farther and faster than at any other time in the annual cycle. The fish we encountered this morning were no exception while they were in a feeding mood.

RESULTS: 67 fish, all caught and released

TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SLOW SMOKE” A BLADED HAZY EYE SLAB VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial

OBSERVATIONS:

-Fishing got suddenly tough once the sun climbed to its position in the sky around 9A; without winds or clouds, we struggled until a southerly breeze picked up around 10A.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Taken on Stillhouse on 24 March 2026, approx. 7AM…

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