Remember the ones that made a difference…

Doing some organizing/packing and came across one of my late Uncle’s vests he gave me before he passed. He had some solid sponsors back in the day. He loved fishing and racing more than anything in life.

He is the reason I became a tackle snob as he ALWAYS had the best of the best. I would drool over his tackle for hours and started saving my pennies at an early age to be able to buy the best I could find in that thick ass Bass Pro Shops catalog. More importantly… He taught me most of what I knew about bass and bass fishing in general with an emphasis on bottom contact early on and is probably the reason I’m so obsessed with that technique today. Whether it was in big chunk rock, heavy cover, steep walls, drops, grass or whatever…that man had the magic touch and could work his baits through pretty much anything while HARDLY ever getting hung up. I was always amazed with his abilities, especially at that young age (12-13), when it was all new to me.

It’s a memory that’s so strong/vivid for me because whenever we fished together, all I wanted was to learn how to do that. He spent a ton of time teaching me how to read banks, understand what I was feeling at the end of my line, working baits over big chunk rock, how to watch my line on the drop…I could go on and on. He fished professionally for many years, winning only one major event (Lake Mead). One of my favorite things he said was “you need to learn a new technique every year, and then master that technique so that you can be as versatile as possible”. He believed that was the only way to stay competitive, and to this day, I very much agree.

While he had a reputation within the family for being a somewhat cynical hard ass, and to be frank…wasn’t everyone’s favorite person…I loved him because he spoke his mind, and stayed true to himself…regardless of what others thought. That said, he and I had a uniquely strong bond. I know it was not only because of fishing, but because we understood each other.

Towards the end of his life, our relationship shifted in a different direction, as he was dying from emphysema and couldn’t fish any longer. I would visit, talk fishing and sometimes accompany him to see doctors. Our friendship was, at that point, becoming centered around sobriety. The irony…he was also a long-time recovered alcoholic/addict and was instrumental in my choice to change my path 15+ years ago. So he not only got teach me about the finer aspects of angling, but also about how to live life on life’s terms…

I miss him dearly.

Cherish the ones that made a difference in your life, the ones you love, the ones you respect. This ride is too short, my brothers.