Belton Lake Fishing Guide's Blog / Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide's Blog by Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service - 2008 Fishing Reports

DECEMBER 2008 SUMMARY / YEAR IN REVIEW = 9,430 FISH CAUGHT

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:10:00 -0700

Here are some graphics to depict the entire year in review. Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

27 DECEMBER 2008 -- 26 FISH

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:02:00 -0700

This was to be my last trip for the year. I was hoping to time the approaching cold front well and get in on a hot pre-frontal bite, but the weatherman's prediction on the timing was off, and the time window was very limited this morning. Start Time: 7:30a
End Time: 9:50a
Air Temp: 74F at sunrise (obscured by clouds), dropping into the 50's with the approach of a hard coldfront hitting at approx. 10am.
Wind: Winds were SSW at 10-12 until 10a, and then very suddenly turned NNW gusting to 40+ within minutes.
Skies: Skies were cloudy and grey until around 10a, then darkened with the approach of the leading, wet edge of the coldfront, then cleared to partly cloudy and brightened for the remainder of the day after the front passed by after 12 noon or so.
I got on the water at 7:30a and cruised for about 25 minutes watching bird activity, and found birds acting "fishy" by around 7:55. I stayed in one place the entire time vertical jigging with a doctored 1/4 oz. Rattle Snakie spoon. Fish were both on bottom and suspended. The bottom oriented fish were very sluggish, and most of the fish I caught were suspenders that responded to a smoking retrieve. The activity level of the fish increased right up to the moment the hard, wet cold front hit at which time it was not possible to stay on the water any longer. The winds turned violently gusty blowing 40+ with higher gusts with rain and hail falling intermittently. Loading the boat was a bit of a challenge. TALLY = 26 FISH, all caught and released Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

26 DECEMBER 2008 -- 31 FISH

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:57:00 -0700

I fished a "Kids Fish, Too!" trip today with Steve, Debbie, Aaron, and Jordan U. of Troy, TX. Steve was back home on leave from Iraq and looked me up on the internet while serving in Southwest Asia. Start Time: 7:30a
End Time: 11:30a
Air Temp: 68F at sunrise (obscured by clouds), warming to mid 70's due to pre-frontal warming in advance of a mild cold front due in tomorrow.
Wind: Winds were already up at sunrise at 10-12, slowly increasing to 30mph with gusts over 40mph by noon and into the afternoon.
Skies: Skies were cloudy and grey until around 11:30, then cleared to partly cloudy and brightened.
After meeting, launching, and going over safety concerns, we headed to the Area 54 complex and looked for birds to lead the way to fish. There were about 10 large herring gulls and 2-3 terns circling up high around 7:40. They got lower to the water and more fidgety as the next 45 minutes rolled by. During this entire time, we downrigged with White Willow spoons while I closely monitored the birds and sonar. The fish were kind of sluggish all day, but were feeding, albeit reluctantly. We bagged 8 fish in this area including 6 whites and 2 largemouth with 3 additional fish lost. Once the birds disappeared and the action died down, we headed out to search for more birds. We found an aggressively feeding flock of terns working over a deep flat in 45' of water at Area 338 to Area 339. The kids were anxious to try something new, so we rigged up with slabs and went to town vertical jigging. By this time the wind was over 20 with higher gusts, and it was all I could do to keep the boat in a hover over fish, and help Aaron and Jordan get the hang of slabbing. They were fast learners, and soon Steve and both kids were picking up fish now and then. The combination of light-biting fish, wind, and depth made strike detection very difficult. Nonetheless, by the time the wind drove us off, we'd managed 11 more fish here with several more missed. The missed fish all came when the kids didn't realize a fish was hooked and dropped their rod tip in keeping with the vertical jigging rhythm they'd become accustomed to. This allowed some slack in the line which, combined with heavy slabs, allow the hook to pull out. I tried downsizing to the 1/4 oz. Rattle Snakie, but switched back to the TNT 180 just so everyone could stay in touch with their lure. We then moved on to Area 330 to try to escape the wind. As we pulled up, about 9 terns were just beginning to work this area over. The easier wind conditions, shallower water (~22 feet) and a little hard-won experience now paid off. The group managed 9 more fish in just 20 minutes of slabbing here. After things slowed down and the birds left, we agreed to call it a great day, and by far the most productive day this family had ever enjoyed! We headed back to the dock at 11:30 with 28 fish tallied for my guests. Afterwards, I headed back out to Area 330 to run sonar and see how far and wide these fish were spread. I found fish from 18 to 22 feet from Area 100 to Area 330, and from Area 330 to the SW toward the channel. I caught 3 more fish as I jigged to confirm sonar. By now the winds were approaching 40 and I left while I could still get my boat on the trailer. TALLY = 31 FISH, all caught and released Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

23 DECEMBER 2008 -- 51 FISH

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:54:00 -0700

Winds finally gained a warming southerly component today after the cold north and east winds of the past few days, and that got the fish cranked back up. I had a trip scheduled for a gentleman on R&R from Iraq and his wife and 3 kids, but he requested to be rescheduled due to the cold and light rain, so I wound up fishing solo today. Start Time: 8:08a
End Time: 1:15p
Air Temp: 38F at sunrise (obscured by fog), warming only to 46F due to heavy cloud cover.
Water Temp: 50-51F
Wind: Winds were ESE and light at 5-6 until around 11:45a, then slowly turned SSE and increased to ~9 for about 1 1/2 hours, then settled down to about 6-7 mph for the remainder of the day.
Skies: Skies were foggy until 10:45 when the fog cleared only to reveal heavy, low, gray clouds.
Due to the sparse fog, I cruised very slowly and both looked and listened for birds, and, around 8:30 encountered a flock of terns ~14 in number working over open water at Area 337. Sonar revealed bottom oriented and suspended fish here so I began working with the 1/4 oz. jigging spoon and had the best success targeting the bottom oriented fish. At this location, the fish were holding both at the lip of the hole as well as down on the slope going into the bottom of the hole, down to 45 feet. I boated 31 fish here including 19 whites, 1 largemouth, and 1 drum in about 2.25 hours. When things ground to a halt here, I continued looking for birds elsewhere. I found scattered terns working between Areas 330 and 107 and so hung in that area to see if they would coalesce. In about 15 minutes after my arrival (~11:15) about 8 terns began to concentrate on one area and the game was on. Over the next 75 minutes I slabbed up 20 more white bass, with the best action coming off bottom-oriented fish, and, surprisingly, on the larger 3/4 oz. TNT 180 slab. Typically these sluggish cold water fish like things small, but, evidently, the shad these fish were consuming was on the larger side and so this bait appealed to them very well. By 12:45 things were done for the day. Overall comment: the fish are definitely orienting on the main channel right now, traveling generally, slowly upstream. Bottom oriented fish tend to be more prone to striking than are suspenders. TALLY = 51 FISH, all caught and released Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

