This morning was a transitional morning in the "big picture" of fall fishing. With water temperatures now in the 60's, white bass behavior is changing.

After taking 60+ fish on the MAL Heavy Lure, the fish began to get "sluggish". They moved more slowly, as witnessed on Garmin LiveScope; and, they would not pursue aggressively as they had earlier in the morning.

At this time I began using a modified version of my Hazy Eye Slab which I began experimenting with last winter. If history is any teacher, the MAL Lure bite will die out as the water hits ~58F. I'll then be using this Bladed Hazy Eye Slab all winter and into early spring until the water warms back to 58F.

I built on the attractive power of the spinning blade, and adapted that to my standard slab. After a number of "trial and error" attempts, I quickly concluded that the guys and gals at VMC did it right when they developed the Bladed Hybrid Short Shank Treble Hook. I set aside my own inventions and put their hook on my slabs, which I now refer to as my Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs. Unlike most slabs, all of my slabs include a stinger hook which easily increases my winter catch by 20+%.

The 30+ fish we took this morning on slabs all came on a 3/4 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slab. I use a #5 treble on this version (and on my 5/8 oz. version), whereas the smaller 3/8 oz. slab has a #6 treble.

Before you send snarky ;-) replies about the cost, realize that these hooks alone retail for ~$2.50 to $3.00+ each.

Here's a photo and a link to check 'em out: https://whitebasstools.com/



PHOTO CAPTION: Here is what the Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs look like (far left, and far right) versus the standard Hazy Eye. These are my 3/4 oz. versions. They also come in 3/8 oz. and 5/8 oz. Bladed and standard versions both come with stinger hooks.

And here's the "rest of the story"...



MODERN MEN ABOARD — 100 FISH @ BELTON

WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Wednesday, Nov. 10, I fished with Cullen Mills and his son, 11-year-old Noah Mills, on Lake Belton.

Cullen makes a living running the family business, Modern Appliance (formerly Modern TV and Appliance), in Killeen. This business has been in the family for several generations and was at one time run by T.J. Mills, after whom T.J. Mills Boulevard on Fort Hood is named.

Noah is making his way through middle school with an eye toward taking over the family business in years to come.

Here is how the fishing went …

______________

My next three openings will be on 15, 16, and 22 December. Weekday mornings are always best.



PHOTO CAPTION: Caught just minutes apart just before (obscured) sunrise, these Lake Belton hybrid stripers were taken on MAL Heavy Lures (white blade, chartreuse tail), worked horizontally in ~20 feet of water under small whites working bait on the surface.




PHOTO CAPTION: Our 100-fish catch included 86 white bass this morning. Once the fish turned off from aggressively feeding, and now that the water temperature has dropped into the 60’s, we began using Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs for working baits more slowly with excellent results.


WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

WHEN WE FISHED: Wednesday (AM), 10 November 2021

HOW WE FISHED:

We emerged from the “doldrums between the fronts” this morning as another cold front approaches Central Texas. This one is supposed to be dry and mild with pretty tame wind speeds. It is due in around 1AM Thursday morning, 11 Nov.

This approaching front helped “squeeze” the atmosphere and created pre-frontal warming with increasing S winds throughout the day. Our winds ramped up from 8 to ~16 while we fished this morning.

During the low-light conditions preceding the obscured sunrise this morning, the white bass went to work pushing shad to the surface, attracting birds from above. The action spanned an area about 1/8 of a mile with the white bass moving constantly and really pushing the bait hard.

We occasionally sight-cast when the action was on top and obvious, otherwise, we worked MAL Heavy Lures (white blade, chartreuse tail) horizontally with a “sawtooth” pattern to get bit. Once the bird activity scaled back, I stayed in the area, searched for a bottom-oriented school of fish, and worked for them vertically with MAL Heavy Lures (white tail, silver blade), counting on the commotion we created by working our lures and catching fish to draw others in. This succeeded today (whereas it definitely did not succeed yesterday), thanks to the increased energy level of the fish, all tied to the changing weather.

This “hot” fishing wrapped up around 8:30A. By this time we’d landed 56 fish in 1.75 hours. We would then go on to work another 2.25 hours for our final 44 fish as the bite began to slow down and finally ended.

