This past Saturday afternoon I was joined by 14-year-old Charley Elgin and his sister, 9-year-old Addison Tinkelenberg of Ft. Hood for a “Fishing 101” trip — one of the many offerings available to military families through the Ft. Hood SKIESUnlimited program.
Charley and Addison stayed focused on their goal of beating the results of their previous fishing trip and, over the course of 4 hours on the water, accomplished that goal by landing a total of 84 fish using a variety of techniques.
Addison ate her own weight in snacks during our trip!
After a dry, mild cold front passed through beginning mid-morning Friday through noon today, winds quickly shifted to the east and brought in some thin, grey cloud cover over a fair sky. Fortunately, we never experienced a prolonged “post frontal” situation with calm winds, cold temperatures, and clear skies.
The fish were in a biting mode this afternoon and, with the experience from our previous trips (2 for Charley and 1 for Addison), the kids knew what to do and when to do it, thus making our time on the water that much more successful without the beginner’s learning curve to get through.
On our previous outing, we used strictly vertical tactics. Now that the water has warmed a bit, fish have moved into shallower, flatter areas, thus allowing the use of bladebaits in a horizontal presentation. The kids enjoyed the more active approach that casting these bladebaits involved, and caught on quickly to the proper retrieved used for this style of lure.
The kids let me know right from the start that they wanted to beat their previous trip’s total of 67 fish, and they stayed focused in order to make that happen. With about 40 minutes left to go, we matched and then beat that 67 fish threshold, and went on to land an extra 17 fish just for “cushioning”.
We came off the water right at 6:30 with 84 fish landed for our efforts, and approximately 18 pounds of food consumed during those efforts!
IF YOU ARE A MILITARY PARENT INTERESTED IN ARRANGING A TRIP FOR YOUR OWN CHILD:
To participate in such courses, children must first be registered with Child and Youth Services (CYS). Registration is free and is accomplished by contacting Parent Central Services at 254.287.8029.
Once registered, parents may go online to enroll their children for the myriad courses available. Payment must be made for courses in advance.
Military families separated from their sponsor may be eligible for deployment benefits in the form of SKIESUnlimited course credits. Mission Level 1 credits may amount to $300 per child and Mission Level 2 credits may amount to $150 per child. Parent Central Services can help parents understand which applies to their situation.
TALLY = 84 FISH, all caught and released
Wx Snapshot:
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 2:30p
End Time: 6:30p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F
Water Surface Temp: 61.2F
Wind Speed & Direction: ENE7-9 all afternoon
Sky Conditions: 30% cloud cover on a fair sky
Water Level: 1.08 feet above full pool
GT = 0
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1172 – 12 fish on easing tactic
**Area 1900 – 32 fish on easing tactic
**Area 443 – 26 fish on easing tactic
**Area 1492 – 11 fish on bladebaits
**Area vic 116 – 3 fish on flatline cranks at sunset
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
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