20 DECEMBER 2008 -- 91 FISH

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 23:42:00 -0700

Pre-frontal conditions were forecast for today with typically means some awesome fishing ... Start Time: 7:20a
End Time: 2:00p
Air Temp: 62F at sunrise (obscured by fog), warming to 78F.
Water Temp: 54-56F
Wind: Winds were slack until around 11:45a, then picked up from the NW at ~9 for about 1 1/2 hours, then went slack for a few hours before turning NW as the cold front pushed in.
Skies: Skies were foggy until 10:45 when the fog lifted for the remainder of the day.
Upon launching, I sighted birds at just to the north of Area 243, up on the flat. There were about 12-15 gulls, with a few terns mixed in. The birds were more active than the fish were. Although there was a good number of bottom oriented white bass here, they were fairly sluggish. I vertical jigged for 18 whites here and then moved once the birds had dissipated and the fish settled down. Next I looked over a few areas without result before heading to Area 333. I got 1 white and 2 smallish largemouth here in 27-29 feet on a 1/4 oz. slab. Another boat with 3 anglers was catching fish where I had hoped to head to and the fish had really done all they were going to do before they moved on and I motored over there. Finally, around 10:45, the fog lifted, and a NW breeze began to ripple the surface and then increased to 6-8 mph pretty quickly. I headed to the expanse of water between Areas 334 and 335 and found a great number of terns working hard over the large stretch of water. The terns were feeding on small shad forced to the surface by feeding white bass. As I searched the area over with sonar, I found fish on both sides of the channel and in and over the channel itself. On the W. side of the channel, fish were up as shallow as 20'; on the E. side of the channel, fish were at the high point of 26'; over the channel, fish were as deep as 41' and were more tightly clustered, probably on the move. In all, the birds were much more active than the fish were. I got over Area 334 and hunkered down. Just as happened yesterday, I found the suspended fish were hard to tempt, and that the bottom-oriented fish were best responding to an extended pause in the jigging stroke. When the sky brightened up and while the NW wind continued, the fish activity spiked for about 35 minutes. During this time bottom oriented fish typically struck as soon as the slab reached bottom. At this point in time I dropped a tandem rig and caught 12 sets of doubles before the wind stopped and the fish slacked off. I tallied 68 fish at this location. Just as I was packing up to head in, a small flock of terns began working over Area 335. I headed over and managed 1 crappie and 1 suspended white in 25-27 feet here. The scenario was just about the same as at Area 334. The bird activity ended quickly, and the fishing had finally ground to a halt and so I headed in. TALLY = 91 FISH, all caught and released Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

19 DECEMBER 2008 -- 85 FISH

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:27:00 -0700

Fished a morning trip today with Amy, Benn (12), and Eric (10) B., of Pocatello, Idaho. Start Time: 7:30a
End Time: 1:00p
Air Temp: 57F at sunrise (obscured by fog), warming to 68F.
Water Temp: 53-54F
Wind: Winds were slack until around 10:45a, then picked up from the NNW at 6-7 for about 2 hours, then went slack for the remainder of the day.
Skies: Skies were foggy until 10:45 when the fog lifted for the remainder of the day, only to return overnight.
Amy and her boys were in Texas for the holidays visiting their grandma -- the boys had mainly trout fished in streams, and had never been all that successful at it. After covering the safety basics, we headed to Area 112 and went over the basics of casting spinning gear. The boys caught on pretty quickly, and, on our third cast of the day, Eric landed a 1.25 pound largemouth. No white bass seemed to be using this area, so we left in search of a concentration of fish. We flatline trolled the Area 319 to Area 336 circuit and did quite well, picking up at least one fish, if not a double, on every pass we made. Soon, a trend emerged as to where we were being most successful in our trolling passes, and, after catching 26 white bass and 1 more largemouth by trolling, I switched the boys back over to casting bladebaits to saturate the area where our trolling had been successful. This turned out to be very successful -- the boys landed an additional 22 fish on a standard lift-drop retrieve. By about 11am, Amy and Eric, still a little travel-weary, were ready to call it a great day, although I think Benn would have hung with me all day if his mom would have let him! I headed back to the ramp and we said our goodbyes -- I then headed back out by myself to see if any birds were working or rafted anywhere as the fog was just lifting, and the light level was increasing rapidly. I found birds and fish at 3 locations. First, Area 330, in about 23 feet, held active fish primarily on bottom. I landed 3 whites and a sweet 7.75 pound largemouth here (see photo) before the birds gave up pretty quickly. I moved on and found birds once again at Area 331. Here the fish were both on bottom in 31-34 feet and were suspended. The bottom huggers were much more likely to strike than the suspended fish. I could only get 3 of 10 suspended fish to move toward a smoked bait, and perhaps 1 of 10 would hit. As for the bottom oriented fish, I found a delayed pause did the trick, as did a very light 1/8 oz. slab. I caught fish steadily here for 70 minutes and tallied 28 fish at this location. A bit of a spike in activity occurred as a WNW breeze started, but it quickly died, and the fishing fell off with it. Around 12:30p, another flock of terns was sighted at Area 332. There were both suspended and bottom oriented fish here in 27-29 feet of water. I vertical jigged for 3 whites just to confirm what sonar revealed. The birds dissipated and I called it a day. TALLY = 85 FISH, all caught and released Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

