THANKS DAD 

There are times when I wonder if you know the importance fishing has played in my life.  The best memories I have are in all likelihood only a small sample of the wonderful times we have spent on the water. 

Perhaps recounting my earliest memories of you bringing home the Westwind in 1967.  The boats gold and white finish gleamed like a chariot sent from heaven.  The deck was a dizzying swirl of black and white paint laid on to cover the rough-finished fiberglass.  The Johnson Seahorse, constructed of odd shaped triangles was emblazoned on the side of the big 85-horse engine.  I was four and it was huge. 

Reminiscing about our first fishing trips might make it clear.  Trolling inside Port Everglades for Jack Crevelle and thinking this is big game fishing!  Or making trips clear out to the whistle buoy where Kingfish could be caught by jigging white bucktails with a strip of ballyhoo attached.  Or the time when Spanish Mackerel were schooling thick as flies in the intracoastal in the shadows of Navy ships. These tails are all wonderful but my heart tells me there is more. 

How can I explain the pride in being declared “The Bottom Man” whose sole job was to climb under the trailer after a day on the water and clean the bottom of the boat.  Some might think this was simply a way of keeping a little kid out of the way.  But to me it was a responsibility not to be taken lightly.  That bottom was salty and my family needed ME to get it clean. 

When I finally learned to tie on a hook, could anyone else know the joy of getting it right. You let us use the rigs though their integrity was somewhat in doubt.  I wonder today if you or I was happier when they held together.  You showed me how to tie that figure 8 knot a hundred times without loosing your patience.  This gets closer to the importance of fishing or at least the importance of a patient Dad.  Without fishing where else would I have learned either? 

Would you believe that it was on a boat where I learned to face fear and conquer it?  It was the day the waterspout erupted on the horizon and forever into the recesses of my young mind.  While I was petrified, you got us together, put on the life vests and steered us clear of danger.  It probably seems like nothing today but then it was clear that careful preparation, knowledge and keeping your cool can overcome great obstacles.  Around that time Neal Armstrong was becoming an American hero.  You explained it wasn’t the moon shot that deserved the most attention but rather the failed test launch earlier in the space program where the capsule caught fire and Neil had to think quickly, stay calm and eject to save his life. We may not have had a rocket or fire but we had the old Westwind and that waterspout and to me the lessons were the same. 

How many children dream of far away lands with strange animals and great monuments?  How many actually get to go there?  For me it was the two weeks each summer we spent in Islamorada.  The animals covered the reefs and crawled on the rocks and waddled in the tidal pools.  The monument was the great Alligator Lighthouse.  From where we stayed the Light was seven miles away but seemed as far as another world.  The water surrounding it quickly dropped to what then seemed an incredible one hundred feet.  Under the light sat a Navy ship scuttled after loosing a battle with Pirates in 1822.  Early on you deemed this too far to go.  The wait only increased the legend in my mind and the mystique grew.  After several years, and no small amount of begging, we did conquer the Light.  The most excitement coming during the night trips when the world was dark and imaginary Pirate ships laid in wait just out of site making the adventure that much greater.  Even today as we pass the Light on the way offshore I always take a second to soak it in and remember.  Without fishing, neither the anticipation, the events nor the memories would have been born. 

How can I explain the responsibility learned by fishing?  All of the thought and effort that goes into making the boat safe for a trip offshore.  The time required learning and executing the rigging of baits and tackle.  The judgement exercised by deciding which fish to release and which to keep.  The thrill of catching and killing our first White Marlin from the 17’ Aquasport being replaced years later by realizing the importance of releasing precious resources like these.  I don’t think many other people would understand. 

If I tried to explain how it felt to be without a boat for seven years would the sense of emptiness seem silly?  How could I explain the mixture of pride, nervousness and anticipation that came with buying my first boat when I do not understand it completely myself?  I think you might understand why I wept just a little the first time I ran my own boat past Alligator Light?   

