WHO I FISHED WITH: This morning, Thursday, February 22, I fished with father and son Jason and Kash Garza (age 8). We were originally scheduled for Saturday, February 10th, in the morning, got rained out, then rescheduled for that afternoon, only to have thunderstorms develop to our west as I was literally in the act of launching my boat.



The third time was a charm however, as this morning’s wind and weather, and the warming trend we have enjoyed since late January, all worked together to really get the white bass fishing more reliable and productive.



A friendly wager was made right at the onset of the trip, with $1.00 riding on the largest fish, and another dollar riding on the most fish. Kash declined the option for $1.00 for the smallest fish.

Here is how the fishing went…

Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

Next available dates are Feb. 26-29 (AMs)




PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Jason and Kash Garza with a few of the tanker-sized whites they landed. The one in Kash’s right hand (photo left) measured 14 7/8 inches and was ripe with eggs.




PHOTO CAPTION: Certified scale read 5.00 pounds!! From just over 40 feet of water — it came off the bottom whereas the white bass were suspended up higher.

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday, 15 Feb. 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED:

We had a change of weather forecast today with west-southwesterly winds at 9 to 12 this morning in advance of a very mild, dry cold front due in at early afternoon.



This fairly thick gray cloud cover kept the early morning bite a bit subdued and the fish really tight to bottom, but, as the clouds thinned and we saw the first broken rays of direct sun come through at mid morning, the fishing picked up as the fish began to patrol more quickly and to lift up off the bottom for the first time all day.



For both simplicity sake, and because it is simply very effective right now, I had both clients use spinning tackle to present white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically in conjunction with both Garmin LiveScope and my thumping device which serves a second purpose as a metronome helping clients keep their retrieve speed satisfactory.



The fishing was very straightforward. When small schools of white bass passed from left to right or right to left on the screen, I had Kash and Jason essentially intercept them with their rising lures to draw strikes.



When all was said and done, father and son had landed a total of 57 fish including 7 largemouth bass, 1 freshwater drum, and 49 white bass. This all took place in under 3 hours’ time, as Jason planned to get Kash back to Central Texas Christian School to finish out the day.



Birds remain helpful in finding fish during the first two hours following sunrise, afterwhich fish must be found with sonar exclusively.

Here is a tutorial on the snap-jigging method we used … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGtrnAQ_T94&t=55s


Here is a tutorial on the slow-smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 57 fish caught and released.



OBSERVATIONS: Here was the water temperature profile taken on 22 Feb.:

0 feet, 57.2F
5 feet, 56.0F
10 feet, 55.2F
15 feet, 54.5F
20 feet, 54.2F
25 feet, 54.0F
30 feet, 53.9F
35 feet, 53.5F
40 feet, 52.9F
45 feet, 52.5F
50 feet, 52.2F


WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 10:15A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 63F

Elevation: 16.76 feet low, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 57.2F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: WSW winds 9-12

Sky Condition: Grey cloud cover at near 100% for two hours, then slowly thinning

Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 96% illumination.

GT = 5

Wx SNAPSHOT:








AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

Area vic SH0080C (3 fish), Area 265 (9 fish), Area SH0240G (39 fish), Area 1692 (6 fish)


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

Great post as always.

Nice report once again...