TEAM 57 will miss long time Irvine Lake employee

[FISHJUNKIE4446]

I have to say that Bob was a Great Guy!!!!! He will be Missed.......RIP

[Trout Nine]

My prayers & condolences goes out to his family & friends

[Mondo21]

Here's one more pic of Bob with Mitz



Cindy

[olfishergal]

I was absolutely shocked and upset when I heard the news. Bob always treated me so well and was such a humble guy. I will miss him so much. Vine won't ever be the same without BoB to greet me and share his fishing wisdom. I will miss you big guy RIP........The Collins family sends their heartfelt condolences........OFG

[bluehunter]

Agree he was a nice guy. Always talked to me and was always interested in what was going on and how I was doing. Definitely will be missed.

B

[Hitts0n]

Dayum? I was so lost when I got the info.Its like going to the lake now,and no water and the lake.Mixed emotions I have.I really dont know what to say.I will miss him.Wow.....im still shocked

Rest in Peace big guy ! YYou will be missed !

My prayers & condolences goes out to his family & friends.

Can somebody please keep me updated on when the funeral will be,and where.

[troutdog]

I hope you don't mind me sharing a pic or two as well as some of my thoughts...

I got the call from Timster today and I was deeply saddened to hear the news of Bob's passing...reading this thread comes with a heavy heart because Bob was one in a trillion.

As some of you know I basically consider the Vine my "home" lake, and well many of the people that work/worked there are like extended family. I think the Vine is special like that, I always read reports about the good people of the Vine and Bob was no different.

Anyone that fished Irvine lake regularily during the past couple years knew that Bob was basically the "Vine Sheriff", what he said went and he was not taking any BS from anybody. Stern but very fair would be an accurate description. He proudly stated his position on more than one occasion saying "I don't care if I met you 20 years ago or 20 minutes ago, I treat everyone all the same". Now of course he never said it in a mean way of course, to me he was just basically saying everyone gets the same fair shake. Watching Bob enforce the "5 mph zone" during an early morning blitz to Trout Island was a thing of beauty!

On the flip side I also got to see the other side of Bob. A very patient man who had a zest for teaching kids how to fish, I saw that on more than one occasion. In fact the first day I met Xy and her son Garrett, Bob spent hours with us making sure G-Man got the hang of it...I THINK this is Garrett's 1st trout.


Bob was certainly a VERY proud Dad...I recall the ear to ear grin on his face when he introduced me to his daughter Lauren. Having a daughter with the same name I think we both felt we had a neat connection. I consider myself fortunate to have met the man, he certainly will not be forgotten.

I heard someone say something during a eulogy once that made a lot of sense to me, the words were something to the effect "although death may end a life, it does not end a relationship". You can bet when I'm at the Vine next time I will be waving towards the heavens and thinking about "the 5mph zone" and his hearty laugh, his memory will indeed live on.

I was cleaning up the campsite in Woody's Cove this past Sunday evening and I noticed our neighbors had left behind some flowers. I really dunno why I took this picture at the time, but maybe it kinda makes a little more sense to me now...


RIP "Big Bob" you will be missed, but certainly never forgotten....


TD

[fish ful]

I fish the lake and remember him being a great guy as many at the lake are. My prayer to his family for there loss. It is sad that some of the best people have to leave us so soon! RIP

[CRVZ]

Maverick called me on my way home yesterday and gave me the sad news and it hit me like a rock!! Bob was the first person to ever talk to us and give us advice the first time we went to Lake Irvine. And from that first time to about 4 weeks ago when we last saw him he was nothing but a gentleman, a sweetheart and a hell of a great guy.
We fell asleep last night talking about what a great guy he was and how much he will be missed. There wasn't a day that went by that Bob didn't come by the boat to see us and ask about the kids. He loved seeing the boys out and couldn't wait to come over and talk about his twin grandbabies. I can't help but get tears in my eyes everytime I think of him no longer being with us. Maverick and I will miss him very much! To his family and friends my deepest condolences.

Bob, I know you're keeping an eye on all of us...Buddy I'm jealous you're catching fish with the Big guy now...that must be awesome!!! You're in our thoughts and in our prayers. We love you!

[Hitts0n]

Dayum im still in shock.
I/We will miss guessing who is driving the patrol boat.Is it Patrick,or is it Bob.One less person enforcing the lake rules in full effect.No one telling us to slow down,5mph! Bob and Patrick were the Twin Towers of the tourneys.Checking pole limits,making room for other fisherman to fish.Giving tips on what to use and how to fish the bait you have of choice.Everytime we had a bar b que,I always invited him to come and eat.I do the same with all Irvine staff.It was just something to have a smoke with this guy and just hang out and talk with Bob while the fish bite was slow.As I read on through this thread.....I realize how much more of the great guy he was.Dayum still in my pain that I feel.Like the other guy said,so said to see the good guys go first.....R.I.P