This afternoon I met up with the Leonovich kids — Ethan (age 13), Ava (age 9), and Emaline (age 5) — for a Ft. Hood SKIES Program “Fishing 101” trip on Belton Lake.  Chaperoning today were Hank and Diana, the kids’ maternal grandparents who are visiting from Vermont.

From left:  The Leonovich kids: Emaline, Ava, and Ethan, with several of the “keeper”-sized white bass we landed on downriggers this evening.

 

Emaline proudly displays the first fish she ever caught, earning her a First Fish Award from TPWD.

Once we got everyone boarded and provided with both a safety talk and a bit of a demo on how to use both baitcasting reels and spinning reels, we shoved off in search of fish.  We decided we’d take turns in order from youngest to oldest as we used the pair of downriggers I have aboard to present 6 baits at depths the fish were holding at today.  We were fortunate to come across fish very quickly (less than 2 minutes from putting the gear down and less than 5 minutes from shoving off from the dock), and the kids did great on taking turns, catching singles, doubles, and triples on the 3-armed umbrella rigs we were using.

The kids’ mom, Gretchen, let me know that Hank and Diana might not make the full 4-hours on the water, and, indeed, around the 2.25 hour mark, Grandpa gave me the high sign to start winding things down.

All 35 fish we boated today came on the downriggers.  We set at ~25′ deep at our first area for fish holding along the bottom, and we set at 10-12′ at our second area for large schools of fish down at 11-15 feet over 35-45 feet of water.

Emaline had never landed a fish before today’s trip.  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offers a “First Fish Award” to anglers landing their first fish, so, the very first fish Emaline reeled in, an 8″ white bass, qualified her for this distinction.  Good thing she wore a floral dress, earrings, and a hair bow for the occasion!
SKIES Unlimited stands for School of Knowledge, Inspiration, Exploration and Skills. SKIES Unlimited classes are open to children of active duty military personnel, retirees, Department of the Army civilians, and to Department of Defense contractors.  To enroll in SKIES Unlimited activities, children must be registered with CYSS at Building 121 on 761st Tank Destroyer Avenue (right across from the Chili’s restaurant).

There is no charge for registration; parents must bring an ID that shows their affiliation with the military, the child’s shot records, and the report from a recent physical exam. While the SKIES Unlimited programs are not free, many military families are eligible for sizeable credits toward SKIES Unlimited activities. There is a $300 “Army Strong” credit available to each child when their parent is deployed.

 

TALLY = 35 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3:45p

End Time: 6:00p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 87F

Water Surface Temp: 84.6F

Wind Speed & Direction: SSE9-10

Sky Conditions: 45% grey cloud cover on a fair sky.  More humid today than the day before.

Note: Lake has dropped 0.05 feet in the last 24 hours and now stands at 592.89 above sea level, with 594.00 being full pool

Other: GT= 0

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area (vicinity) 1401 & 1139 downrigging for moderate but steady results on smaller fish over first hour

**Area 1601 downrigging for steady results on smaller fish for last hour

 

 

Bob Maindelle

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Salado, TX

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

This afternoon I conducted an after-school Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) trip for Isaiah and Landen Crofutt of Killeen, TX.

 

From left: Isaiah and Landen Crofutt with a sampling of the white bass they caught on both downriggers and slabs on their after-school SKIFF Program trip while their dad is away at Ft. Irwin, CA.

Isaiah and Landen are the eldest two of the Crofutt’s four children.  Isaiah is 10, Landen is 7, Ashlyn is 5, and baby Alianna is just 6 months old.  Originally from upstate New York, the Crofutt’s have been stationed in Louisiana, South Carolina, and now here at Fort Hood.  Staff Sergeant David Crofutt is an Army truck driver, but is currently serving in the role of platoon sergeant and has been sent to the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, California, for about 5 weeks of intensive training before heading to South Korea.  As you can imagine, Mrs. Amanda Crofutt has her work cut out for her with 4 kids under age 11.

My hope this afternoon was to treat the boys to something they would enjoy while at the same time giving Amanda a bit of a stress-break.  Things really worked out well, as I kept the boys entertained for about 5 hours, and so, with Ashlyn’s cheer practice unexpectedly cancelled, Amanda and Ashyln got to enjoy some boy-free mommy/daughter time with baby along for the ride.

Amanda and I met in the parking lot of a local bank as she delivered the boys to me straight from school, and, after the trip, I took them back home so Amanda didn’t have to go through the get-the-kids-in-the-car-seats routine after dark to come pick them up.

The fishing was straightforward and productive today.  We downrigged to find fish, and then vertically jigged with small silver slabs to take full advantage of what we uncovered while downrigging.  The majority of our fish came from a fixed position as we held over top of the fish we’d found in 27-32 feet of water using the Spot-Lock feature on the Minn Kota.  Although the breeze was gentle, it was also steady, so the boys’ lines stayed nearly perfectly vertical. I placed them on opposite sides of the boat so tangles were kept to a minimum and fish catching was maximized.

Towards dark, several minutes after sunset, a light topwater bite broke out, but we opted to downrig in the midst of these topwater-feeders simply because the topwater was well-spread enough to require some distance and accuracy in casting which neither boy was going to be able to conjure up.

By the time dark set in, we’d boated a grand total of 106 fish including a mix of short hybrid, short white bass, keeper white bass, and one short largemouth.  We did not catch any keeper hybrid on tonight’s trip, nor did I see any topwater action that looked like larger hybrid pushing bait to the surface.

Landen caught the first fish of his life tonight, an 11.75 inch white bass, thus earning a TPWD “First Fish Award” for his accomplishment.

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, organizations, and companies 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. SKIFF is open to children in elementary and middle school, as well as youth in high school.
TALLY = 106 FISH, all caught and released

 

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:

Start Time: 3;45p

End Time: 7:45p

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 86F

Water Surface Temp: 83.6

Wind Speed & Direction: S5-7

Sky Conditions: Thin white, wispy cover on a fair sky at ~50%

Note: Lake has dropped 0.02 feet in the last 24 hours and now stands at 592.92 above sea level, with 594.00 being full pool

Other: GT= 0

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area 1608 successful downrigging with multiple triples, paving the way to smoking success with slabs

**Area 812/1186 downrigging leading to smoking, then transitioning into topwater from here to shore right at and after sunset

 

 

Bob Maindelle

Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service

254.368.7411 (call or text)

Salado, TX

www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com