This morning I conducted the 15th SKIFF trip of the 2014 season by welcoming aboard Mrs. Marilyn Salazar and her 3 children, Alina (age 11), Jesse (age 8), and Alanis (age 5). SKIFF (Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun) trips are provided free of charge to families whose children are separated from a parent due to that parent’s military service thanks to the Austin Fly Fishers and a network of supportive individuals from all over the U.S. All it takes is a phone call from a parent to me at 254-368-7411 to reserve a date.
Background, L to R: Mrs. Marilyn Salazar, Jesse Salazar, and Alina Salazar. Foreground: Alanis Salazar.
A closeup of 5-year-old Alanis and her Daddy Doll!
Marilyn and her children are no strangers to the strain of extended overseas deployments. Their husband/daddy/soldier, Staff Sergeant Jesse Salazar, is now serving on his 4th deployment, this time to Afghanistan. He has been deployed so frequently that his youngest child, Alanis, has spent more time without her father present than with him. SSG Salazar is a U.S. Army infantryman originally from the San Diego, CA, area.
As the Salazar family arrived, they were eager to learn and were all good listeners and learners, which made them more successful in the long run. Fortunately the murky, grey weather of yesterday passed with the arrival of a mild, dry cold front, and, under increasing atmospheric pressure, the fishing began to bounce back from the slowdown yesterday.
We put a majority of our fish in the boat in the first 2.5 hour of the trip, boating 43 of our 55 fish by that time, primarily on a pair of 3-arm umbrella rigs presented very precisely and effectively at 24-26 feet where these schooled white bass were suspended over deeper water. We also had an opportunity to stop and jig for some very heavily schooled fish and essentially caught as many of these as we could before Jesse’s wrist wore out and Alanis’ 5-year-old attentions span waned. When the white bass feed began to play out, we went shallow and had some fun using poles without reels to fish for sunfish. We capped off the trip with a bit more downrigging over the last 30 minutes or so.
I was very glad Marilyn attended, as there were times when Alanis got emotional about missing her father, and mom was there to comfort her as only a mom can do. Marilyn was also a great asset to me in aiding me in making the kids successful by being an extra pair of eyes, ears, and hands to keep all of our moving parts headed in the right direction.
Little Alanis brought a “guest” along with her for this trip — it was her “Daddy Doll”. This is a doll dressed in camouflage with a clear plastic pouch positioned where the face would normally be. This pouch allows the doll’s caretaker to place a photo in the pouch. In this case, Alanis had her daddy’s photo in the pouch, hence the name “Daddy Doll”. She brings this most everywhere she goes, and this fishing trip was no exception!
For our efforts today we boated 55 fish including 5 sunfish, 2 freshwater drum, and 48 white bass.
TALLY = 55 FISH
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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 6:45am
End Time: 10:45am
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 72F
Water Surface Temp: 83.5
Wind Speed & Direction: NW9-13
Sky Conditions: 30% clouds on an otherwise blue sky
Other: GT=0
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1134 smoking and downrigging for a majority of our catch in the first 2.5 hours
**Area 1098 sunfish on floats
**Area 1419 slow white bass action on downriggers at last 30+ minutes of the trip
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Salado, TX
www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com