Hey everyone!

I would just like to hear your thoughts on fishing these two lakes. I'm sure there's more bad to it than good, but it comes down to these two lakes. Firstly, which lake would you choose? From past experiences, I would pick Lake Belton, how about you? My friend's and I have a small window of opportunity to fish next week and would like to take advantage of the time and plan this out. I was the last to purchase a kayak from the group so now it's time for a bit of exploration and help from fellow fishermen.


We went out yesterday morning for a few hours and didn't have all that much luck. Fished the banks around Cedar Ridge Park with some crankbaits and managed to pull out a couple white bass and a few largemouth. We paddled about 15-20ft away from shore with 6ft Bomber cranks along rocky/sandy areas. The change in weather didn't help I'm sure but it seems as if the fishing has really slowed down in the last few years. Or I just haven't been out as much as I used to!

What and where are you guys catching on these lakes, and with what? Don't have to throw any honey holes out on the forum but some general thoughts/ideas are much appreciated! I understand this is queried to search under specific species, but really anything helps. None of us have a preference, whatever is biting this time of year is what we're after.

Depends on what you fish. Stillhouse is a black bass and white bass lake, not so much on cats and crappie. Belton is a white bass and crappie lake, not so much on black bass or cats.

Let's get down to the basics. Fish need to eat on a regular basis just like you and I. Where is their food right now? With lake temperatures in the low 50's the shad are in some of the deepest water on the lake. They are there because the water is warmest at the lower depths. The other thing that is going on in the fishes life is that the spawning season is rapidly approaching. Many of the fish are starting to move towards the places where they will spawn. This is called staging. Your question was which lake would you choose and why. Let's look at each lake. Belton is mainly fed by the Leon River, Cedar Creek, and Cowhouse Creek. Stillhouse is fed by the Lampasas River. Which of these feeders has deep water that will hold the shad population? If you don't know go to the free Navionics web map on your computer and check out the areas I mentioned. In a few weeks it won't matter, because most of the fish will be moving up stream to spawn. The location of the bait will not matter then. Right now it matters. I have been on each of these lake within the last two weeks. I have focused on Cowhouse creek on Belton. I fished among kayaks beyond BLORA and caught 60 whites, hybrids, and drum. I was using a 5/8 oz slab with a crappie jig above it. It was a good day. The water was 50 to 30 feet and the fish were active. The next time I tried was a north wind and only caught 20. I went over to Stillhouse and fished Tues.,Wed., and Saturday. Results were 67 on 2 guys, 60 alone, and 44 on two guys. All fish were caught over the middle of the 60 to 70 foot river channel. Same lures were used. Most fish were released.

Recommendations are easy. The Bend of the River launch on Stillhouse was within 300 yards of where I caught 50% of my fish. You need a depth finder to stay over the river channel. If you know how to use the stick, then this is the time and place for it. Another useful tip is that the fish are mostly eating shad that are less that 2 inches long. Match the hatch and downsize lures. If you can choose, go on a moderate south wind day. I wish you good luck and tight lines.

Well said! This week fish in my experience have been as shallow as 35FOW and as deep as 60FOW on Belton and Georgetown today was 46-56FOW

Thank you all for the feedback; and a big thanks to you beltonbill, very detailed! Hopefully I'll return after the weekend and share some pictures with you guys. I'll be sure to follow up with a report and let you know how our trip played out.