Bass fishing lures thousands to Bell County waters
By DAVID STONE | Photos by SKEEBO and courtesy of JAMES ALLEN & CAPTAIN T-COCK’S FISHING TOURS
Bell County has long been known as home to massive medical and military communities, and both bring a large number of folks to the area every year. But one of the biggest attractions for visitors is world-class fishing at two local lakes — Belton and Stillhouse Hollow.
The fishing in Bell County is excellent, and thousands of anglers flock to the area each year in pursuit of trophy white and hybrid striped bass.
“The fishing here is excellent,” said local guide Bob Maindelle, owner of Holding the Line Guide Service. “I’ve been fishing Stillhouse and Lake Belton for more than 30 years. Occasionally I get a client who wants to fish Georgetown or one of the Austin-area lakes, but most of my trips are here in Bell County.”
“There’s really no reason to go anywhere else,” Maindelle said. “We focus on white bass on Stillhouse, and on whites and striped bass on Belton. The hybrids are a sterile fish and can’t reproduce, so they have to be restocked. Belton is one of the lakes Texas Parks & Wildlife uses to invest their hybrid sources.”
In the past two years, millions of Sunshine and Palmetto bass have been released into Lake Belton waters. In 2022, TPWD introduced 2.2 million Sunshine bass into the lake, and in 2023, 400,812 Palmetto and 687,307 Sunshine bass were released.
According to Carl Kittel, program director of Texas Parks & Wildlife’s Region I Hatchery, this year’s stockings at Belton and Stillhouse include thousands of fish from the state’s Lone Star program.
“We are stocking 1.5 inch fingerlings in these Central Texas lakes,” Kittel said. “The fingerlings aren’t planned for a specific date, but will be stocked throughout the year as they are produced.”
“Lake Belton will receive about 100,000 Lone Stars, and Stillhouse will get approximately 56,000,” he added.
In addition to the Lone Star bass, Lake Belton also will receive a whopping 780,000 Sunshine bass fingerlings and about 150,000 smallmouth, Kittel said.
“Lone Star bass fingerlings are second-generation offspring of pure Florida strain ShareLunker largemouth bass that were at least 13 pounds,” Michael Baird, district supervisor for the Waco Inland Fisheries District of Texas Parks & Wildlife, said. “They have taken the place of Florida largemouth in our hatcheries and are being stocked statewide.”
Baird added that smallmouth stockings are common in Belton Lake.
“Lake Belton is a smallmouth bass brood fish source for our state hatcheries, and it consistently gets smallmouth stocked, mainly for that purpose,” he explained. “But it is one of the best smallmouth reservoirs in Texas for angling.”
Sunshine and Palmetto bass are crosses of white and striped bass. Sunshine bass are a hybrid of female white bass and male stripers, and the Palmetto bass are the opposite — a hybrid cross between a male white bass and a female striper.
While falling water levels on Belton and Stillhouse continue to be of great concern — spring rains definitely have helped — fish are still biting.
Maindelle said his clients caught more than 33,000 fish in the past two years, including 14,611 during 2023. Every fish caught on Maindelle’s fishing boat is returned to lake waters.
“I conducted a total of 160 trips last year, so that’s an average of 91.3 fish per trip,” Maindelle said. “That’s a lot of fish.”
While Bob and his clients caught fish every month during 2023, the biggest hauls were made in the spring and in November. The top bass-producing month at Belton and Stillhouse lakes was March with 2,375 fish, followed by April with 2,131 and November with 2,155.
According to Maindelle, the average fishing trip by Holding the Line clients in April 2023 produced 125.4 fish, which was just ahead of November’s 119.7.
Fishing licenses are not required for people under 17 years.
For additional information, visit https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/licenses/fishing-licenses-stamps-tags-packages.
Other opportunities
While fishing is huge, both lakes offer other activities that bring in visitors. The area’s around Stillhouse are known for outstanding hiking opportunities, especially at Dana Peak Park and Chalk Ridge Falls. Hiking also is big at Miller Springs Nature Area, just below the dam on Lake Belton.
A growing number of visitors are taking advantage of the lake’s paddling opportunities, especially the 12-mile Morgan’s Point Resort Paddling Trail. It’s one of more than 80 official state paddling trails that explore Texas’ rivers, creeks, lakes, bays and bayous.
The Morgan’s Point Resort trail was designated by Texas Parks & Wildlife in 2013 and is steeped in history. In addition to kayaking, paddle boarding and canoeing, it’s also known for fishing and birdwatching.
“There are three main launches to the trail, and we’re working on getting a state grant that would add an ADA-accessible canoe and kayak launch,” said Uryan Nelson, interim city manager for Morgan’s Point Resort.
If a grant is obtained — it was denied a year ago but city officials are reapplying — it would be the only ADA launch at Lake Belton. Existing launches that serve the paddling trail can be found at Morgan’s Point Marina, the Community Center at Kleypas Park and at Rogers Park.
