Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) – 125 Fish

CLIENTS: On the afternoon of Monday, October 12, I conducted the 18th SKIFF trip of the 2026 season.

Joining me was Mrs, Kimberly Rankin and her three sons, Greyson Rankin, Hudson Rankin, and Easton Revels ages 9, 7, and 11, respectively.

Kim‘s husband, US Army Capt. Cody Rankin, was recently deployed to South Korea, where he serves his 800 man unit as a physician’s assistant. Captain Rankin has served for 13 years.

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: 12 October 2026 (PM)


NEXT OPEN MORNING DATES: 20, 22, 26-29 Oct. 2026

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Greyson Rankin, Hudson Rankin, and Easton Revels worked their MAL Dense Lures for three solid hours to come up with a catch of 125 fish — 124 white bass and 1 largemouth.

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

With our days growing shorter now, our start time for this Columbus Day afternoon trip was 3 PM with a planned end time of 6:30 PM.

 These boys had fished with me once previously on yet another of then First Lieutenant Rankin’s deployments.

The boys brought their experience to the table and it really showed.

We essentially drove from the boat ramp to a strong congregation of white bass in about 41 feet of water. We caught just over 50 fish from that school before moving to our second and final location. That location gave up exactly 75 fish, bringing the boys’ grand total to 125 fish caught by 6 PM.

Every last fish was landed using the smoking tactic with the MAL Dense Lure with silver body and chartreuse tail.

The boys began to peter out in age order. By 6 PM, Easton, the oldest, was the last man standing. I compared notes with Kim and we agreed to call it a good evening right then.

This fantastic fall fishing will only get better with our next incoming cold front now scheduled for October 16.

RESULTS: 125 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:
-Last week’s cold front and associated rains brought water temperatures down significantly and have brought us to the cusp of fantastic fall fishing. I’ve found more fish on bottom in more places than at any time since the thermocline formed earlier this summer and the fish have been very aggressive.

-This was our first day since the 01-09 Oct. cooldown where we had clouds and wind from the SE. The fish continued to feed aggressively under these conditions.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Taken on Lake Belton on 07 Oct. 2026, approx. 2:30PM ..

Taken on Lake Belton on 29 Sep. 2026, approx. 6:50AM…