He Skipped the Kids’ Stuff — 48 Fish on SKIFF Trip #14

CLIENTS: This morning, Thursday, August 13, I conducted the 14th SKIFF trip of the 2026 season. Joining me were Bryson (age 14) and Makenna (age 16) Reynolds from a U.S. Army Gold Star family.

The children’s father, Sergeant First Class Brad Reynolds, passed away at age 38 while on active duty at Fort Hood on May 13, 2020.  SFC Reynolds served as an Army aviation helicopter mechanic.

The kids’ mom, Maria, is now the school nurse at Killeen’s newest high school, Chapparal High School.

The Reynolds were referred my way through the Killeen Parks and Recreation Department’s Anthony Vaughters.

ABOUT SKIFF:  Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (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, The Great Place Spouses’ Club, The Great Place Thrift Store, and VFW Post 4008 in Belton, TX.  SKIFF provides kids of military members 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, and 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 to make your reservation. We’ve provided trips for over 660 children, and those kids have landed over 18,000 fish.

TODAY’S DATE: 13 August 2026 (AM)


NEXT OPEN DATES: 19, 20, 26, 27 Aug. 2026 (AM)

PHOTO CAPTION: Makenna came up with our largest fish of the morning. This 9-pound common carp rambled through our catfish spread and really made Makenna work. It swam around our buoy line marking our spot, about wore both of her arms out, and required the net for landing it. This was our grand finale!

PHOTO CAPTION: During a ~30 minute span, some much-diminished topwater action took place hindered by hard winds right at first light. The kids caught 14 by sightcasting Cork Rigs, then took another 8 by downrigging with Pet Spoons.

PHOTO CAPTION: As I was talking with the kids on our way back, I asked them which of the tactics we employed this morning they enjoyed the most. The vote was unanimous: catfish! I believe using the Garmin LiveScope to watch fish come in to the baits is really engaging for anglers, young and old. It really builds anticipation and allows you to be on guard at the critical moment when a bite is most likely to occur.

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

As the kids stepped aboard, I handed Bryson a spinning rod and asked him to show me what he could do with it. He cast long and accurate, so, I assigned him to the front deck to sightcast for white bass. Makenna was not familiar with this gear, so, I assisted her in casting, and she did the retrieving, hooking, and landing as long as the white bass were visible and aggressive enough to strike our Sandy Sandwich Streamers and Cork Rig combinations.

The topwater action was significantly hindered by strong wave action this morning with 12-13 mph winds blowing before sunrise. This actually worked out to our advantage, as the handful of other boats around us departed, leaving us free to downrig without hinderance. The kids put 14 fish in the boat with Cork Rigs before the fish left the surface, then put another 8 in the boat with downriggers using 3-armed umbrella rigs equipped with Pet Spoons thereafter, for a total of 22 white bass by around 7:30AM.

Since I knew Bryson was a solid fisherman, I presented him with the option of targeting sunfish after the white bass quit, or making an extended run at catfish. He skipped the “kids’ stuff” and chose catfish without hesitation, so, before we hit the white bass, we baited the first of two areas we would later go back to to fish for cats.

After the white bass quit for good, we went and baited a second area and returned to the first baited area. I trained the kids up on the three pillars of this method: 1) bait placement, 2) bite detection, and 3) hooksetting. To her credit, Makenna listened well and wound up landing of the fish from the first two bites she got.

The kids wound up landing a total of 25 catfish on punchbait — 23 at our first stop of about 90 minutes, and 2 cats, plus a bonus 9-pound common carp, at our much shorter second stop.

We wound up with 48 fish for the morning, and, by the time we wrapped up around 9:50, the wind was whipping at 15 mph straight-line with gusts well over 20.

RESULTS: 48 fish, all caught and released

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/

SEE THE “SMOKING TACTIC” TUTORIAL HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

OBSERVATIONS:
-USACE has finally reduced the flow of water through the dam to the “normal” summertime rate of 52CFS — just a trickle to keep fresh water moving downstream.

-Fishable topwater action was limited to only 30 minutes or so this morning with 0 action witnessed thereafter. The chop created by higher than normal windspeeds made spotting fish the most difficult it has been since the fish began feeding on top following the reduction of flow through the dam at the end of July.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Taken on Lake Belton on 11 Aug. 2026, approx. 6:05AM …

Taken on Lake Belton on 06 Aug. 2026, approx. 6:05AM …

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: https://www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle