This Saturday afternoon, 05 March, I conducted a Fort Hood SKIES Unlimited program trip with 14-year-old Love C. and 11-year-old Faith C. of Ft. Hood.
Miss Faith C. caught this Stillhouse Hollow white bass from out of 63′ of water on a jigging spoon during a SKIES Unlimited program trip.
Miss Love C. caught the very first fish of her lifetime this afternoon, earning her a TPWD “First Fish Award”.
Although these sisters had been on a boat before, neither had ever caught a fish, so, Job #1 was to fix that. Given the bright skies and light winds, we began this trip in deep water. We found 2 distinct concentrations of deep fish in both 61′ and 63′ of water. These fish were very responsive — just right to give beginners early success and bolster their confidence.
Quite a number of these fish regurgitated threadfin shad that were easily 3.5″ long which was larger than the slabs we were using. These shad were largely undigested, indicating a feed was taking place right then (digested shad indicate the fish have fed some time ago).
Within minutes of making our first of 4 stops tonight, both Love and Faith had captured their first fish, thus earning them a First Fish Award through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Angler Recognition Program.
At one point in time the bite got so aggressive that Love wound up landing two fish at the same time on one lure.
The girls were a pleasure to have on board — eager to learn, respectful to me and one another, and happy to be outdoors doing something they’d never done before.
SKIES Unlimited stands for School of Knowledge, Inspiration, Exploration and Skills. SKIES Unlimited classes are open to children of active duty military personnel, retirees, Department of the Army civilians, and to Department of Defense contractors. To enroll in SKIES Unlimited activities, children must be registered with CYSS at Building 121 on 761st Tank Destroyer Avenue (right across from the Chili’s restaurant).
There is no charge for registration; parents must bring an ID that shows their affiliation with the military, the child’s shot records, and the report from a recent physical exam. While the SKIES Unlimited programs are not free, many military families are eligible for sizeable credits toward SKIES Unlimited activities. There is a $300 “Army Strong” credit available to each child when their parent is deployed.
TALLY = 71 FISH, all caught and released
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TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 2:30p
End Time: 6:30p
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 69F
Water Surface Temp: 62.2F
Wind Speed & Direction: SSE9 the entire afternoon.
Sky Conditions: Fair skies with thin white haze.
Water Level: 622.12 with 622.0 being full pool. 0.01 feet of water was released in the last 24 hours.
Other: GT= 0
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
**Area 947/948 — deep vertical jigging in 61′
**Area 1707 — deep vertical jigging in 63′
**Area 1709 — mid-depth vertical jigging in 30′
**Area 116 — sunset trolling
Bob Maindelle
Owner, Holding the Line Guide Service
254.368.7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle