This afternoon I conducted an after-school Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) trip for Juliahna and Ethan Dixon of Harker Heights, TX.
Juliahna and Ethan Dixon with a sampling of the fish we landed this evening. The kids landed a total of 114 fish tonight, including their first fish ever, thus earning a TPWD “First Fish Award”.
Juliahna is a 5th grader and Ethan is in the 2nd grade. They are the children of U.S. Army Major Aaron Dixon and his wife, Ashley Dixon. MAJ Dixon is currently deployed to Southwest Asia serving as a general’s aide.
With baseball caps, windbreakers, cheese & peanut butter crackers, and jelly sandwiches all packed and ready to go, I picked the kids up from their home since it was on my way to the boat ramp so as to give their mom a little more time to herself. We headed to Belton after a slow trip to Stillhouse yesterday helped me finalize my decision on the matter, despite the little extra drive time it takes to get to Belton. In hindsight, I’m very glad we did this.
We caught fish consistently from start to finish using 3 separate techniques, including downrigging, using slab spoons vertically, and casting to fish on topwater. We caught a mix of fish today including white bass of various sizes, hybrid striped bass of various sizes, and 2 smallmouth bass, one of which was the largest fish of our trip.
As we started the trip, things were a bit slow on the downriggers at the first area we tried, producing about 6 fish in 40 minutes. We relocated and found white bass in deeper 32-36 foot water and caught them initially on downriggers, then switched over to slabs after seeing how heavily congregated the fish were near bottom. This was interrupted by a 30-minute spell of rowdy surface action nearby, after which we went back to using slabs.
By the time this area was tapering off, our final area of the evening was just starting to heat up. As we arrived, I could see fish beginning to suspend from 10 feet down to bottom in 25-27 feet of water. Every one of the 4 downrigger passes we made was answered with pairs of multiple hookups — a situation which just screams to be fished more thoroughly. We stopped trolling, Spot-Locked with the Minn Kota trolling motor, and proceeded to “wear ’em out” until more rowdy topwater action pulled us off of these fish.
We pursued topwater fish for the entire time span from sunset until dark. I cast a Cork Rig with a small shad imitator, and I had the kids throw a Redneck Fish’n’ Jigs Model 180 in 3/8 oz. for simplicity’s sake since they were beginners with the spinning gear. As the topwater action began, the kids were amazed a how much more the activity there was versus just 20-30 minutes earlier.
Both Ethan and Juliahna caught the first fish of their lives tonight, thus earning a TPWD “First Fish Award” for their accomplishment.
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, organizations, and companies 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. SKIFF is open to children in elementary and middle school, as well as youth in high school.
TALLY = 114 FISH, all caught and released
TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 3:25p
End Time: 7:45p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 90F
Water Surface Temp: 84.0F
Wind Speed & Direction: ESE0-5
Sky Conditions: Mostly cloudy @ 70% coverage over a fair sky
Note: Lake has dropped 0.04 feet in the last 24 hours and now stands at 593.36 above sea level, with 594.00 being full pool
Other: GT= 0
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 1411 minimal success on downiggers
**Area 1601 successful downrigging with multiple triples, paving the way to smoking success with slabs
**Area 1603 topwater blitz
**Area 1602 downrigging leading to smoking, then transitioning into topwater from here to Area 009 right at and after sunset
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Salado, TX