18 DECEMBER 2008 -- 36 FISH

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:03:00 -0700

Fished a morning scouting trip today. I've been off the water for a week after scheduling trips to avoid the very cold and wet weather we had 14-16 Dec. with drizzle and strong N, NE, and E winds respectively. Got out today as the winds of the last several days were about to subside, and as the temperatures began to rise. Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 11:45a
Air Temp: 53F at sunrise, warming only to 58F due to cool breezes and heavy cloud cover.
Water Temp: 51-52F
Wind: Winds were ENE at 6-7 prior to sunrise, then tapered off to flat calm by trip's end.
Skies: Skies were foggy until 11:30 when the fog lifted briefly, but then returned by 2:00p.
At (obscured) sunrise, I hit Area 112 up shallow and fancast blade baits for about 20 minutes with only a stray largemouth for the effort. I then flatline trolled tandem crankbaits to keep baits in the water as I looked things over with sonar. I picked up 3 solid white bass in a stretch between Areas 319 and 336. These fish were roaming and scattered. I moved on to look elsewhere. I headed to the vicinity of Areas 89 and 143 and found fish very tight to bottom and very lethargic, but at least there were fish. I hung tight here to see if a windshift or an increase in the light intensity might trigger activity. At exactly 9:48, the fish turned on, just when the slack winds puffed NE and the fog thinned a bit allowing some brightness. This brief feeding spree only lasted about 20 minutes during which time the fish began to pursue bait and could be seen moving both on bottom and suspended while chasing. After the spree, the fishing slowly tapered out to nothing over the next 2 hours, during which time I managed 32 white bass. Given the improving weather forecast for tomorrow, I feel very confident I can put folks on fish. TALLY = 36 FISH, all caught and released Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

11 DECEMBER 2008 -- 66 FISH

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:41:00 -0700

Fished Stillhouse on a half-day morning trip with Rev. Ken C. of Killeen. Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 10:45a
Air Temp: 27F at sunrise, warming to 62F.
Water Temp: 54.1F
Wind: Winds were NNW at 7 prior to sunrise, then varied from 7-10 through mid-morning, and then began to slack off toward 11am.
Skies: Skies were clear and bright all day.
Had an enjoyable trip this morning with Ken, the pastor at Memorial Baptist Church in Killeen. Ken hadn't been fishing in about 3 years but was familiar enough with spinning gear to get the hang of things pretty quickly, and he wound up doing very well. Fishing was pretty easy today. We hit fish from just prior to sunrise and until 9:00am between Areas 112 and 257 catching fish every couple of casts using white blade baits fish "lift-drop" style. It was important to mentally note where your cast fell, and where in your retrieve any missed strikes occurred as the fish were tightly schooled, and repeated casts to fish-holding areas almost always resulted in multiple catches. We departed this area as the sun brightened and the fish activity dropped off. We landed a total of 29 fish here and broke ice out of guides the entire time. We got 1 largemouth going 1.75 pounds, and all the rest were white bass going 10 to 13 inches, with most at 10.75 to 11.25 inches. Our next and final stop came in the vicinity of Areas 143 and 89. Fish were most active from around 9 to 9:40a. During that time fish were seen on sonar in the entire lower half of the water column and would chase smoked baits. After that, the fish settled down and preferred a smaller slab and a prolonged pause on a traditional slabbing presentation. We caught fish on the 1/4 oz. slab and the white TNT 180 in 3/4 oz. Before the action ended, we'd landed one drum and an additional 36 white bass. Once the fish here had all but quit, I rigged up the downrigger and spent about 10 minutes showing Ken the way the sonar and downrigger work together to target fish at a specific depth. We caught 1 fish this way just so he could experience that and then we headed to the dock. Got to hand it to old Ken -- he's pretty hearty for a preacher -- just wore a ball cap and kept his fingers working well the entire trip, most of which was below freezing. TALLY = 66 FISH (all caught and released). Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

08 DECEMBER 2008 -- 103 FISH

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:00:00 -0700

Fished a half day trip at Stillhouse today and found the fish in high gear in the face of pre-frontal warming and a hard S. wind. Start Time: 6:45a
End Time: 2:05p
Air Temp: 59F at sunrise, warming only to 71F.
Water Temp: 56F
Wind: Winds were S at (obscured) sunrise at 15mph, and slowly slacked built to around 20 by 10;30, then increased to 25+ with higher gusts from 11a thru my departure time at around 2p.
Skies: Skies were heavily overcast and grey, but not quite to the point of drizzle the entire trip.
I fished 6 areas today and found solid fishing at 2, marginal fishing at 1, and nothing at the remaining 3. I began the day in shallow water at Area 162 given it was catching a lot of the hard S. wind. I fancast for a while with a bladebait and only managed one largemouth - a solid 3 pound fish. I moved on looking for birds as I went and found some tern activity at Areas 324/143. I fished over these fish until my tally had reached 20 fish, then decided to check some other areas that traditionally hold fish this time of year while the fish were in feeding mode. I looked over Areas 100 and 53 with sonar, saw some promise at 53 and nothing at 100. I jigged Area 53 for a while without result and then returned to Areas 324/143 and picked up 10 more white bass there. The tern action continued a bit shallower, so I followed them up into 19-21 feet of water and continued to catch fish to the SW of Area 54. I stopped when my tally reached 40 and decided to continue looking for active fish elsewhere. I found suspended fish at Area 36 and managed 7 whites and 1 small largemouth here, all by smoking a spoon by suspenders. Left this alone around 10:30 and headed to Areas 72-149. No bait, no fish, no stay. Around this time another flock of terns, about 12-15 in number, began working in the vicinity of Area 329/33. I idled over to this area with sonar fine-tuned and found suspended fish, an abundance of bottom-huggers and bait. This was one of those things you just love to see ... at the slab fell toward bottom, these aggressive fish rose up to meet it. Long story short, I hovered over this area, which was all of 40 foot in diameter, for a little over 3 hours and put an additional 55 fish in the boat including a 7.375 pound largemouth and a 6.625 pound largemouth caught about 6 minutes apart around noon. Funny thing about these 2 fish. One was very dark -- like to typically see in shallow water, weed-dwelling fish, whereas the other was pale and white, which is typical of deepwater fish. By 2p, the wind was gusting over 30 mph, the bite was just about done, and my trolling motor had "given it all she got, captain". We headed to the dock with a great 100+ fish December day under our belt. TALLY = 103 FISH (all caught and released) Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

