sapdawg11
08-28-2011, 05:17 PM
For the last 10 days, the Little League World Series has been a staple in my household. Being a resident of Huntington Beach and having spent more time on Little/Senior/Big League Baseball diamonds than I could ever recount, it’s been remarkable and exciting to watch. Night after night after night of baseball, the greatest game in the world, played by kids with amazing talent, cheered on by parents with uncanny zeal, taught by volunteer coaches that all deserve medals, umpired by volunteering professionals that are dedicated to their craft, and watched by millions and millions of people worldwide that all recognize how special all of it is. Watching the games and at times jumping up and down right along with the kids on the bench, puts a lot of things in perspective…Volunteering your time to teach kids something positive is an opportunity, not an obligation, not a “debt” that is being repaid, an OPPORTUNITY to walk away having shared your time and experience to contribute. The HB coaches walked away rewarded with a championship which is definitely the rarity and not the rule. While you may not always come home from volunteering a bit of your time with a championship ring and a parade in your honor, you always, ALWAYS leave with something. One of the things that makes me most proud to work with the management at SARL/Corona Lake and has made the place feel truly like home is that in working behind the scenes, I see that they feel the exact same way about being involved in the community as I do. If you guys had any clue of what and how much of their time and efforts they volunteer, you’d be truly blown away. The overwhelming majority of it goes completely unsaid, even with me begging them to let me write it up. But not this time…I made sure of it!
The Lakes gave me a ring and let me know that they would really appreciate it if I could go on a twilight trip aboard the Nautilus out of Newport Landing with some of the Lake Regulars that requested some help teaching fishing basics to a local Boy Scout Troop. My task would be to teach the kids some knots, talk to them about fishing, and maybe even wet a line for some good ol’ “hook ‘n hand”’ing for the little ones that were struggling to pull on some fish. Right up my alley. But I decided to push the envelope…”I’ll go if I can give away a couple of Lake passes”. “Of course! Go for it!” they replied. I continued, “And only if I can do a report and post some pics showing the smiling faces of the kids that won the passes.” And to that they replied, “You just won’t let up will you?” Nope, no I won’t.
I got to the landing at about 6:15 and was welcomed by friendly and familiar faces from the Lakes. We boarded the boat about 7 and were off!!
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/stern1.jpg
I was surrounded by about 30 little ones that were all so stoked to be heading out on the big blue. Some had never been on a boat before much less had ever gone fishing. I didn’t see a single game boy, not one iPod, not even a cell phone. Forget video games and music, there was a sea lion zipping around the harbor and birds crashing on bait, who needs World of Warcraft?!?!
We made our way out with the game plan being to pick at the sand dabs and sculpin. As we cleared the harbor, we went through knots and rigs that the kids would be using and getting everyone’s attention was NOT a problem. These kids were as eager to learn what they needed for their merit badges as they were to go pull on fish.
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/learning1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/lotsofknots1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/learning2.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/teaching1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/cuttingsquid1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/whatisthat1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/littleguy1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/boyscouttrip1.jpg
Now I’m not much of a sand dab fisherman, but on our first stop, I helped catch the most amazing sand dab ever...
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/girlstokedonfishing1.jpg
Though not an official “boy” scout, this little girl was as involved in getting the job done as anybody. Turning the handle on my Calcutta 400b brought a giant smile to her face and upon seeing her adversary, I thought she was going to jump out of her skin!
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/excitedkids1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/sharingasanddab1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/moresanddabsharing1.jpg
Seriously, a sand dab may as well have been a bar of gold to these kids. Surrounded by kids wanting to touch the slimy mud dweller, this tiny little flat fish sparked something in each one of them that just continued through the evening. And what an evening it was!
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/sunset1.jpg
We ended with a bunch of sculpin and sand dabs, a smattering of calico bass, and even a tree fish or two. But as is easy to guess, the fish count was only a small part of the story. It was midnight on the way in and kids were still on deck telling their “battle stories”. I entertained who knows how many stories about the “one that got away” and all of this out of pulling on some sculpin and sand dabs on what would be by any of our standards, a pretty slow evening. Unbelievable. And on top of all of it, two kids had particularly extended bragging rights…our 2 Lake pass winners!!!!
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/winners.jpg
The little guy was classic at the rail, with dad holding him up with both kid and fishing rod tucked under the arm!! Quite a sight to see!!!
My fellow Corona Lake comrade Johnny (johnnyboy on FNN, a fantastic angler and person that was on board gladly lending his assistance to the kids) got me home about 1 am and I could barely keep my eyes open. When I woke up this morning I had a text message on my phone from another Lake regular and friend, Doug, that read, “Thanks for everything”. Doug and his wife did the meat of the organizing behind this thing and so he HAS to be crazy saying thanks to me! A HUGE THANKS TO YOU DOUG (AND YOUR MRS.) FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND FOR DOING WHAT YOU DO TO CONTRIBUTE!!! Awesome awesome stuff to see, completely above and beyond the call. YOU DA MAN DOUG (AND “DA WOMAN” MRS. DOUG!!)!!!
And while we’re at it, A HUGE THANKS TO THE SARL/CORONA LAKE MANAGEMENT AS WELL!! Without hesitation they sponsor this stuff which is just an absolute testament as to how great of an organization they have built. I can’t say enough what an honor and a privilege it is to work with them.
So obviously, this isn't a fishing report from the lakes with a video of whiskerfish dragging my butt through the bushes. Nor is it even a methods bit on how to rig up for your next outing on the water. I just wanted to share with you guys why I fish. Because my dad, my grandpa, my mom, my grandma, and my troop leaders all showed me the value behind spending time outdoors while teaching me how to do it. They seized the opportunity to volunteer their time and it's obvious as to why: Kids are great. They find the exciting stuff in everything they do and working with them last night gave me an opportunity to feel that excitement too. The coaches, umpires, parents and fans of the Little League World Series get to feel young again through the amazing game of baseball. But it turns out that you can also tap the exact same fountain of youth that every single person in Williamsport is wallowing in now, by simply putting a fishing rod and reel in the hands of a little tike and teaching them how to pull on fish, be it in the saltwater on a charter boat, or in the freshwater lakeside. Get out there guys, take your kids fishing, teach the ones that aren’t yours how to do it too while you’re at it and I can guarantee that you’ll be glad you did!!
The Lakes gave me a ring and let me know that they would really appreciate it if I could go on a twilight trip aboard the Nautilus out of Newport Landing with some of the Lake Regulars that requested some help teaching fishing basics to a local Boy Scout Troop. My task would be to teach the kids some knots, talk to them about fishing, and maybe even wet a line for some good ol’ “hook ‘n hand”’ing for the little ones that were struggling to pull on some fish. Right up my alley. But I decided to push the envelope…”I’ll go if I can give away a couple of Lake passes”. “Of course! Go for it!” they replied. I continued, “And only if I can do a report and post some pics showing the smiling faces of the kids that won the passes.” And to that they replied, “You just won’t let up will you?” Nope, no I won’t.
I got to the landing at about 6:15 and was welcomed by friendly and familiar faces from the Lakes. We boarded the boat about 7 and were off!!
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/stern1.jpg
I was surrounded by about 30 little ones that were all so stoked to be heading out on the big blue. Some had never been on a boat before much less had ever gone fishing. I didn’t see a single game boy, not one iPod, not even a cell phone. Forget video games and music, there was a sea lion zipping around the harbor and birds crashing on bait, who needs World of Warcraft?!?!
We made our way out with the game plan being to pick at the sand dabs and sculpin. As we cleared the harbor, we went through knots and rigs that the kids would be using and getting everyone’s attention was NOT a problem. These kids were as eager to learn what they needed for their merit badges as they were to go pull on fish.
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/learning1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/lotsofknots1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/learning2.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/teaching1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/cuttingsquid1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/whatisthat1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/littleguy1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/boyscouttrip1.jpg
Now I’m not much of a sand dab fisherman, but on our first stop, I helped catch the most amazing sand dab ever...
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/girlstokedonfishing1.jpg
Though not an official “boy” scout, this little girl was as involved in getting the job done as anybody. Turning the handle on my Calcutta 400b brought a giant smile to her face and upon seeing her adversary, I thought she was going to jump out of her skin!
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/excitedkids1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/sharingasanddab1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/moresanddabsharing1.jpg
Seriously, a sand dab may as well have been a bar of gold to these kids. Surrounded by kids wanting to touch the slimy mud dweller, this tiny little flat fish sparked something in each one of them that just continued through the evening. And what an evening it was!
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/sunset1.jpg
We ended with a bunch of sculpin and sand dabs, a smattering of calico bass, and even a tree fish or two. But as is easy to guess, the fish count was only a small part of the story. It was midnight on the way in and kids were still on deck telling their “battle stories”. I entertained who knows how many stories about the “one that got away” and all of this out of pulling on some sculpin and sand dabs on what would be by any of our standards, a pretty slow evening. Unbelievable. And on top of all of it, two kids had particularly extended bragging rights…our 2 Lake pass winners!!!!
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u15/sapdawg11/winners.jpg
The little guy was classic at the rail, with dad holding him up with both kid and fishing rod tucked under the arm!! Quite a sight to see!!!
My fellow Corona Lake comrade Johnny (johnnyboy on FNN, a fantastic angler and person that was on board gladly lending his assistance to the kids) got me home about 1 am and I could barely keep my eyes open. When I woke up this morning I had a text message on my phone from another Lake regular and friend, Doug, that read, “Thanks for everything”. Doug and his wife did the meat of the organizing behind this thing and so he HAS to be crazy saying thanks to me! A HUGE THANKS TO YOU DOUG (AND YOUR MRS.) FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND FOR DOING WHAT YOU DO TO CONTRIBUTE!!! Awesome awesome stuff to see, completely above and beyond the call. YOU DA MAN DOUG (AND “DA WOMAN” MRS. DOUG!!)!!!
And while we’re at it, A HUGE THANKS TO THE SARL/CORONA LAKE MANAGEMENT AS WELL!! Without hesitation they sponsor this stuff which is just an absolute testament as to how great of an organization they have built. I can’t say enough what an honor and a privilege it is to work with them.
So obviously, this isn't a fishing report from the lakes with a video of whiskerfish dragging my butt through the bushes. Nor is it even a methods bit on how to rig up for your next outing on the water. I just wanted to share with you guys why I fish. Because my dad, my grandpa, my mom, my grandma, and my troop leaders all showed me the value behind spending time outdoors while teaching me how to do it. They seized the opportunity to volunteer their time and it's obvious as to why: Kids are great. They find the exciting stuff in everything they do and working with them last night gave me an opportunity to feel that excitement too. The coaches, umpires, parents and fans of the Little League World Series get to feel young again through the amazing game of baseball. But it turns out that you can also tap the exact same fountain of youth that every single person in Williamsport is wallowing in now, by simply putting a fishing rod and reel in the hands of a little tike and teaching them how to pull on fish, be it in the saltwater on a charter boat, or in the freshwater lakeside. Get out there guys, take your kids fishing, teach the ones that aren’t yours how to do it too while you’re at it and I can guarantee that you’ll be glad you did!!