a little something about character from a local icon

[Matt_Magnone]

as many of you found out there was a bass brigade get together on diamond valley today. people from all over the united states showed up even guys from spain. very cool deal getting to meet some of them. anyway something happened on the lake today that i cant quite understand. it just doesn't make any sense.

a box of high dollar swimbaits inadvertently flew off a bass boat and were lost in the deep abyss. or so we thought. deps bullshooter, roman made, rago etc. lets just say it was a high end collection. throughout the day a bunch of dudes fishing came in and mentioned the fact that the angler lost his gear. the bass brigade community pulled together realizing what had happened and banded together and donated baits to get the angler back into the game. i have so much respect for the bass brigade community. VERY solid guys and i'm going to be supporting them from here on out. fisherman's fisherman that are no bull just fish kinda guys. have fun let it ride and do what we do!

later in the day greg silks came in to chit chat and mentioned he had found a box of swimbaits FLOATING in the middle of the lake. he wanted to return them to the rightful owner. he knew that the owner may have purchased the baits from the shop and that we may know who they belonged to. my eyes widened an mouth dropped to the floor. we went out to the truck and sure as all hell the baits that were described to me throughout the day were the baits in the box. greg handed me the box and said, get a hold of the guy and tell them the baits are here. i got goosebumps and didnt know what to do. immediately got on the phone with one of the organizers of the meet and greet and he was STOKED to here. its about damn time the fishing community is acting like a fishing community again.

my hats off to greg silks for the integrity he showed. i can guarantee there aren't many people out there that would return a LEGITIMATE swimbait collection to an unknown owner without wanting anything in return. those of you who don't know him; get to know him. this guys is a great person.

we need to recognize greg for being the person he is in our fishing community. we all know him but many take him somewhat for granted. way to go greg. definitely a class act!

[HawgZWylde]

as many of you found out there was a bass brigade get together on diamond valley today. people from all over the united states showed up even guys from spain. very cool deal getting to meet some of them. anyway something happened on the lake today that i cant quite understand. it just doesn't make any sense.

a box of high dollar swimbaits inadvertently flew off a bass boat and were lost in the deep abyss. or so we thought. deps bullshooter, roman made, rago etc. lets just say it was a high end collection. throughout the day a bunch of dudes fishing came in and mentioned the fact that the angler lost his gear. the bass brigade community pulled together realizing what had happened and banded together and donated baits to get the angler back into the game. i have so much respect for the bass brigade community. VERY solid guys and i'm going to be supporting them from here on out. fisherman's fisherman that are no bull just fish kinda guys. have fun let it ride and do what we do!

later in the day greg silks came in to chit chat and mentioned he had found a box of swimbaits FLOATING in the middle of the lake. he wanted to return them to the rightful owner. he knew that the owner may have purchased the baits from the shop and that we may know who they belonged to. my eyes widened an mouth dropped to the floor. we went out to the truck and sure as all hell the baits that were described to me throughout the day were the baits in the box. greg handed me the box and said, get a hold of the guy and tell them the baits are here. i got goosebumps and didnt know what to do. immediately got on the phone with one of the organizers of the meet and greet and he was STOKED to here. its about damn time the fishing community is acting like a fishing community again.

my hats off to greg silks for the integrity he showed. i can guarantee there aren't many people out there that would return a LEGITIMATE swimbait collection to an unknown owner without wanting anything in return. those of you who don't know him; get to know him. this guys is a great person.

we need to recognize greg for being the person he is in our fishing community. we all know him but many take him somewhat for granted. way to go greg. definitely a class act!

Great post Matt, how awesome is that man? I got the chance to meet Greg two weeks ago and we chatted for a few in the tag line at DVL. A great dude indeed. Real nice and more than happy to talk all things fish. This story made my day and restored some faith. Very cool...

[DEVOREFLYER]

Most excellent and I would hope to expect nothing less from the fishing community but we all know better. I do not personally know Mr. Greg Silks but he has rightly earned my most humble respect and admiration, I hope that it's a lesson in personal honesty to all that read about this wonderful deed.

Thanks for telling us about it Matt.

[Hardcor]

Thank you for this story Matt !