06 DECEMBER 2008 -- 96 FISH

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:51:00 -0700

Fished a half-day morning trip at Stillhouse today. Things were a bit slow at first as the winds were slack and the skies were bright and clear, but then things heated up. Start Time: 7:15a
End Time: 10:35a
Air Temp: 27F at sunrise, warming to 62F.
Water Temp: 55-57F
Wind: Winds were slack at sunrise, but quickly built to 5-7 mph and came from the WSW.
Skies: Skies were clear and bright all day.
Made just one stop today after cruising for about 30 minutes looking for bird activity. Found about 8 gulls and 4-5 terns all working together over 29-34 feet of water, and strung along from W to E from Area 176 through Area 243, and on to Area 186. These fish were really cranked up today, as is often the case with a west wind. At first, more fish were found suspended at around 12-17 feet deep. As the skies brightened, they pushed down and were more prevalent on bottom. By around 10:30, the fish began to transition off the flat and toward the deeper breakline. From that point, they suspended within 4-6 feet of bottom and stayed heavily concentrated and nearly immobile, allowing one fish after another to be taken on a well-placed slab. In all I caught 96 fish including 1 drum, 5 largemouth bass, and 90 white bass. All the whites went 10 to 12 inches, with most right at 11.5 inches. The catch included one really nice largemouth tipping the scales at exactly 8.00 pounds. (PHOTO BELOW) I used a combination of bladebaits (early), 1/4 oz. slabs (once fish went to the bottom), and the 3/4 oz. TNT 180 slab when the fish bunched up. TALLY = 96 FISH (all caught and released). Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

05 DECEMBER 2008 -- 30 FISH

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:59:00 -0700

Fished a half-day morning trip at Belton today. Things were a bit slow, but we made up for in quality fish what we lacked in quantity. Start Time: 6:45a
End Time: 1:35p
Air Temp: 33F at sunrise, warming only to 47F.
Water Temp: 54-58F varying by location
Wind: Winds were N at sunrise at 12-15mph, and slowly slacked off to around 9 while turning NW around 11:15a.
Skies: Skies were clear at sunrise and until around 11a. At this time, some high thin clouds began to build in from the north, and over the next hour grew thick enough to prevent shadows from being cast.
Prior to sunrise, several flocks of gulls were working over open water between Areas 211 and 310, but, given their speed and posture, I could tell they were only sipping shad and were not on top of schooled fish. After watching these gulls for a while, nothing materialized, and so I moved on. I first contacted fish at Area 328 boating 4 white bass and 1 barely legal largemouth. All were pretty sluggish in responding to a lift-drop presentation. From here I moved on and looked over Area 325 and Area 326. There was ample bait all over this area but fish were hard to come by. I managed 1 white bass at Area 326. This fish is now a pending lake record white bass for Belton Lake at 15.625 inches and 1.625 pounds. It came on a 1/4 oz. slab in 23 feet, right on bottom. I then headed to Area 174 and caught 2 white bass and 1 small largemouth on downrigger using a White Willow spoon in 16-18'. Things were pretty slow here, too. Moved on to Area 327 just as the wind began to slacken and go NW, and as the cloud cover began to roll in. While going over this area thoroughly with sonar, I noted a lot of bait, and then found fish in 27-31 feet both tight to bottom, as well as suspended in the lower 1/2 of the water column. All told, I managed 21 fish here including 2 back-to-back largemouth (PICTURED BELOW)with the largest of the two going exactly 6.0 pounds. I also caught 2 crappie right off the bottom which went 1.5 pounds each, as well as 1 drum, and 1 short hybrid. The remainder was all white bass right at the 11 inch mark. As I wrapped up the trip, I was assisted in getting the necessary witnesses to the weighing of the potential lake record white bass by Randy McCurley of Flower Mound and by Matthew Perrine of Temple. Thank you both very much, fellows! TALLY = 30 FISH (all caught and released. Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

