This morning I was joined for a “S.K.I.F.F.” fishing trip by siblings Xavier (age 8) and Lucien (age 6) Pantle, and their buddy, Matthew Beltran (age 9).
Meet today’s whimsical crew: from L to R: Matthew, Xavier, and Lucien.
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 (examples: field time, gunnery, NTC, deployment, etc). These trips are funded by the Austin Fly Fishers and a network of supportive individuals from all over the U.S.!
Xavier and Lucien are the sons of Sergeant and Mrs. David N. Pantle. SGT Pantle is an Army computer specialist currently deployed to Kuwait. Matthew is the son of CW2 Olsen Beltran, a Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps who is serving a 9 month tour in Afghanistan which began just last month. Matthew’s older brothers, Elliot and Nathaniel came out on a recent SKIFF trip with me and, after experiencing it, knew they needed to get their little brother out, too.
The big fun started just minutes into the trip. After saying goodbye at the boat ramp, we idled through the short “No Wake” zone. I told the boys to hold on to their hats as we would begin going faster after we cleared the “No Wake” zone buoys. As we got out past the buoys, I began throttling up. We were still “plowing”, not yet up on plane and going all of 20 mph when Matthew screams from behind me, “This is so fun!!! Can I come out again next Saturday??” Now, we hadn’t even touched a rod yet, much less caught or even begun searching for fish and Matthew was bubbling over! Later, we were treated to a real, live bald eagle sighting (my second in as many days — same bird, I’m sure) so the boys were just in sensory overload.
Well, the energy level stayed high all trip today as none of these boys had ever experienced anything like this, so, it was novelty after novelty, and new experience after new experience (and question after question!). The weather was really pleasant with a stiff, dry, refreshing northerly breeze clearing out the rain and murk of yesterday. It felt like autumn had arrived and the feeling was invigorating.
The fishing was best early, although we caught fish over the entire duration of the trip this morning. The cold front and winds dropped the surface temperature a full 2 degrees overnight and the fish were a little shell-shocked as a result, but we put together a nice take of 44 fish, including 43 white bass and 1 largemouth using a combination of (mainly) downrigging, with a bit of vertical work with a slab thrown in at the end for variety’s sake. Whenever we downrig, I let the kids know that there is always the potential for catching a “triple” — 3 fish at the same time — whenever I rig up with an umbrella rig. Typically, once one fish is hooked, the more slowly one reels it in, the better the chances of a double or triple. Well, with the boys being pretty young, they naturally reeled fairly slowly due to their limited hand strength, so, it wasn’t surprising that we managed not one, but two triples today. Cheers rang out with each, to be sure!!
These boys truly enjoyed themselves, so, I thank all of you who contribute to SKIFF for doing so and providing such opportunities for kids like these three boys.
TALLY = 44 FISH, all caught and released
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TODAY’S CONDITIONS:
Start Time: 7:20a
End Time: 11:20a
Air Temp: 67F at trip’s start.
Water Surface Temp: 82.1F
Wind: Winds were NNE12-15.
Skies: Clear “bluebird” sky.
Areas Fished:
**1233/1241 downrigging first 2.75 hours
**453/668 smoking upon arrival with downrigging to mop up in last hour
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Bob Maindelle
Holding the Line Guide Service
254-368-7411
www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Salado, Texas