After we left the scene of the bird action, we moved to a moderately sloped bottom near the channel and found two groups of white bass, catching about a half dozen from each. It was here that we really began to notice the reluctance of the fish to chase, even when in the company of many other schoolmates — a scenario which normally goads even reluctant fish to feed out of a sense of competition. This was easily witnessed with Garmin LiveScope.

As we watched this trend continue, I began to experiment with my Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs which I gave a “face lift” to late last winter after having such great success with the MAL and MAL Heavy Lures.

The “new spin” on the old slab comes in the form of the addition of a bladed treble hook. Named the VMC Bladed Hybrid Short Shank Treble, this (pricey!) hook has a very durable swivel attaching a small split ring and a willowleaf spinner blade to the confluence of the hook’s three tines. I’m going to warn you ahead of time (and you can shop this all you want)… these hooks alone retail for about $2.50 – $3.00 each.

Try one here: https://whitebasstools.com/

We took our final 35 fish on my Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in white, 3/4 oz., with stinger hook and bladed treble.

The appeal here is that you have the spin, flash, and vibration of a spinner (albeit a small one), but can move the slab vertically much more slowly than an inline spinner. The very small, light spinner blade on the bladed hybrid treble spins and flashes readily so long as the slab is moving, regardless of speed.

Based on excellent results last winter, I know this is going to pay big dividends as the water cools this winter, and is already doing so now, even in still-warm water (~68F this morning) once the fish turn off.

In our catch of 100 fish, we had 2 freshwater drum, 8 short hybrid stripers, 2 legal hybrid, 2 largemouth bass, and 86 white bass.

Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures found here: https://whitebasstools.com/

TALLY: 100 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS: 1) Pre-frontal warming positively impacted fish “mood” this morning. 2) This was this fall’s second trip which came together courtesy of bird activity, supplemented by sonar. 3) The wind shift on our next cold front is currently forecast for 1A Thursday morning, 11 Nov.

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 6:45A

End Time: 10:45A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F

Elevation: 1.47 feet low, 0.01 fall, 42CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 69.1F

Wind Speed & Direction: S8 at launch time, slowly ramping up to S16 with higher gusts.

Sky Condition: Very light fog in first 25 minutes, clearing to 100% thin, grey clouds with a bit of sun breaking through in the final 40 minutes

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent at 39% illumination.

GT = 0

Wx SNAPSHOT:




AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1188 to B0100G to 1789 – 56 fish from this ~1/8 mile stretch on combination of MAL Heavy Lure with silver blade/white tail fished vertically; MAL Heavy Lure with white blade/chartreuse tail fished via the “sawtooth” method.

**Area B0103G/447 – 14 fish on 2 short hops; noted fish getting very “sluggish” here, even when heavily congregated.

**Area vic 1619 – this is where we switched to Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs to tempt these increasingly “sluggish” fish. 2 short hops, 18 fish.

**Area vic 1819 – we continued on with the Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs to finish out the morning with exactly 100 fish in right at 4 hours’ time.



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

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle

Good to see a Hybrid or two !!

Nice post and fish. Good job.

What technique are you using with the Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs? Same presentation as with the MAL spinner or different?

FishingFever 2424,

Here are 3 ways to work your Hazy Eye Slab (bladed or non-bladed):


1. Snap-jigging: With the slab held still about 4” off bottom, snap your rod tip sharply upwards and immediately return your rod tip to that same starting position. The slab should rise, then freefall (do not lower the slab, let it freefall). When the slab reaches the end of its tether, you’ll feel a thud as it does so. Hold still about 2 seconds and feel for a strike.

2. Easing: When fish are active and are seen on sonar piled up or cruising 1-3 or more feet off bottom, let your slab down to bottom and slowly reel it up through the fish with a steady cadence. Go at least 3-4 feet above the fish to give them time to notice it, pursue it, and eat it. Cadence should be ~2 feet/second.

3. Smoking: When fish are very aggressive (potentially chasing bait all the way to the surface) and are seen throughout the entire water column on sonar, drop the slab to bottom and crank it at least half way up through the water column at a moderate, steady cadence, about 1 handle turn per second. When you feel a bite, resist the urge to set the hook and just keep reeling. The fish will hook themselves.

The ~30 fish I caught this week when they were in a funky mood between fronts were caught using the "easing" method.


A couple of tips about using the Hazy Eye Slabs effectively.

1. Consider using braided line as your main line for maximum sensitivity. When converting from mono to braid, reduce drag about 30% to account for the near-zero stretch in the braid.

2. Using a back-to-back Uni-Knot or an FG knot, connect a 25-pound fluorocarbon leader to your braid. This will prevent your braid from tangling in the slab and will not cut your wet hands when you land a fish by grabbing the leader.

3. Connect your slab to your leader using a snap. Do not tie directly to the leader. Do not use a snap swivel. I use/suggest the VMC Touch-Lok snap, size 2.

This is what a snap looks like (included with the Bladed version):




4. If the black eye dot gets scuffed up, just reapply with a black Sharpie marker.

5. When the edges of the slab get worn through and you can see lead all the way around the perimeter, it is time to replace that slab.

Here is where to find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab: Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs


Here is the entire lineup -- bladed version on top row, standard version on bottom row:

Good post

Bob,

I will be ordering some slabs this week. You are the only reason I have been successful putting more white bass in my boat with the MAL Heavy. And I will follow your lead into the fall with your Slab recommendations too!!! My home lake (and usually the only lake ) is Lake Lewisville. If you ever want to come fish in this lake for any reason, feel free to contact me. I would be happy to take you out anytime.
Thanks again for all the great input.

David

FishingFever2424 (David), thanks for the kind words and the invitation. Please know that we are on the extreme edge of that Bladed Hazy Eye Slab bite. The MAL Lure success will decline and the interest in slabs will increase right as the water temperature hits 58F, which, on my home lakes is normally the 2nd or 3rd week of Dec. You'll probably see that a bit earlier. That "easing" tactic is a real gem. It can be executed as I've described (much in the way you'd work an MAL Lure vertically, but slower), OR you can use a long, 8-foot rod and simply lift the lure from bottom up as high as you can go by raising the rod overhead instead of reeling the slab slowly upward. Of the two versions on this easing tactic, I prefer lifting with the long rod, as I feel I have a higher percentage of hookups, but, either way is effective. I'll be on the lookout for your order. Thanks for trusting me on the MAL purchase and on the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab purchase, as well. I understand folks having misgivings about trusting someone who stands to profit from accepting their advice. Take care, --Bob

Bob your like a mad scientist I love it!

Chris, in case you're interested, here is the "rest of the story" on this bait ...


The evolution of lures for the cold-water season

(This article appeared in the Killeen Daily Herald on 14 November 2021)

In June of 2020, and after several years of experimentation, I brought to market a lure called the MAL Lure. This lure was intended to fill a gap where standard presentations fell short, especially during the summer months.

There was once a time when, as a full-time, professional fishing guide focused on the year ‘round pursuit of white bass, I just dreaded the summer months.
This tough fishing would persist right up until turnover, typically in mid- to late-October.

Through the years, I’ve been successful in eliminating unproductive water and getting white bass to bite during the summer months by making myself become well-versed in interpreting all forms of sonar, and by covering water quickly and efficiently via downrigging.

Still, during those times when downrigging led me to concentrations of white bass, be they located on bottom or suspended, I was hard-pressed to catch more than just a handful immediately after quickly transitioning from a horizontal approach to a vertical approach.

Slabs, spoons, soft plastics, and jigs generated a spurt of initial interest, followed by a very predictable, frustrating shutdown.

I bought some Do-It lead molds and started making my own custom horse-head jigs, complete with their characteristic, underslung, spinning blade. That experiment was largely unsuccessful due to my lures’ slow sink rates, but, I did walk away observing that the jigs’ small spinning blades were a definite trigger for white bass.

Several summers ago, I decided to venture “outside the box” to try to crack the code on warm water white bass. I tried doing things on my home waters that no one else was doing. I also travelled to Queensland, Australia, to fish for Australian bass with professional fishing guide Matthew Langford on Lakes Boruma and Somerset during the Australian summer to check out some of the approaches the Aussies had come up with using “heavy metal” tactics for suspended summertime fish holding above the thermocline.

Next, I made my own modified tailspinners. This kept the spinning blade feature of the horsehead jig, but added more weight. I also tried to engineer out of my tailspinners some of the flaws I noted in those tailspinners already on the market, namely the tendency for the hook to catch on the line or the spinner shaft, and for the blade to spin lazily.