04 DECEMBER 2008 - 45 FISH

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:45:00 -0700

Fished an evening trip on Stillhouse in the teeth of a stiff N. wind and fared pretty well tonight with 45 fish taken. Start Time: 2:35p
End Time: 5:40p
Air Temp: 35F at sunrise, warming only into the low 50's due to the arrival of a dry front on brisk NNW winds.
Water Temp: 58F
Wind: Winds were NNW at sunrise at ~18mph, and steadily built to 22mph by mid-day and then began to slack off around 2p.
Skies: Skies clear & bright all day.
Following the cold front's arrival during the late afternoon yesterday, high pressure continues to build in on a stiff wind today. Given that this was a dry front, I expected to be able to catch fish and did. The mood of the fish was a bit lethargic at the beginning of the trip, but then picked up well at about 45 minutes prior to sunset and up until dark. The water is noticeably dingy due to the high winds blowing for this prolonged period, and that often makes these clear water fish a bit ornery, as well. I searched 6 areas with sonar, fished 4 of them, and found fish on 3 of them. Area 74 sits at the edge of a deep flat in 35-38 feet of water. Scattered bait and suspended whites were the deal here. All fishing was electronic sight fishing for fish suspended in the middle third of the water column. I managed 18 white bass here in 90 minutes, all just one at a time and pretty sluggishly. I never saw any large schools of fish at this location, one singles and groups of 2-5 fish. All fish here came on 1/8 and 1/4 oz. slabs to match the forage size. Next I graphed Area 33 without result and moved on. I graphed Area 148 and saw no bait, but a few fish tight to bottom. Gave it a few pops with the slab and found nothing and so I moved on. I looked over Areas 149, 72, and 34 with sonar and found nothing. I moved to Area 37 and saw clustered bait on the windward slope up shallow in 23-25 feet of water, and fish on the shoulder. I dropped down and quickly put 10 fish in the boat including 9 whites and a drum before the sun set on this area. I moved one last time to where the sun had not yet set on Area 306 and found very active and abundant fish tight to bottom and suspended up about 4 feet off of bottom in 21 feet. I caught 17 fish here in less than 15 minutes. Surprisingly, more fish came off of a deadstick slab on bottom than came on an actively jigged or smoked slab, despite the fact that the fish were suspended. At sunset on this area the action ended and I wrapped it up. TALLY = 45 FISH, all caught and released Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

01 DECEMBER 2008 -- 66 FISH

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:11:00 -0700

Fished a short morning trip on Stillhouse this morning to see how yesterday's weather and heavy winds might have moved the fish and bait around. Start Time: 6:35a
End Time: 10:05a
Air Temp: 47F at sunrise (slightly obscured by a low, distant cloud bank), warming only into the high 50's due to the arrival of a dry front on brisk NW winds.
Water Temp: 59F
Wind: Winds were NNW at sunrise at 12-15mph, and steadily built and turned WNW to 22mph by trip's end. Gusts reached 30 by mid afternoon.
Skies: Skies clear all day. The low cloud bank in the morning delayed the sun's appearance by about 25 minutes only.
More and more birds are arriving with each front, making the fish location equation a little easier to solve. Today, I spent about 30 minutes between Area 112 and Area 257 to establish if the fish were going to feed this morning and, if so, to what degree. I found them quite active, but they took a bit longer to get going. The skies were brighter today when the feeding peaked than during the peak of the feed over the past several days. I took 20 fish, all solid white bass at 11-13 inches from this area and then departed while they were still active to search out additional concentrations of active fish in other areas while the feed was still on. Birds were helpful here. I moved on and looked over Areas 100 and 101 without result. I moved on and found healthy concentrations of white bass both on bottom and suspended at 13 feet over a 23 foot bottom between Areas 324 and 106. Fish were occasionally driving shad to the top which attracted some bird activity. I caught fish on both a smoking retrieve and on a lift-drop retrieve. Horizontal lift-dropping fell short. I managed 44 fish from this area in about 90 minutes; the catch included 3 drum, 2 largemouth bass with one going 7.0 pounds (PHOTO BELOW), and 39 white bass. All came on slabs. Around 10a, a call came in from a tenant at our rental property that they had toilet problems. Had to pack up and prepare for some "crappie" fishing. TALLY = 66 FISH, all caught and released Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

NOVEMBER 2008 SUMMARY

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:33:00 -0700

Here's a snapshot of our results for the month, and a bit about what's happening right now on Belton and Stillhouse
29 NOV = 49 FISH
28 NOV = 50 FISH
27 NOV = 80 FISH
22 NOV = 17 FISH
20 NOV = 34 FISH (PM)
20 NOV = 33 FISH (AM)
17 NOV = 60 FISH
13 NOV = 56 FISH (PM)
13 NOV = 29 FISH (AM)
10 NOV = 24 FISH
04 NOV = 48 FISH
03 NOV = 59 FISH
01 NOV = 59 FISH

TOTAL CATCH FOR NOVEMBER 2008 = 598 FISH
AVERAGE CATCH PER TRIP = 54.3 FISH
Water Conditions: Surface temps stand at 59-60F at Belton and Stilhouse; the water is 2.1 feet low at Belton and is clear green. At Stillhouse, the water is 4.1 feet low and is clear green. Hybrid Stripers: With the cooling water, the hybrid have moved up shallower into the 20 foot range. Early morning and late evening have even seen a bit of subsurface activity with occasional fish breaking the surface. Fish will continue to gather into tighter schools through the winter months. As the water cools and the fish congregate, vertical presentations will become more effective than horizontal presentations. White Bass: Are now predictably schooled up in large congregations and are being found in the same areas as hybrid. Slabbing is very reliable and can account for high numbers in short time spans. Birds are present in sufficient quantities now to be reliable indicators of fish location. Largemouth: Largemouth are moving out to deepwater structures and are slowing down a good bit. I find a lot of black bass on the open water topographies I fish for whites and hybrids. They tend to come on larger baits, and can be specifically targeted with larger baits as they inhabit these deepwater haunts in fishable numbers. Winter is by far my favorite time to fish. The fish respond very predictably to the pre-frontal, frontal, and post-frontal cycles. The pressure is light, and the bird activity is icing on the cake. Call me now if you want to fish in December. I'm at 254-368-7411. --Bob Maindelle Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing

29 NOVEMBER 2008

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:51:00 -0700

Fished a morning trip on Stillhouse this morning with Dave D. of Hawaii and his 2 grandsons, Cody (age 13) and Dylan (age 6). Start Time: 6:30a
End Time: 11:05a
Air Temp: 51F at sunrise (obscured), warming only to 59F due to a northeast breeze and cloud cover. Water Temp: 61F
Wind: Winds were NE during the entirety of the trip at 7 to 12 mph.
Skies: Skies were leaden grey the entirety of the trip.
We had quite a challenge this morning. A damp NE wind never bodes well for fishing on Stillhouse, and we had 2 young men aboard who had never fished before, so we took things one at a time.
First we went through on-the-water casting lessons with closed face equipment. Cody got the hang of it on his 1st try, Dylan took a little longer, but did better than most 6 year olds. Next, we fine tuned our retrieve, then I put them on the fish.
The fish were not nearly as aggressive or numerous as over the past several days between Area 112 and Area 257 and we really had to strain for them. We managed 22 fish by 8:30am with everyone catching about the same number of fish. Little Dylan anchored the string with his 3.5 pound largemouth shown below. All fish came on bladebaits. The breakdown was 2 largemouth, 1 drum, and 19 white bass.
When the shallow bite died off, we took a hand-warming and snack break and then tried a flatline troll in the vicinity of Area 319 and picked up one white and one small largemouth here. We then shifted over to Area 114 and found fish stacked right on the break here, as well as up onto the flat to the east. We picked up 3 doubles and 4 singles here -- all white bass. With the trolling that consistent, I knew we could hover and cast to these fish. We did so, and put 4 more white bass in the boat before things got quiet.
We resumed a flatline troll for the remainder of the trip and put 11 more fish in the boat, all one at a time.
By about 10:45 the kids had all they could take of the cold wet wind and wind chill so we wrapped up our trip at that point having done very well despite the difficult conditions.
TALLY = 49 fish, all caught and released
Bob Maindelle, Owner, Holding The Line Guide Service and Kids Fish, Too! Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide, Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Lake Georgetown Fishing Guide, Walter E. Long (Decker) Lake Fishing Guide. Offering Salado Fishing, Killeen Fishing and Ft. Hood Fishing