WHO I FISHED WITH: This past Saturday morning, October 15th, I fished with 7-year-old Jason Hubbert, son of Jason & Kara Hubbert.
Jason runs Hubbert Roofing in the Killeen area and Kara works in accounting at Ajinomoto, a food manufacturing plant which has long been based in Lampasas, Texas.
This was a 3.5-hour “Kids Fish, Too!’ package trip wherein only Jason the fishing. He earned this trip by getting straight A’s on his report card.
Here is how the fishing went …
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PHOTO CAPTION: 7-year-old Jason Hubbert landed multiple 14+ inch white bass on Stillhouse using the MAL Dense Lure. His trip was a reward for an excellent report card.
PHOTO CAPTION: When it comes to our local white bass fishery, Stillhouse offers quality whereas Belton offers quantity — a bit odd for two lakes located so close together. This was another of several 14+ inch white bass Jason Hubbert landed this past Saturday, Oct. 15th.
WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow
WHEN WE FISHED: Saturday, 15 October 2022 (PM)
HOW WE FISHED: My original plan was to take Jason fishing on Lake Belton where this week’s morning bite was especially good, however, there as both a catfish tournament and a high school bass tournament taking place there. That, plus winds forecast to gust to 20 and a lack of courtesy docks made me think twice about the wisdom of heading there on a still-warm weekend. I “audibled”, texted Kara before she left the house, and we headed to Stillhouse instead.
The fishing was pretty tough as the winds remained calm and the cloud cover remained thick through about 10AM, but right about that time the wind picked up suddenly from the southwest, the sun burned off most of the cloud cover, and the fish began biting well.
We’d landed 6 fish by downrigging early on, then picked up another 6 fish by working MAL Dense Lures vertically, so, by the time the fish turned on, Jason really had the smoking tactic nailed down.
Like a champ, he would count out his handle turns as he cranked his MAL Lure off bottom so he was sure to keep cadence with me as I fished next to him to give him that example to follow.
Although the fish have not yet turned on at Stillhouse to the extent I witnessed on Belton, the majority of the fish Jason landed were quality fish. Jason boated multiple 14+ inch long white bass this morning.
They were still patrolling in smaller schools, so, staying put and continuing to work our lures as the fish passed by routinely was a good approach.
Jason landed exactly 27 fish, including 1 freshwater drum and 26 white bass.
TUTORIAL SMOKING VIDEO (Vertical):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDSvfXgrAUETUTORIAL SAWTOOTH VIDEO (Horizontal):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQTALLY: 81 fish caught and released
Find MAL Lures here:
https://whitebasstools.com/OBSERVATIONS: The aggressive bite which typically accompanied incoming fall and winter cold front was definitely in play this morning – the most dramatic uptick I’ve seen so far this autumn. Once the wind levelled off and then began to slow down, the bite slowed back to average.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:30A
End Time: 11:30A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 74F
Elevation: 10.46 feet low, 0.04′ fall in last 24 hours, 1 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 77.4F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE3-4 until 10A, then shifting and increasing to SSW12-13
Sky Condition: Light grey cloud cover in the eastern sky from 80-100% until 10A, then rapidly clearing to ~30% white cloud cover.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 70% illumination.
GT = 5
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area vic SH0227G/SH0209G – limited early downrigging success; saw many more fish than we caught
Area vic SH0133 – three short hops for the majority of our fish in 40-42′ on MAL Dense Lures after 10A’s wind shift and clearing
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.comE-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
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