I enjoyed great success with these tailspinners, but, I noted that my clients did not do nearly so well on them as I did. As I analyzed this, I noted that many did not have the fish-fighting experience needed to keep hooked fish on the hook as the fish was transferred from the water into the boat; we lost way too many fish during that transition for my satisfaction.

Additionally, many clients had trouble getting and keeping my tailspinners’ blades turning as needed to attract fish in the first place. So, now I had an effective lure, but it was not user-friendly.
This led me to begin experimenting with inline spinners. I experimented with making my own spinners with brass bodies, lead bodies and tungsten bodies, and, after many iterations, found something I felt had both fish-catching potential and user-friendly attributes.

I introduced a few clients to the lure, and they did very well with it. Then, I began to keep these custom-made versions tied on for general, daily use by all of my clients, including kids and rookies. No one had any difficulties catching white bass on these lures during the tough summer months. I was amazed at the results.

Since I had no desire to get into lure production, I brainstormed about how I might have these lures made to ensure a continuous supply of these for my business. I assumed it was a long-shot…actually, I assumed it was rejection just waiting to happen, but, I called the Mepps lure company of Antigo, Wisconsin.

Mepps’ spinners were the closest in appearance and construct to the very effective prototypes I had developed. I worked with them to take characteristics and components from several of their existing products to form a new product which was deadly for white bass.

Last year, in December, as the water temperature fell to 58F, the “magic” of the MAL Lure all but ran out. The speed at which the lure had to be moved to get the spinner spinning around the lure’s wire shaft was too fast for cold-blooded, lethargic fish.

I knew two things for sure … first, that a spinning blade is an ultra-attractive feature so far as white bass and hybrid stripers are concerned, and second, that the slab -- a shad-shaped hunk of lead – has put tens of thousands of fish in my boat in the winter months. I wondered what might happen if I combined these two powerful entities.

Long story short, this curiosity gave rise to the newest cold-water bait now on the market, introduced and made public this week.

That bait is the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab. This combines a classic, shad-shaped lead body with a small willow-leafed spinner blade which is affixed to the lure’s treble hook using a tiny swivel bonded to the hook.




This bait comes in three sizes: 3/8 ounce, 5/8 ounce, and 3/4 ounce. The baits come powder-coated for durability in either white or chartreuse.

Most of my field-testing was done last winter in January and February once the water fell into the 50’s. The Bladed Hazy Eye Slab produced extremely well then, and continued to do so even after the severe winter storm took water temperatures into the mid-40s. I have already begun keeping my rods rigged with these slabs on my boat for times when fish get too finicky to chase hard after the MAL Lures.

This past Wednesday, the last 30 of the 100 fish my clients landed were landed on the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.

In mid-January last year, just before the Tuff-Man Series championship event was to take place, I guided one of my clients to a 38-plus pound, 5-fish limit of largemouth bass on Stillhouse, all of which were landed on the standard Hazy Eye Shad – proof positive that largemouth bass congregate in deep water in the winter and strike slabs despite the lure being more closely associated with white bass and hybrid striped bass fishing.

I count on the lures I have tied onto the rods I carry on my boat to make my clients successful. These lures have earned a place on my boat from this time of year right up until the water temperature nips at 60F once again in the spring.

If you are like me, you want to see and hold a new lure in your hands before buying it, mainly so you can get a sense for its shape, weight, profile, etc., and see how the fine-tuning which went into the creation of this bait makes it different from a standard slab. These are all things which photographs just cannot convey. For this reason, Dean Thompson has kindly put on display a full lineup of these new baits at Tightlines Premium Fishing Tackle on Business 190 in Killeen.

I also have these available online at www.WhiteBassTools.com. Just as necessity truly is the mother of invention, I believe fine-tuning inventions is the father of success.

Good read! Reminds me of the proverbs... Iron sharpens iron, so one angler sharpens another. I enjoy seeing everyone does well. I bought a few of those hooks from Academy a few years ago and replaced the ones on slabs. I had some success but I only fish weekends and not enough time to experiment more. There are so much lures to experiment but little time which is a nice problem to have lol.

Whites and hybrid aren't the only fish that have taken a liking to the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab ...



Alex D. with a nice Lake Belton largemouth taken 16 Nov. 2021.



Alex D. with a Lake Belton freshwater drum taken on 16 Nov. 2021