This morning, 18 April, I conducted the third SKIFF trip of the 2015 season. I welcomed aboard the Applegate brothers, Gregory, James, and Nolan of Belton, Texas.
From left: Coach Joe Oliver, James Applegate, Nolan Applegate, and Gregory Applegate. These four fish all came over the side in a matter of minutes during a brief feeding spree triggered by a returning breeze following a period of calm.
The boys’ father, U.S. Army Colonel Greg Applegate Sr., is a logistician currently on a 1 year assignment to the War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. COL Applegate has been deployed 4 times to Afghanistan and Iraq, and the family has pulled up stakes and moved 9 times over the course of his 23 year career. The boys’ mom, Lisa Applegate, is a substitute teacher at Central Texas Christian School and is serving as the “interim” girls track coach, as well. She and COL Applegate met at Boise State during their college years.
COL Applegate tried to make it in for this fishing trip, but lack of a timely return flight prevented this, so, Mr. Joe Oliver, the Athletic Director of Central Texas Christian School in Belton, and coach to the boys, stepped in for dad today and rounded out our party on this SKIFF trip.
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 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.
The damp north wind blowing this morning told me before I ever launched that our results would be depressed a bit over the white-hot hybrid fishing we’ve enjoyed on southerly and westerly winds, but, we got out there and did our best. The best fishing occurred during a very short window as a NW breeze picked up just slightly following a period of calm. I noted this exact same behavior on yesterday’s trip, as well
We caught most of our fish off of two distinct areas using live threadfin shad fished at around 25-28 feet deep over a deeper bottom. The boys really got along well, looked out for one another, and demonstrated good technique, thus converting a majority of our strikes into caught fish.
When all was said and done, we landed 26 fish this morning, including 1 smallmouth bass, 1 white bass, and 24 hybrid striped bass.
TALLY = 26 FISH, all caught and released
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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:20a
End Time: 12:15p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 62F
Water Surface Temp: 69F
Wind Speed & Direction: Light at NNW7, tapering to calm
Sky Conditions: 100% greyed over
Other: GT=60
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1388
**Area 1549
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Salado, TX
www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com