St. Jude's Awesome Trip !

[Thunder]

It was surely awesome for me !  Friday nite the winner of the St. Jude's Fishing Trip, Darren, showed up with his GREAT son Ethan.  Now I've known Darren and Ethan for a few years now and was really looking foward to a great time with them out on Lake Erie.  I had no idea just how much fun I was going to have.

Friday they got in late, but I got them fed and the license take care of then it was off for some shut-eye....5 a.m. was gonna come early.  Saturday after breakfast, we headed up to the launch at Lake Erie...only to find that the forecast of "waves 2 feet or less" had change, drastically.  Boats were lined up at the launch, with sorrowful eyes we all looked at the 5 foot waves pounding the breakwall.  Took me about two minutes to make the decision....and we took off for "plan B", Mosquito Lake.  Much calmer (inland lake), we launched and were soon trolling.  This time of year it's not noted for great fishing, but it beat the alternative.  It wasn't long when we had a rigger release, and Ethan jumped into action !  Given the rod action, it was obvious Ethan was starting out this trip at the "pro" level...either a very stout walleye or one of the lake's tiger muskies was bending his heavy cast rod over and giving it some serious shakes.  After what seemed like an eternity, and with the fish nearing the boat, it happened...with a solid head shake, off came the lunker.  Was quite the excitement tho' !  We spent several hours on Mosquito...saw the soaring bald eagle overhead, the massive "island" of water lotus in full blossom...but I was itching to get us onto Erie, for some serious fishing.  We took a mid-day break, then with a more favorable lake condition report we headed to Erie with my good luck charm...my great wife, Judi.  At the launch in the state park, we had to get our energy up, so we had a picnic to start things off.
 
Then we got the boat launched, and ready to get underway.  This is Darren, Ethan and Judi
 

Now, let the fun REALLY begin !  After a 20 minute run out to the thermoclines at 72 feet, I quickly got the downriggers into play as well as a planing board.  It wasn't long then.....
 

Ya know, for such a young lad, that Ethan is quite a fisherman....
 

Of course, Darren was no slouch himself....
 

while taking a quick break from the action, a glimpse of Ethan brought back to mind the comedian Ron White..."they call me....Tater Salad"
 

What a day....and to end it with Ethan boating a bonus steelhead AND this sunset, well.....
 

[Thunder]

Sunday morning brought the threat of rain, storms and high winds.  but by 630 we were 12 miles out and popping walleye and...gulp....sheepshead.  We got some in the cooler before the swells started getting way up there, so we made a rough run for shore.  Day over?  I think not....after a quick stop in the harbor, we went shallow for "footballs"...our infamous smallmouths that run 4 to 5 lbs of pure fight.  I give Ethan all the credit in the world...he hooked into a LARGE smallie and played it well...but the ultra, ultra light rod with 4lb test line wasn't gonna cut it with that football.  You could have heard the "snap" a mile away.  But Ethan was sure smiling...as we all were.  

Then Ethan showed us how to catch some sort of bait ??????

We are still researching to find out what the heck it is...but the jig's big as the fish !  So Ethan used it for bait, and caught this (look very closely...there's BOTH fish on this)
 
I was laughing so hard, I almost fell overboard...
Then the rains came..but it was time anyway.  So, out we came, then down to the homestead for some lunch, some more fish cleaning, and some good byes....so with some ziploc bags of fillets in a cooler, and several hours of driving ahead of them, we said our farewells.
I believe *I* was the winner of the auction, for as much fun as I had.  Darren is a great guy, and by the wonderful mannerisms of his son he is also a HECK of a father.  I will miss you both, and you as well as your whole family have an open invite here.  Thank you TradGang, for making such smiles possible...not just for Darren, Ethan, Judi and myself...but the kids being helped thru St. Jude's.
God Bless

[bluegill]

Bill,

Looks like a great time was had by all. The little fish looks like a goby to me.

Sean

[Thunder]

That's what I thought too, Sean....looking it up now.

[the Ferret]

I miss Darren and Ethan. Used to see them all the time. Cloverdale, Mojam, cutting osage. Then Darren got a job in another state and moved away and we haven't seen him since. Nice to see thier smiling faces once again. Bill you couldn't have gone fishing with finer people.

[Thunder]

You've got that right Mickey....what a true pleasure being in their company !

[Terry Green]

Yeah boy!......St Judes always get a free pass on the fishing trips.....thanks for sharing!

[NW]

Awsome, thanks THUNDER, for sharing this.

[BigRonHuntAlot]

      Glad you fellows had a great time.

[ber643]

Love the story and all the smiling faces, Thunder - but I gotta say, in spite of that,  for me, the best part was seeing your smiling (red) face again. Bless you, brother Bill.

[bbassi]

Thunder, that little fish is a Gobi. It's an introduced pest in the great lakes. Our DEC says kill them all. (they do make good bait though)  

[whitebuffalo]

SWEEETT.. Erie looking great again,, cool pics and looks like ya got a couple of those guppy thingys,,JB

[Hackbow]

I want to join Bill in thanking Terry and TradGang for serving the St. Jude's children in this way and also in allowing for the non-trad archery story to be told here. We spent plenty of time talking about bowhunting as well as fishing.

Thanks for doing such a nice recap of the weekend Bill. And thanks also for a quality trip. We can't tell you enough how much fun we had. I definitely want to take you up on your offer to bring the family up.

If you don't know Bill you have to understand that he is somewhat of a medical miracle. Doctors can't explain it, but he doesn't have a heart in his chest.....it's too big! The man is passionate about serving others and I am blessed to call him friend.  

I've been fortunate over the years to meet quite a few wives of stickbow archers. It seems they are always top-notch folk. Judi was no exception. She had us invade her home, brought some civility to our antics, and wouldn't let us leave without a hug. Thanks for being such a wonderful hostess Judi.

Mickey, you know we miss you and Di. I think I found a potential customer in your area, so don't be surprised if you have a self-invited dinner guest in the next few weeks. I still take a bow on the road with me when I can. Got to shoot with George Stout a couple months back.

Thanks again Bill.

Darren & Ethan

[4runr]

That's goooooooood stuff right there!!

[JC]

That's what it's all about right there....thanks to Thunder Bill, his lovely wife for donating and Darren & Ethan for contributing.

[Dano]

Looks like a great time to me as well. I'm like you Mickey, I miss seeing Darren and his fine boys, dang they are getting big!!

Bill, seein your smilin face was mighty nice. And here's proof, behind every good man stands a great woman. Thanks Bill, for your generosity, and fine story tellin.

[Doc Nock]

The thought of all the good done and re-done through the auction is sobering and joyous at the same time, but like Bernie,...

...for me, seeing ole Wee Willy Wooster's onery mug was in itself a blessing and a special treat!

Go well, my bull rider buddy... go well on your path.

[ber643]

Ya got that right, Doc  

[Thunder]

Darren, thanks for the kind words.  We would LOVE to have your whole family up sometime...maybe a fall foliage/steelhead/etc. trip, who knows.

Hi Dano !