On Monday, Sept. 22nd, I had the pleasure of fishing with Mr. Ted Mouche, his wife, Lee, and his son, Rick. Ted is 92 years old, a WWII veteran, and one of the last surviving members of the U.S. Army Air Corps from which the U.S. Air Force eventually emerged.
(L to R) Ted and Rick Mouche with several of the larger white bass we caught today on bladebaits, slabs, and downrigged spoons.
This great adventure all began with a call from Rick at his home in Illinois last week. He had airline tickets to come to Temple, TX, to visit his parents and wanted to do something with them in the outdoors. We talked over what a typical trip entails, including the effort required to get in and out of the boat, the temperature outdoors, the duration of the trip, etc., and, when all was said and done, Rick felt this was something his folks could definitely participate in.
Ted initially took pilot training at Marfa, TX, on the C-46, but, just prior to heading overseas, had to retrain on the C-47 aircraft at Bergstrom in Austin, TX, learning how to tow gliders with that aircraft.
We met at 8:00am (about an hour later than my normal starting time) and began by covering the basics of the use of the downrigging rods and spinning rods we’d employ on this trip.
We looked over about 3 areas before I was satisfied with the amount of bait and gamefish I was seeing on sonar, but, once we found what we were after, it was “game on”. We caught fish initially by downrigging as the skies were still brightening and the wind was beginning to push from the north on the lead edge of a mild, dry cold front making its way into central Texas. Once I saw the density of fish we were dealing with, I quickly made the decision to switch over to vertical jigging, as I saw a lot of fish in a small area, and these fish were holding tight to the bottom. We made 3 “short hops” moving just a few boat-lengths each time the fishing would decline at the previous location, and, over the next 75 minutes put the majority of our fish in the boat using TNT180 slabs in both 3/8 oz. and ¾ oz.
The bite unexpectedly slowed around 10am in conjunction with a sudden increase in wind speed which brought some minor whitecapping about. Once this wind died back to 8-9mph (where it had been previously) we once again began to see signs of fish activity (birds working, bait skipping, etc.). This “second wind” bite was not as aggressive, but allowed us to boat an additional 14 fish in the last 75 minutes of our trip. During this time, Ted stuck with the ¾ oz. slab worked vertically while Rick and I cast blade baits horizontally. Lee simply spectated the entire trip.
You just can’t fish for 4 hours with a 92-year-old man in great shape without asking “the secret to a long life”. When I asked, Ted replied instantly, “The secret is having a good wife!” Just then, as if being rewarded for his very correct answer, Ted hooked a nice fish and reeled it on in.
TALLY = 38 FISH, all caught and released
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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 8:00a
End Time: 12:00noon
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 69F
Water Surface Temp: 81.3F
Wind Speed & Direction: N8-9
Sky Conditions: Fair with 10% cloud cover
Other: GT=0
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1245 to 1254
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Salado, TX