In 2006 my brothers and I were trolling DVL when we noticed Greg Silks fighting a huge Striper that he hooked on his Z-Plug ! Greg landed the Striper, saw us watching,

He runs over to our boat, cuts off his Z-Plugs, throws it in our boat and tells us to run it 5 mph 100 feet back over a reef he shows us ! Limits of huge Stripers for the day !

I met Greg Silks at Hawg's Bait Shop in Rancho Cucamonga in 1976 ! He's the same now as he was then ! Down to earth good man !

Greg can't count the amount of people he's put on there personal best Striped Bass and or Largemouth Bass !

Thank you for this story Matt !

Corey


http://youtu.be/uygesJxot9w

[ddoskocil]

This is what fishing should be about. Helping each other out, having fun, teaching others. Great story. Catch fish!

[prankster13]

Man o man what a cool story. It was cool talking to you and Anthony in line and on the lake Matt. I met the guys from Bass Brigade and it doesn't surprise me that they got together to help the guy that lost his baits, very cool people indeed. I to will support them from now on. And Gregg Silks is a real stand up guy for returning the baits. I will go out of my way to meet him and thank him for what he did. That day was special in that all I brought was two swim bait outfits and caught my first swim bait bass on a 6in. Spro. It wasn't much of a bass but it gave me confidence in the baits. All morning after I caught 4 2+lb. bass I seen very large followers behind my bait. I feel that it is just a matter of time before the big fish hit my swim bait.

[Matt_Magnone]

Man o man what a cool story. It was cool talking to you and Anthony in line and on the lake Matt. I met the guys from Bass Brigade and it doesn't surprise me that they got together to help the guy that lost his baits, very cool people indeed. I to will support them from now on. And Gregg Silks is a real stand up guy for returning the baits. I will go out of my way to meet him and thank him for what he did. That day was special in that all I brought was two swim bait outfits and caught my first swim bait bass on a 6in. Spro. It wasn't much of a bass but it gave me confidence in the baits. All morning after I caught 4 2+lb. bass I seen very large followers behind my bait. I feel that it is just a matter of time before the big fish hit my swim bait.

buddy, you experienced the feeling all of us chase when we're throwing the swimmer. its a different type of thrill that general techniques cant give you. i really dont know how to explain it. there's a reason why 95% of the time i have a swimbait rod in my hand! it's your shortest avenue towards a trophy bass.

keep goin with it man!. and i hope many more people applaud greg!

[Keep It Reel !]

Yes, I've come in contact with Mr. Z plug himself and this guy is a CLASS ACT GUY. He's the only person I've met who just sat back and watched a few of us hook big fish repeatedly on boils. I'm talking 2 hours of just standing 25' behind and watching us work fish. Talk about a refreshing attitude from a guy who makes exceptional baits.

[bass413]

While Matt's story shows both the integrity and character Greg possesses, Cory's story may be just as impressive. Cutting off a bait, giving it to someone nearby, AND giving specific details on where and how to work that bait, AWESOME. Two great stories about Greg Silks, I'm sure there are many more. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Greg, but if the opportunity arises, I'll jump at the chance. Great stories guys, something we should all be striving towards.

[striperkingclassic]

Gregg Silks is one of kind type professional guide. Here's a personal story: We were fishing DVL on a Sunday about a month ago. I wanted to get some current information on what was happening with the stripers. I called Gregg on Saturday afternoon to find out how he did that afternoon. He didn't answer, so I figured he was still on the water. Later that night, we were heading to dinner at about 8:30pm. Guess who calls? Yes, it was Gregg Silks. In the next 15 minutes, Gregg told me how his clients did and where the stripers were showing. He even gave me detailed information on what lures he used and how deep the stripers were holding.

I really don't know too many professional guides that would do this. It's no coincidence that Gregg Silks is part of the "Live" Pro Guide Charity Auction for the Striper King Classic 3 charity event. Come meet Gregg and you will know what Matt is talking about.........

Barry

[JigStop]

In other words, a man cannot expect that he "have his cake and eat it too"? I had the misfortune of having a $1,000+ tuna set-up disappear at the Big 3 Landings last year.

[Marky]

Very cool post!