The following blog entry appears in the form of a report to those who support the Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (S.K.I.F.F.) program …
This 19.25″, 3.625 pound largemouth crushed Austin’s live bait he had suspended just above a deep hydrilla bed right at sunset tonight.
18 May 2012
Dear Friends of S.K.I.F.F.,
This evening I welcomed aboard Austin Hall, the son of Staff Sergeant Kirby Hall and step son of Mrs. Julia Hall. SSG Hall is currently serving with the 4/227 Aviation in Kunduz, Afghanistan and is due to return within the month. Austin is 11 1/2 and is one of the quickest learners I’ve ever had aboard. He not only was able to do the tasks necessary to catch fish consistently, but he understood why we were doing what we were doing. I often have adult anglers aboard who don’t get such things, so, to have a youth show so much potential was a delight!
Also joining me today were Kyle and Marty Wall, the father and son videography crew who are very ably supporting SKIFF with their filming talents.
Our plan today was to fish for sunfish up shallow while it was still bright and hot, then, to move deep and downrig for white bass as we awaited sunset, then, to use some of the sunfish we’d caught to target largemouth bass around sunset. We worked the plan and the plan worked!!
We began our trip in shallow water at Area 200 using a simple pole rigged with a light slipfloat rig to suspend maggots in and around downed timber. In less than half an hour Austin had the livewell abundantly stocked with exactly 25 sunfish ranging from 2.5 to 6.5 inches. We held onto these to target largemouth bass with later in the evening.
Next, we headed for deeper water and began sweeping with sonar over some deep structure. We found nothing at the first two locations we searched. Then, at between Areas 820 and 1082, we began to see some bait, then gamefish, then things started happening. Over the next two hours we worked dual downriggers with Pet Spoons set down around 24 feet to tempt a mixed bag of 12-14 inch white bass and just-keeper 14″ largemouth bass. In all, we boated 13 fish in this area and via this method.
As sunset approached, we set up in a hover over a patch of bottom where, on a breakline, a patch of hydrilla grows on the shallow end of the breakline, but stops abruptly at the 22 foot mark on the deep end of the breakline. We positioned ourselves right on this transition. In the last 45 minutes of the day, using our previously caught sunfish, we drew numerous strikes resulting in 4 largemouth bass being boated. The largest 3 all exceeded 3 pounds, with the single largest tipping the scales at 3 5/8 pounds. We were excited! Austin and I were high-fiving! The film crew was high-fiving! The big bass was … well, he wasn’t high-fiving … but I’m sure he at least appreciated being released. I’ve rigged all of my bait rods this season with size 1 circle hooks and they do a wonderful job of catching gamefish right at the jaw hinge making release a snap and minimizing handling time.
As the sun lit the western horizon a beautiful peachy-pink color as it set, we called it a darn good day having saved the best for last, and headed back home.
Our film crew did a great job today. I look forward to sending you the end product that results from this trip. We’ve spent so many hours together now gathering film clips that they’ve come to anticipate what I’m going to do much of the time. It wasn’t uncommon for Marty to be holding the livewell lid open for us when I asked Austin to dip another live bait out for us, or to hand me a rag after I’d released a fish, or to start stowing rods when he knew we were headed to a new location.
Thank you all for your contributions, your notes of support, and all the many things you do to keep SKIFF afloat!
Sincerely,
–Bob Maindelle
_________________________________
TALLY = 42 FISH all caught and released
Start Time: 4:30p
End Time: 8:45p
Air Temp: 83F at trip’s start.
Water Surface Temp: 75F.
Wind: Winds were S15 at launch time, tapering to S8 by trip’s end.
Skies: Skies were fair with 20% clouds.