On the Scale - An Official Weigh In

Normally, I don't post much about myself.  This blog isn't about me, it's about my view of the outdoors, and what I can share with you.  But now, there's a turning point in my life.  My direction has changed, and below is the story why.  Perhaps what I'm going through can help you some day, however you decide to do it.

The name "Fat Boy" was originally coined by me as an internet user name, or handle, on one of the first web forums that I had the pleasure of joining, Iceshanty.com.  Why pick such a name?  I don't ride a Harley, but I do ice fish.  And a popular ice fishing jig at the time, and still today, is called a Fat Boy, by Systems Tackle.  At the time during ice season, I used them to ice many crappie, yellow perch, bluegills, largemouth bass and stocked rainbow trout from the hard waters of Maryland and Pennsylvania.  The name stuck, and I've been using it ever since on all my fishing forums amongst a few others.  Anyway, when I picked the name, it had nothing to do with my physique.  However, as time went by, my stature tended to resemble my user name more and more.


A few months ago, I dropped below 230, and felt much better.  I climbed down the bank to lip this bass, something that I couldn't have done even six months earlier.

Nine months ago I hated the way that I felt.  I let myself go since I got married twenty years earlier, and I had to either suffer the consequences or do something about it.  At one time during my marriage, I tried the Atkin's Diet and lost a bunch of weight and quickly, I might add.  I went from a fat 267 pounds down to 211, not quite my goal, but not too bad.  The 56 pounds came off in a matter of a few months.  Several deaths in my family took a toll on me mentally, and along with the added stress of that to an already stressful sedentary job forced a war within my mind, leading me to eat everything except perhaps my cat and family, and gained it all back and then some.  If it was edible and not nailed down, I ate it.  Originally, the purpose of the diet was to lose the weight, then change my lifestyle and keep it off.  Part one worked, part two never got underway.

As my lifestyle changed and weight piled on, I became more and more apathetic, especially towards fishing and hunting.  My friends drifted away, or perhaps I drifted away from them, to the point that the prospect of going on a fishing or hunting trip didn't much appeal to me any more.  And, with my brothers passing just over three years prior to my accident, hunting became a reminder of him.  It should have been a positive reminder, but it wasn't...I took it the other way and lost the desire to be in the woods.  He most definitely wouldn't have wanted that.

The Fat Boy ice fishing jig

Other factors contributed to my outdoors apathy.  I was coaching girls travel fastpitch softball as my daughter progressed through the sport.  That takes a lot of time. It did provide some measure of physical activity which may have kept me from becoming a shut in, but not enough to stay in any form of good physical condition.  The lifestyle may have contributed to the weight gain.  Travel players and parents are always on the go, away from home, and that often means eating out at odd hours.  More times than not, the food either isn't healthy or the portions are massive.  And, as an eat-a-holic, the massive restaurant portions appealed to me.

A few weeks prior, I was in an auto accident that was serious enough that it could have taken my life, but the good Lord and also wearing a seat belt saved me along with a well designed car.  I was lucky enough to escape with a few scratches, sore muscles, seat belt bruising, and a severly sprained ankle that bothers me to this day.  During my recovery and physical therapy, I decided that life is way too short.  Not only would losing weight assist in my recovery and aide in the healing process of my ankle, but that too could save my life.

My desire to improve my health also changed my attitude about the outdoors.  I craved to fish and hunt again.  I wanted desperately to reverse the couch potato trend and hit the outdoors as much as possible.  I started with my food intake again.  About the only advantage to having a pendulous paunch, is that you can tuck a napkin at a restaurant under it without worrying about the napkin dropping to the floor.  I was ready to trade that one advantage for a better life.

This spring, my first trip on my buddy's boat felt good to be back in the swing of things.  At this point in my diet, I had lost about 15 pounds.  There's a lot of pizza still in that mid section, and plenty of cheeseburgers in those chins.

