WHO I FISHED WITH: On Thursday morning, Dec. 23, I fished with siblings Liam and Sophia Garcia on what was the 2021 season’s eleventh SKIFF trip.
The children’s father, Sergeant Manuel Garcia Perelta, is an automated logistics specialist with four years in the U.S. Army. He is currently deployed. The kids’ mom, Veronica Munoz, arranged the trip for them after seeing a post about the opening on the Fort Hood Area Events Facebook page.
SKIFF is an acronym for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun. It is a program now in its 12th year, sponsored by the Austin Fly Fishers, and supported by individuals and entities, all of whom desire that kids separated from a parent by that parent’s military duty, be given an opportunity to experience the outdoors through fishing during that time of separation, free of charge. The program offers a time of respite for the home-front parents who may need a short break from single-parenting. Reservations for SKIFF trips may be made by phoning or texting 254.368.7411. Children must be 5 years of age or older.
Here is how the fishing went …
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My next few openings will be on January 5th & 12th. Weekday mornings are always best.
PHOTO CAPTION: Sophia and Liam Garcia with 2 of the 100 fish they landed on Lake Belton using Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs during their SKIFF trip this past Thursday, 23 Dec.
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
WHEN WE FISHED: Thursday (AM), 23 December 2021
HOW WE FISHED:
This morning’s fishing was pretty straightforward. Thanks to a stiff southerly breeze and moderately thick, complete gray cloud cover, the fish started feeding at 7:50 AM, drew attention from birds, and from that point until 9:50 it was just a matter of staying in the center of mass of the action in 32-34 feet of water. Because of the kids’ age and inexperience (they’d never been on a boat before), I stuck with as simple an approach as I could.
We simply allowed 3/8 oz. white Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs to sink to the bottom, and reeled them up with a “slow smoking“ approach and got hit routinely as our lures rose towards the surface, both by fish which pursued from off the bottom, as well as by suspended fish. The bird activity wrapped up around 9:50, and we continued to milk fish from the vicinity where they had been working for another 20 minutes until the action died altogether.
At this point we had 49 fish in the boat. I searched two areas, found little on sonar, and continued moving.
Our last area produced the balance of our 100 fish morning. On a fairly slow sloping area, again, in 32 to 34 feet of water, we found white bass in a feeding posture, positioned just a foot or two up off the bottom. These fish were aggressive. They actually rose up to meet our falling slabs as we first began fishing, and then began to move up as much as 1/3 of the way from the bottom into the water column as we hooked fish and reeled them in, thus creating a commotion which drew other fishes’ attention.
Due to the increased wind speed we encountered at this area, I equipped the kids with three-quarter ounce slabs (Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs in white color), so the slabs would sink more quickly and the kids could definitively feel bottom. Up until this point we had used the 3/8 ounce version.
As mom pulled into the parking lot, we had 96 fish landed. Another six minutes later, at 11:10 AM, we hit 100 fish and called it a great morning.
When all was said and done, we landed exactly 100 fish, including 1 largemouth bass, 4 juvenile hybrid striped bass, and 95 white bass.
Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs and MAL Lures found here: https://whitebasstools.com/
TALLY: 100 fish caught and released
OBSERVATIONS: About 80 gulls pitched in on the feeding today, which was the single strongest round of bird action I’ve seen thus far this fall/winter.
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:30A
End Time: 11:15A
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 59F
Elevation: 2.24 feet low, 0.03 fall, 73 CFS flow
Water Surface Temp: 59.7F
Wind Speed & Direction: S12-15 all morning.
Sky Condition: Grey skies just thin enough to cause “squinting” levels of light to come thru beginning around 8A
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 76% illumination.
GT = N/A
Wx SNAPSHOT:
AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:
Area B0098C – 49 fish on an eased Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/8 oz. white) in 2.5 hours
Area B0022C – 51 fish on an eased Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (3/4 oz. white) in 45 minutes
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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