WHO I FISHED WITH:  On Monday morning, January 1, I conducted the 2024 season’s first SKIFF Trip just for military kids.

My young guest today was Bentlee Carlucci (age 8).  Bentlee’s father, U.S. Army (retired) Sergeant Anthony Carlucci is a bona fide 100% disabled veteran who medically retired and now serves other veterans through his employment at the Veterans’ Administration (VA) hospital in Temple, TX.  SGT Carlucci served for 8 years in the 14T military occupational specialty, working on the Patriot Missile system.  Anthony joined his son on today’s trip.

Bentlee’s father found out about this fishing opportunity on the Fort Cavazos Area Facebook Page, courtesy of Mrs. Denise Igo.

ABOUT SKIFF:  SKIFF trips have been provided to military families at no charge since May of 2009.  SKIFF is funded by donations from Austin Fly Fishers, The McBride Foundation, & Austin Subaru.  S.K.I.F.F. provides children of military personnel separated from their families by duty commitments with the opportunity to fish.  SKIFF trips are also provided to Gold Star families who have lost their service member.  In mid-2019, SKIFF began providing trips to kids of bona fide disabled veterans.  I conduct these 3.5 hour adventures on Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir year ’round.  Call or text 254.368.7411.

Here is how the fishing went…

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Here’s an up-to-date calendar so you can check availability: https://holdingthelineguideservice.com/available-dates.php

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  I’ve fished Stillhouse for over three decades, and have never seen as many largemouth bass mixed in with my white bass catch as I am seeing this year.  I have had better quality fish show up as bycatch, but nothing like the numbers I am seeing this year.  Young Bentlee Carlucci latched onto this 4.25-pounder with a Bladed Hazy Eye Slab.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:  SGT (retired) Anthony Carlucci is a disabled veteran now serving disabled veterans through his work at our local VA hospital.  He and his son, Bentlee, landed 124 fish in 4 hours as a cold front pushed into Central Texas.

 

PHOTO CAPTION: A 1/2-pound to 1.5-pound white bass is one thing, and Bentlee got accustomed to hauling plenty of those in, but, when a submarine-like freshwater drum bit, it took him a bit more time to subdue it!

 

Find the Bladed Hazy Eye Slab here: https://whitebasstools.com/

WHERE WE FISHED: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir

WHEN WE FISHED: Monday, 01 Jan. 2023 (AM)

HOW WE FISHED: 

I was very encouraged by the weather forecast this morning because although I knew it was going to be cold, that cold was being brought in by the passage of a cold front, which meant the incoming winds would be from the north and west and would be increasing.

That scenario played out perfectly between roughly 9:30 and exactly 11:33 AM, during which time the northwest winds steadily rose to ~14mph with higher gusts.  During this time, the fish really turned on well.  In our first two hours on the water (7:30 to 9:30), Bentlee and his dad landed exactly 21 fish.

As the wind picked up, they landed an additional 103 fish in the last two-hour block.  If that doesn’t underscore the impact a cold front’s arrival has on fishing, I don’t know what does!!

We relied on just one tactic today in an effort to keep it simple and keep fish coming over the side of the boat for my young client.

We simply employed 5/8 oz. and 3/4 oz. Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs using a slow-smoking tactic used in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope and a thumper.

Now, if I’d had more experienced folks aboard, we would have used a snap-jigging tactic after the fish slowed down and no longer expressed interest in slow-smoking, but that technique was overly technical for an 8-year-old, so, whenever the fish slowed down, I just moved us to a new group of fish, and that panned out well.

When all was said and done, the Carlucci’s put together a 124-fish catch, consisting primarily of white bass, with 4 largemouth bass and three freshwater drum mixed in for good measure.

Here is a tutorial on the slow-smoking tactic we used… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPopSLUYoQ

TALLY: 124 fish caught and released.

 

OBSERVATIONS: 

The water temperature profile measured on Stillhouse Hollow on 01 Jan. 2024 was:

 

WEATHER DATA:

Start Time: 7:30A

End Time: 11:35A

Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 39F

Elevation: 17.89 feet low, 1 CFS flow

Water Surface Temp: 54.3F on the surface.

Wind Speed & Direction: NNW10 at trip’s start, spiking to NNW13-16 at 9:30 thru 11:33, then dying back

Sky Condition: Clear, cloudless bluebird sky

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous moon at 74% illumination.

GT = 50

Wx SNAPSHOT:    

 

 

AREAS FISHED WITH SUCCESS:  

 

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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