The problems as an outdoorsman carrying a bunch of weight are many, in addition to daily life issues with weight.  The simple things, like tying my hunting boots, were a real chore.  It was embarrassing having to come up for air after bending over to tie a bootlace, only to go back down to tie the other one and rise up gasping for air again, as if I was drowning.  The other option was to tie both of them really fast and risk passing out from lack of oxygen with the veins in my forehead feeling like they were going to pop.

It's also embarrasing when I'd go on a fishing trip in the rain, and my bib overalls wouldn't zip up, leaving my belly hanging out unprotected from the cold and rain.  Thank goodness for the oversized waterproof insulated parkas to cover that embarassment up.  But, when temperatures warmed, I'd either sweat or have to expose the basketball that I'd swallowed to the public via fishing pictures on my camera.

Heaven forbid if I'm out fishing and drop a bullet weight on the ground.  I'd either pass out bending over or risk splitting my drawers in the field.  Nobody wants an unplanned  trap door at the seat of their coveralls or waders.  So, I'd just let whatever I dropped be, unless it was expensive, like a spinnerbait or a crankbait, and it was easy enough to see that I could find it quickly without running out of air.

And, consider shark tooth or fossil collecting problems.  As I increase in age, my eyesight declines, like many people.  My belly stuck out far enough that looking straight down, where things are easier for older eyes to see, impossible.  My effective range to view objects on the ground started at about a 45 degree angle out from my belly.  And, not only was it difficult to see artifacts on the ground, but still difficult to bend over and pick them up.  Finally, with regard to collecting, when wading places with blown down trees and the like, you have to navigate around or over them.  Often, I'd choose to go under, even if it meant getting wet, because lifting my massive body over those obstacles became nearly impossible.  I'm no weakling, having lifted and played college athletics in my younger days, but my weight gain exceeded my lifting ability as time went on and my muscles atrophied over the years.

And, don't even think about buying a new tree stand at a bargain price.  All of the ones on sale have maximum weight recommendations, including gear, and I exceeded all but a few of them...which, by the way, never go on sale.  I have two climbing stands that I use, and neither of them were rated for my ballooning weight.

Many tree stands have weight recommendations.  Now I don't exceed them, and I feel a lot more comfortable in them that I did a year ago.  And, it's easier to climb too!

I also avoided early ice fishing season.  Who would want to fish with me on the ice during such times?  Four inches of good solid clear ice is good for a small group as long as they aren't too close to each other, but if I weighed as much as a small group, I'd better have six inches under me.  That meant, you guessed it, that I'd pass up early fishing trips in the ice.  That's a great time to fish through the ice as the fish are still really actively feeding, and I was opting to wait for later ice when they became less active.

I won't be self conscious about pressure cracks being my fault on the ice any longer!

Trudging through snow, dragging my shanty and equipment, really became difficult too.  And while in my shanty, I had the same issue with dropping tackle, having to bend over to pick it up, even while sitting my my bass boat modified seat in my Fish Trap proved a real hassle to find what I dropped.  And, my belly blocked my view of fishing a hole near me or viewing my underwater camera.

Now, bending over to pick up this fish in my shanty won't result in me losing my breath, and I can more easily fish over the hole.

On the ice, one of the keys to success at jigging up panfish is to stay mobile.  You use your electronics and your auger to find fish, cutting lots of holes in a methodical calculated manner, searching logically for locations that you'd expect fish to be.  When I was heavy, it made me apathetic, lazy, and easy to stay in one spot, cozy and comfortable in my warm Fish Trap, not willing to move when the bite slowed.  Rather than fish several good holes, I'd stay on one good hole and wait for the fish to return rather than go find them.  This meant catching less fish than I used to because of my apathy.

From a health standpoint, my blood sugar and blood pressure were high, leading my doctors to think that I'd soon be on medication for type 2 diabetes, and more blood pressure pills to boot.  In addition, my back ached daily, and my feet would get sore on all day fishing trips, not to mention a lack of stamina to even climb the shortest set of stairs.

During my first run at losing weight, on the way down to 211 pounds, I walked fast, as fast as I could, everywhere.  This probably helped in my weight loss.  I'd make it my goal when walking in from the parking lot at work to pass as many people walking up hill as possible, at a brisk walking speed.  This past March, when I made the decision to change, my weight combined with my ankle injury, wouldn't let me pass people in canes or walkers (bless their hearts).  It became a viscious cycle...can't exercise, get depressed, eat more, gain more.

The only way I knew that I could lose weight was the low carb thing.  I've tried other diets, but couldn't stick to them for one reason or another.  Cutting portions didn't work either as I just didn't have the will power.  So, I opted for low carb again.  This time, the weight didn't fall off like the last time.  You see, on this diet, you're basically fooling your metabolism into thinking that you're starving, and it burns your body fat faster.  But, the next time that you try it, your metabolism isn't easily fooled, and it comes off a lot slower.

The first month, I nearly quit doing it, because it didn't seem to work.  Normally, on these diets, the "induction" phase lasts two weeks, and you drop about 10-20 pounds.  I was at five pounds...could have been only water weight.  But, I stuck to it anyway, and eventually saw improvement.  After induction, you add more and more carbs, but good carbs...from nature.  Limit or cut out potatoes, rice, beans, fruit, sweets and especially bread.  Doing that is difficult, especially since I LOVE to eat.

Prior to doing this diet thing, in my mind, the basic food groups were pizza, cake, soda, chips, and cheeseburgers.  And portion control really meant how much a paper plate could hold without collapsing.  I had a reason to celebrate and eat too, and those reasons came often in the form of office parties, family parties, my own personal solo parties, and holiday parties.  I was addicted to food.

Now that I'm back on my diet plan, and sticking to it, not ever cheating, things are starting to improve.  I didn't even have a piece of birthday cake at my birthday party!  I've lost 57 pounds and I'm now down to 215.  I have three goals, and I'm determined to reach all of them.  The first goal is to reach 211, now within reach, and I'm hoping that my metabolism will allow me to reach that goal within a couple weeks.  The 211 goal will tie the lightest that I've weighed since my marriage over 21 years ago.  After that, it's the 200 milestone.  I hope to reach that goal by the new year.  And my ultimate goal is to reach below 190, my playing weight when I played college baseball 32 years ago.  I know that I won't be in the same shape, but at least I can do more than when I started.  I won't stop until I reach that goal, no matter how long it takes.


Last month, I broke the 220 barrier.  At least now my weight alone didn't exceed the capacity of my buddy's Coleman Crawdad!

Already I am feeling the benefits of my weight loss.  Here are some of them:

1)     I can bend over and tie both boots and still breath, and take my time if I so choose. 
2)     My insulated rain gear bib overalls fit nicely, and actually zip up all the way without me having to lay on a bed and hold my breath to put them on. 
3)     I feel comfortable now in both of my tree stands.
4)     My hunting gear fits perfectly.  I can even get into some coveralls that I couldn't even zip up last season.
5)     My waders fit, and I can wear a jacket underneath without having to hold my breath to pull the waders over it.
6)     I can save money by not leaving inexpensive tackle items on the ground when I drop them, as I can now pick them up easily.
7)     I spend all day fishing without my back aching having to hold up that basketball belly.
8)     When fishing on my friends boats, I can carry 57 more pounds of tackle than before without adding more stress on their boat motors.  Or, put another way, carry the same amount of tackle as before allowing their boats to get on a plane much faster.
9)     When fossil collecting, I can actually see shark teeth at my feet.  Heck, I can see my feet!  I was wondering what the heck they looked like after all these years.  Man, are my toes ugly by the way.  The only drawback of that is that when I go to the beach, I can't rely on my belly shade to protect my feet from the sun.
10)     I can put my tree stand on smaller trees if I so choose, and not worry about the tree bending to the ground with me in it.
11)     When at the beach, people may no longer confuse me with a beluga.
12)     Health wise, seriously, my blood pressure is down, and so is my blood sugar, and I feel great.
13)     My clothing, from hunting and fishing and casual wear, to work apparel, fits much better.  I can button my shirt collar and wear a tie without my face turning red, or worse, blue.  And, when I bend over, I don't have to worry about a button shooting off and injuring my fishing pal.
14)     When ice fishing, pressure cracks happen all the time especially when ice is building, and when they do, I won't think that it's my fault any more!
15)     Finally, when taking fishing pictures, the fish will actually look bigger, or at least their true size, and, I won't need to use a wide angle lens for my fishing pictures.

