FREE S.K.I.F.F. TRIP FOR THE AVALOS KIDS – 93 FISH

WHO I FISHED WITH:    This morning I conducted the 4th SKIFF (Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun) program trip of the 2019 season.  Maria Cobian and her three children, 12-year-old Analie, 7-year-old Alexavier, and 5-year-old Camila all rose at 5:30a to meet me at Stillhouse Hollow. The children’s father, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (SSG) Luis Avalos is currently assigned to Fort Bragg, NC, where he serves in a civil affairs role.  SSG Avalos has served for 15 years.  Mrs. Cobian serves as a contracted dental technician at a dental clinic on Fort Hood.

We planned to start a bit earlier than usual this morning due to both the high heat and high winds forecast for later in the morning.

S.K.I.F.F. stands for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun.  This program began in May of 2009.  It is funded by the donations and fundraising efforts of the Austin Fly Fishers.  S.K.I.F.F. provides the children of military personnel separated from their families due to duty commitments with the opportunity to go fishing.  I coordinate and conduct these 3.5 to 4 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, just outside the gates of Fort Hood in Bell County, TX.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Analie (12), Camila (5), and Alexavier (7), each with a white bass caught via downrigging less than 30 minutes from the time we launched the boat.  After 4 hours on the water, the three kids had amassed a catch of 93 fish including additional white bass and several species of sunfish.

WHAT WE FISHED FOR:  Multi-species

WHERE WE FISHED:  Stillhouse Hollow

WHEN WE FISHED:  22 June 2019, AM

HOW WE FISHED: With high winds forecast for the latter part of the morning and with two kids under the age of 8 on board, I thought it best to start our trip off using a downrigging tactic, as it takes place in open water which may not have been accessible to us in high winds, and it takes a bit more patience, which I knew would be in shorter supply by the time the last half of the trip came around.

We went in age order while downrigging, allowing Camila, the youngest, to catch the first fish which hit on the downriggers, followed by her brother, and then by her older sister.  Each of the kids got several rounds of catching in, landing both singles and doubles, before the open water bite died off around 8:35am.

As the very first fish came aboard this morning, Camila earned her “First Fish Award” certificate granted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  This made her the sixth child to accomplish this feat with Holding the Line Guide Service so far in this 2019 season.

After the kids’ interest in downrigging waned as the wait time between fish increased with the light level, we headed up shallow and caught sunfish in abundance using a slipfloat rig with both live and artificial baits suspended beneath.

TALLY: 93 fish caught and released

OBSERVATIONS:    We are now right at the time of year when the first topwater action generated by white bass and largemouth feeding on young of the year shad typically begins to occur on Stillhouse, but, there was once again no sign of that this morning.  Sighting this was certainly not aided by the winds which were already near whitecapping strength before sunrise.

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:


Start Time: 6:45a

End Time: 10:45a

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 78F

Elevation: 1.75 feet high, 0.12 ‘ 24-hour drop, 909 cfs flow

Water Surface Temp:    82.5F

Wind Speed & Direction: Winds S12-14 for the first 3 hours, then ramping up to 16 in the final hour

Sky Conditions:  Humid, partly cloudy at 40% white-grey clouds over a blue sky.

GT = 0

#WhiteBassFishing #LakeBelton #StillhouseHollow

Wx SNAPSHOT:     

 

 AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:

**Area vic SH0037C – best of 3 areas we downrigged white bass at

**Area 422 – solid producer for sunfish including bluegill, green, redear, and longears

 

 

Bob Maindelle

Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service

Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide

254.368.7411 (call or text)

 

Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle

Twitter: www/twitter.com/bobmaindelle

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