Merry Christmas/with Pic's

[5th Tuition]

I hate to start this thread out on a sour note, but a dear friend of mine is in the hospital recovering from a triple bypass. He had surgery just before Thanksgiving. I went to the hospital and saw him, the Dr.'s said all went well and he was coming home in a couple of days. They had him walking and even doing some stairs. Well, things went south for him and infection set in and long story short he is still in the hospital and has undergone several more surgeries in this past month.
I told my wife; if I pass tomorrow; know I went happy This year has seen many new experiences for me. Most importantly the growth of my two granddaughters. They were born prematurely (3 lbs each) on 11/4/11 and have progressed beautifully. Both are "stepping out"; walking, talking (babling), and exploring.
The new boat was certainly a surprise. The wife and I were on vacation and I was talking to her about the POSSIBILITY of looking for another boat in the future. Ten days later, Mark (Mlag) and I were driving to Norfolk Virginia to sea trial my new Judge 27 Chesapeake.
I guess what I'm saying, is that things happen quickly. My friend had chest tightness one day and was in the hospital the next day. Our twins were not due until around the first of the year, but God had other plans. The new boat was something I was going to take about a year to investigate.
With this said, enjoy your time with family and friends during the holidays. I have made many new friends through CBA, and my friends from TF still remain dear to me. I have been truely blessed.
Merry Christmas to all the CBA family.
5th (Marty)

[Spot77]

What a remarkable year it's been.

from the lows of losing my job and losing 2 friends to lead poisoning (the kind you get at 3000 fps) to catching the biggest Rockfish of my life, the MOST Rockfish in my life, trolling more than EVER, and livelining for the first time.

New job, new (to me) car, daughter got an offer from NSA....maybe the path to total happiness is finally clear of obstacles.


Mery Christmas, Happy New Year and Tight Lines.

[Spot77]

Now if I can just get myself a 21 to 23 ' boat.......

[Breakaway]

Marty, sounds like you had quite a year. My son, who was born 6 weeks early and weighed just over 3 pounds, just turned 21 this summer. I would have never imagined when I saw him that small that he would have grown into the young man he is today. He will be graduating from the University of Md. in the spring and still loves playing ice hockey, hence my boat's name.

Happy Holidays everyone!

P.S. Marty - Here's hoping our Honda's live a VERY long life! ::fingerscrossed::

[5th Tuition]

Originally Posted by Spot77

Now if I can just get myself a 21 to 23 ' boat.......

I know where there's a nice 22 WA you can get cheep

Breakaway, I think we will be ok. Lots of Hondas out there doing just fine. I do hope Pete gets some compensation from Honda.

5th(Marty)

[Chessie27]

Happy holidays everyone!!

Marty- you better eat a LOT more Twizzlers if you want to wear that Santa suit properly

[Fish Nut]

Have a safe happy Holiday gang. May all your Tackle box’s be full. Hope to see everyone on the water in a few weeks ……

[garlien]

Marty I could not have said it better...Won't even bother to try...

This time of year gets us all thinking about how lucky we really are...Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years...30+ Days of thinking back on what we have done in the last week, month, year, our lives...I always think back on the great speach Jim Valvano gave 20 years ago...If you have never heard or read the speach, do yourself a favor, it is great, and if you were lucky enough to see it live, you would have never forgotten it...One of my favorite lines is "I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought"...

As Marty said, we just don't know what could happen day to day, life tends to throw its biggest curveballs when you least expect it...As the famous urban legend speach of Baz Lurman stated "Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday."

Ok, enough with the intelectual who said what stuff...Here are my thoughts, added to the great thoughts of others...

1> Thanks to all of you here on this board. I have met a great many people this last 12 to 24 months that I may never have met without it...Its not the great number of people I have met, but the greatness of the people I have met...

2> Thanks for letting me take part in the great tradition of fishing with you...I did not say catching (There were a few tough days it there)...But Fishing...Ok, one last quote...A great man named Henry Thoreau once said "Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after"...Many of you have help me live this quote, its not about catching fish, its sharing good times and bad, stories, hopes, dreams, and a shared sense of what being on the water is all about....

3> Scott mentioned biggest and most, I have to second that...For me what a year...First tournament fishing, first red drum, lucky enough to catch striped bass, pickeral, large mouth bass, red drum, croaker, bluefish, spanish mackeral, porgy, sea bass, fluke, and many others this year...Numerous citation fish...learned at least something about how to setup a 51 rod spread from Marty, Don and others......Shared the secret to Rattle Trolling (and a number of laughs) with many folks...and much, much more....

What a year....What a month...What a week...What a day...Live life to its fullest everyday, it is sometimes hard to do, but try, you will never regret it...

Thanks to all of you for a Christmas prestent that lasted throghout the year (getting to know you and share our lives)...I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring !!!!

Is the season open yet ?

Merry Xmas to all and to all a Happy New Year !!!

Mike

[Spot77]

Geez Mike....at 11:47pm yesterday I couldn't even remember my name, and you were on here posting deep, reflective and well composed thoughts.

Just wait until we share our secrets about how to catch 20"+ Rockfish all day long on 1/16th ounce lures.

I'm not sure the Chesapeake community of fisherpeole are reay for that kind of nonsense yet, but that's ok.....more snack sized fish for me.