The Fishing Year 2015 in Review

I could sit here and bemoan the fact I've had another lackluster fishing season. After all, 193 bass with 1 skunk this year, compared to 192 bass with 3 skunks last year, doesn't say much. But, hey, let's face it: The right thing to do is to "pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again," as noted in some lyrics "ol' blue eyes," Frank Sinatra, recorded many years ago.

Besides, when I look around our little circle of "weekend warriors" and see people like Gary Coderre, Lenny Hall, and Skip Schaible, I'm hard-pressed to gripe about anything so insignificant as a bad fishing year.

Here's Gary (right), who, this year alone, blew out both of his shoulders, and, of course, he's been dealing with bad knees (is recuperating from surgery on one of them now, though) for a lot longer than his shoulder problems.

When you also consider that he "flat lined" while on the operating table a couple months ago for the second blown-out shoulder and further constantly battles the effects of Crohn's Disease--all while maintaining a job and fishing our Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourneys, how could I but praise God for what, at least to the moment, has been good health?

As if I needed any more motivation to keep on truckin', there's Lenny (left), who has a long history of heart trouble but, like Gary, refuses to let it keep him off the water, doing what he thoroughly enjoys. Do you think he sweats an "off" fishing day, or for that matter, an "off" year? You're delusional if you think so.

Then there's Skip (right), who only last week entered the hospital with a mass in his colon, and that's not his only problem either. He has had severe arthritis difficulties for many years--that he NEVER EVER complains about, no less.

Doctors operated only yesterday to remove the mass from his colon, but what do you think Skip wanted to talk about already this morning? If you said this next year's fishing season, you'd be correct.

I simply can't do anything but admire the caliber of these individuals and others like them who comprise our little circle of anglers. They're second to none in my books and provide more than ample motivation for me to maintain a positive attitude. Besides that, I don't want them all lining up to kick my butt if I should become a drag.

There's simply no room for self-pity in our group, and I'm duly proud to be a part of it. Here's wishing the whole gang a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. May all your tourney sacks be filled with nothing but lunkers in 2016. See ya at the weigh-in scales.