This past Monday morning, July 11th, I conducted the sixth “Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun” (S.K.I.F.F.) program trip of the 2016 season. Joining me for this adventure was Mrs. Venesa Bruner (a U.S. Army veteran), her two daughters, 9-year-old Jeannette and 5-year old Joni, and one of the girls’ friends, Annabell Abrams.
From left: Joni Bruner, Mrs. Venesa Bruner, Annabell Abrams, and Jeannette Bruner, with white bass taken on Pet Spoons fished behind a downrigger at 17′ deep over much deeper water.
Jeannette Bruner with one of the more colorful, mature bluegill sunfish we landed up in shallow water this morning.
Joni and Jeannette’s dad, Sergeant First Class Bryant Bruner, and Annabell’s dad, Staff Sergeant Chad Abrams, are both deployed to South Korea with an ongoing rotation of troops from the 1st Cavalary Division to that country.
Last week Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir reopened after weeks of closure due to May flooding. I much prefer Stillhouse for summertime kids’ trips as both the white bass fishing and sunfish fishing is very consistent and predictable, allowing me to offer variety in what we engage in over the ~4 hours on the water.
This morning we started off downrigging with a pair of 3-armed umbrella rigs equipped with Pet Spoons set behind downriggers lowered to 17 feet, which is where sonar revealed white bass and shad to be holding. We landed one “double” (2 fish on one umbrella rig), and 6 singles before little Joni began to get fidgety and I knew a change of scenery was needed.
Our next success came up shallow fishing for sunfish in the flooded brush inundated by the 7+ feet of flood water that has yet to be released by the Corps of Engineers. Our tactic of choice was fishing redworms beneath light slipfloats on small hooks to tempt all manner of smaller fish in the shallows. Over the closing 90 minutes of our time on the water, the girls landed bluegill sunfish, green sunfish, juvenile largemouth bass, and blacktail shiners — 48 in all.
When the novelty wore off and the heat and wind both increased to uncomfortable levels, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the dock with a total of 56 fish landed for our efforts this morning.
A huge thanks to the membership of the Austin Fly Fishers who both donate funds and engage in fundraising to allow this SKIFF program to be offered, totally free of charge, to our military members’ families.
If you are a military family and your soldier is away from his/her children due to military duty (TDY, schooling, training, NTC, JRTC, deployment, etc.) your children are eligible for a free fishing trip just like this one. Simply call me at 254.368.7411 to coordinate a time and date.
TALLY = 56 fish, all caught and released
Wx Snapshot:
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 6:25a
End Time: 10:35a
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 78F
Water Surface Temp: 85.6F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSW8 at trip’s start, steadily ramping up to SSW17 by trip’s end
Sky Conditions: Hazy, cloudless skies all morning
Water Level: ~7.56 feet high and falling ~0.4 feet per day with a flow of ~1900 cfs
GT = 0
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 207 to 1782- downrigged for 8 white bass with Pet Spoons @ 17′
**Area 1256 – Sunfish on slipfloats
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle