Who Knew John the Baptist was from Midland? – 32 Fish
CLIENTS: This morning, Thursday, May 14, I fished with Matt Wells and his son, Ethan Spruiell. Matt runs an arborist and pest control business in the Midland area, and Ethan makes his living as a plumber in the Temple area. Matt and his wife came in to visit Ethan, Ethan’s wife, and their three daughters.
After I prayed for us before beginning the trip, Matt understood I am a follower of Christ, so, he asked if I’d ever watched “The Chosen” series. I told him I had. He then volunteered that he’d been mistaken for the character who played John the Baptist on that show. I did not argue.
TODAY’S DATE: 14 May 2026 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATES FOR FISHING: 15 June 2026 (AM)
PHOTO CAPTION: Guess which guy requested this photo!?! That’s Matt “John the Baptist” Wells on the left with a nice Lake Belton hybrid, and Ethan Spruiell with the white bass.
PHOTO CAPTION: Hey, turnabout is fair play! Ethan’s blue cat went 7.75 pounds (and Matt’s did not).
FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
For the third consecutive day, conditions were tough. We had three windless, bright hours before the south wind finally began to blow. USACE also continued to run water through the dam, which, in it of itself, is not a big deal, but, fish patterns definitely change as the dam is first opened, and then again after it is shut down.
During our windless, first three hours, I relied upon bait to catch a variety of fish, including white bass, hybrid striped bass, blue catfish, and freshwater drum.
As is the case with many of my clients who do not have prior experience on fishing with live bait, Matt and Ethan missed about as many if not more fish than they hooked and landed. Even when fish are missed, it is still engaging to see the bites happening routinely, react to them, and keep an eye on Garmin LiveScope to know when the potential is high for a strike. It keeps you on your feet, and both fellows enjoyed that.
Around 9:30, a very welcome south wind began to blow for the first time in 2 1/2 days. No sooner did the wind blow, then I found two solid groups of white bass using the bottom – – the first sizable schools I found since Tuesday morning. We got onto these fish quickly and used MAL Dense lures with silver bodies to put 12 fish in the boat with a few more missed, again simply because Matt and Ethan were going through a learning curve on how to reel smoothly, how to reel at the right speed, and how to continue reeling whenever chases from off bottom occurred.
We wrapped up at the 4.5 hour mark with exactly 32 fish landed. Ethan felt that was the most fish he had ever caught in a single fishing trip in his fishing career, so both fellows were quite pleased, even though the fishing was fairly tough for this time of the year.
RESULTS: 32 fish, all caught and released
OBSERVATIONS:
-Strong threadfin shad spawning activity this morning
-USACE continued to run water through the dam @ 411 CFS
-Strong high pressure set up right over Texas has made for bright, calm weather for 3 consecutive days
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:
Taken on Lake Belton on 14 May 2026, approx. 6:00AM…
0 feet 75.7F
5 feet 75.7F
10 feet 74.3F
15 feet 73.9F
20 feet 73.0F
25 feet 71.6F
30 feet 71.3F
35 feet 70.5F
40 feet 69.1F
45 feet 67.8F
50 feet 65.3F
55 feet 63.3F
60 feet 60.8F
Taken on Lake Belton on 05 May 2026, approx. 6:40AM…
0 feet 72.2F
5 feet 70.8F
10 feet 72.1F
15 feet 72.1F
20 feet 72.1F
25 feet 71.6F
30 feet 71.3F
35 feet 71.2F
40 feet 69.6F
45 feet 65.3F
50 feet 63.2F
55 feet 61.1F
60 feet 59.4F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 6:30A
End Time: 11A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 68F at sunrise
Elevation: Belton is 1.18 high with a +0.79′ change since May 9th thanks to Sunday night’s cold front and associated rain to our northwest in the Leon River watershed. USACE is releasing 411 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 75.7.F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: S0-2 until 9:30, then S6-8
Sky Condition: Brilliant sun from a cloudless blue sky all morning.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon at 7% illumination
GT = 0
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area BG0018G- 3 fish on MAL Dense w/ silver body (2), and live shad (1)
Area 2410 – 5 fish on live threadfin shad
Area 2465 – 12 fish on live threadfin shad
Area 2466 – 12 fish on MAL Dense w/ silver body
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