It is important that now I take friends out and teach them the things you taught me, the same way you taught me, while fishing in the same water we were fishing on when I learned?  Does it matter to anyone else that I take friends and family out in all kinds of weather, confident that I can make it back because I learned how to do it from “Neal Armstrong” himself?   

It may only be fishing but it is where I spend the best of times with best friends.  It is were you taught me everything I needed to know to get this far and where I will learn everything I need to know to carry on from here.  It is where I felt your love for the first time and remember my first accomplishments.  It is how our family still spends precious time together.  It is where you taught me responsibility and discipline and I learned the pride of ownership.  It is where I learned the glory of nature and how to take care of her.  It defines me in the purest sense. 

Thanks Dad for all this and so much more.  How ‘bout I take you fishing some time soon? 

Happy Father’s Day.

Love,  

                                                                                                            Father’s Day 1998

HOOKED ON FISHING INT'L GETS RETAILER'S INCREASED SUPPORT

Wal-Mart ups its support for Kids All-American Fishing Derbies

KETCHUM, OK -  Last year more than 100,000 youngsters fished, many for the first time, in a Kids All-American Fishing Derby. In 2002 the number of young derby anglers will grow to nearly 400,000, thanks to a major commitment to the program by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.  The announcement was made by Gordon Holland, executive director of Hooked on Fishing International (HOFI), the Ketchum, Oklahoma organization that has, for sixteen years, managed the derby program that introduces the sport of fishing to young people.

"Wal-Mart has asked us to organize a derby in communities where there is a Wal-Mart store," said Holland. The majority of the events will be held Saturday, June 8, during National Fishing and Boating Week, and will conclude Wal-Mart's new Take a Kid Fishing Week activities consisting of parking lot casting and reeling contests, coloring contests and scavenger hunts. These efforts are in conjunction with the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation's "Water Works Wonders" campaign.  The RBFF is instrumental in coordinating National Fishing & Boating Week, June 1-9, 2002.

"Thanks to the support and the commitment of the supplier sponsors and the Kids All-American Fishing Derby program, this will be the most exciting kids' fishing event that Wal-Mart has ever conducted," said Mike McFadden, VP DMM, Sporting Goods, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 
 
Last year the program provided materials to and was involved with over 700 derbies in all 50  states with support by its title sponsor, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and more than a dozen other companies with prominent brands. Adult groups interested in organizing a local derby can get information from the HOFI web site -   www.kids-fishing.com, or by requesting information via email at info@kids-fishing.com, or by writing Hooked On Fishing International, P O Box 660, Ketchum, OK 74349.

By Dan Schlosser, Editor Fish4Fun

Salt Water Sportsman Magazine’s Senior Editor George Poveromo, Evinrude Outboard Motors, Captain Harry’s Fishing Supply,  Moldcraft Lures and the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism  sponsor a fishing expedition to Bimini each year. This trip is one I look forward to because of the location, camaraderie and the learning experience provided by having such knowledgeable anglers who are willing to help everyone catch fish.

We left Port Everglades the morning of May 31, 2000 for my third crossing to Bimini. I was making the crossing in Rock Boat II, a 33 foot Intrepid, with friends and fishing buddies, Captain Richard Delizza, Dino Barone, Jimmy Darrah and Lou Greenwell.

As we cleared the jetties and nosed the boat eastward we knew it was going to be a rough ride from the building swells and the look of the sky. After about half an hour, Captain Rich decided that the conditions were not right for the crossing so we turned around and headed back. Just outside of the port we paused and discussed the situation and decided to head south along the beach to Government Cut. This would keep us sheltered and allow time for the weather to pass and also put us a little closer to Bimini.

When we arrived at Government Cut we re-evaluated the weather and determined the situation had improved so we again headed toward the islands. The seas as expected were "Higher in the Stream" and the ride was wet from both salt spray and rain. After a rough, wet and long ride Captain Rich brought us safely into the marina at the Bimini Big Game Club, which would be our home for the next four days.

After clearing customs, checking into our rooms, putting on some dry clothes and a brief recuperation we decided to go "Out Front" and fish!