Okay, so what about the future?  Will I go back to my old ways or stick to my plan?  Only time will tell.  But right now, I have no intention of going back.  This is a lifestyle change.  Moderation is the key, but so is continued will power.  I won't quit eating carbs, but I don't need three pizzas a week, by myself.  I can limit my intake to a couple slices, once in a LONG while.  I don't need two double quarter pounder with cheese supersize extra value meals along with a huge regular soda.  I can eat a normal size sandwich meal, with a regular order of fries, and a bottle of water.  I don't need ice cream or cake daily, or desert for that matter.  Instead, I'll opt for a fruit bowl and limit the intake of sweets for special occasions only.  I didn't quit drinking soda, but did quit drinking regular soda.  In addition, I limit my diet soda consumption to only a couple of them each week.  I drink a lot more water and zero carb sports drinks.

I don't want my blog or user name to represent my shape.  I'm tired of that, that part of me is over.  I'm feeling good and I want it that to continue for the rest of my life.  I'm enjoying my time outdoors again, and it's special.  There's nothing like it, whether it's being in a tree looking for that perfect shot at an ususpecting buck, or walking the bank of a terrific lake in search of lunker bass, or walking and wading a remote shoreline in search of that huge megalodon tooth.  The outdoors is life to me.

Well, let me restate that.  My family is life to me.  I want to be around, and be there, for my wife and daughter.  I owe it to them.  Along with that, the outdoors is life to me.

Interview with Gene Mueller, Outdoor Writer Celebrity

Gene Mueller with a fat Lower Potomac largemouth bass

Many of you that live in the Washington D.C. area probably are familiar with Gene Mueller.  My fishing buddies and I follow Gene's weekly fishing reports in the Washington Times along with thousands of anglers in our region.  Not only do we rely on his fishing reports so that we can better plan our own fishing trips, but we enjoyed reading his newspaper column for years and years as he shared his experiences and his passion for the outdoors.  For those of you from other areas, I'm going to introduce you to him so that you may also benefit as we have.  He is an outdoor columnist that hails from Southern Maryland.  For 35 years, his columns in the Washington Daily News, Washington Star and Washington Times fed outdoor enthusiasts addictions for fishing and hunting information and reading pleasure while being recognized many times with awards for best columnist, best feature writer, and best photographer.  This is really a treat for all of us, as I've had the opportunity to interview Mr. Mueller so that we could pass on his fascinating view of the outdoor world to you.  Currently, he writes the weekly fishing report for the Washington Times and has his own blog (both linked on the right side of this page and also at the end of this article).  So please, make sure that you check out his blog and also make sure that you add it your favorites so that you can check back periodically.  His blog posts include hunting and fishing news, articles, and political issues that affect our favorite outdoor pastimes.  Make sure that you go through the blog archive because I guarantee that there are several posts that would appeal to you.  His work shares interesting and captivating outdoor stories and often provides us with informative and important information about the sports that we all love.  So, on with the interview.  I hope you enjoy his answers to my questions as much as I did.  

FB:  How did you first become involved in outdoor sports?  How would you describe your initial development as an outdoorsman and who influenced you the most?

Gene Mueller:  I was born and raised in post-war Germany in the state of Bavaria where hunting and fishing among the mountain people is a way of life. My father, grandfather, uncles and cousins all hunted for roe deer, wild pigs, red deer and pheasants; some fished for the famous brown trout, a.k.a. German trout. That's how I got the "bug," and began to actually live a lifelong dream.

FB:  What is your fondest memory of the outdoors while growing up?

Gene Mueller:  Many years ago, I actually observed a deer giving birth to two fawns. I was sitting at the base of a big beech tree in Southern Maryland, planning to take a nap, which I do occasionally. A soft breeze going through the tree tops is the best sleeping "pill" in the world.  Just below me in a dense thicket, I noticed some movement and upon a little better gazing into it, spotted a big doe, dropping her first fawn. She did it standing up, kind of squatting a little. Then came the second one. It was a wonderful miracle of birth and I didn't move for hours, lest that doe became worried and abandoned her young. You never know. Eventually, was able to back out of there. My regret: No camera.

FB:  What outdoor celebrities did you look to as role models that influenced your development as an outdoorsman?

Gene Mueller:  I know of no outdoor celebrities that influenced me greatly, but I read everything the great Homer Circle (who eventually became a friend) wrote. He was fun to read and made me think that writing about fishing, etc., would be great.

FB:  You’ve done what many folks in the outdoors community would love to do, making a living around your interest in the outdoors.  How did you get your start?

Gene Mueller:  My favorite story and it's all true. Back in the mid 1960s I was a young man working for the Washington Daily News. The paper had an outdoors writer who once pulled the ultimate boner when he wrote a squirrel hunting column and actually said that the most beautiful sound in the world is a squirrel falling from a 60-foot oak tree after you made a successful shot. The sports editor was livid, fired the guy for being grossly insensitive, and asked me to write a squirrel hunting column. (I did not know what had happened because I had not opened the paper that day.)

I wrote a how-to column on an old Royal typewriter and along the way mentioned that if you hunt squirrels -- or any other game -- you owe it to your God to dispatch the animal quickly and humanely. In other words, don't try to be an Annie Oakley and go for an impossible shot with a .22 rifle that might only cripple the little animal. If you're not a good shot, use a 12-gauge shotgun and kill the little animal. The word "humanely" did it. I was told I'd be the new outdoors editor of the newspaper the following Monday. Then they told me what happened.

Gene with a large northern snakehead caught along
 the Lower Potomac River in July 2009

FB:  If you had to summarize your career as an outdoors writer, what would you say were your high points and low points?

Gene Mueller:  High points are the frequent congratulatory comments from readers who enjoy what you're doing and they're kind enough to say so, sometimes even to the boss, which can result in pay raises. Low points are the reverse of what I just wrote; whenever a reader complained that I wrote something that was inaccurate or did something that irked him/her. (It happens and you'd better develop a thick skin if you're going to succeed in the media.)

FB:  You’ve been an advocate vocally in your columns regarding political issues related to our favorite outdoor activities.  What advice would you give your fellow anglers and hunters on how to get involved to maintain our hunting and fishing privileges?

Gene Mueller:  Do what I occasionally do: Write letters of support or complaint to your Congressional, Senatorial, even state or county representatives, voicing your opinion --- but never do it in a threatening way. However, let them know that you and all your friends and family members support this and that issue and you wished that he/she would vote it into law, or whatever the action should be. Let them know that your future votes depend a great deal on how your representative "represents" you and your wishes.

FB:  What obstacles have you encountered during your attempts to enlighten your fellow anglers and hunters on politically sensitive issues relating to outdoor sports?

Gene Mueller:  That's a tricky question to answer. I'm not afraid to let people know that I'm politically conservative, hence have little patience with hare-brained schemes and proposals. That can run counter to the wishes of young liberals who simply cannot get it into their heads that there is no Alice In Wonderland and there are no magic solutions to many of the real problems that face us. 

FB:  As an outdoor columnist, you’ve had the pleasure of fishing and hunting with many local and national celebrities.  What outdoors experience with any of them was the most fun for you?

Gene Mueller:  Yes, I've been fortunate to hunt and fish with local and national celebrities, including Redskins pro football players, major league baseballers, even some huge national entertainment icons, such as the 1980s rock group, the Three Dog Night lead singer Cory Wells, and Nashville super star of the 1960s and 1970s, Ray Price. Among my personal friends are Ray Scott, the founder of the international Bass Angler Sportsman Society; also Brooks Robinson, the Hall of Fame Baltimore Orioles third baseman. Add also having had dinner with the President of Argentina, Jorge Videla, back in the 1970s-'80s. My most memorable experience with an outdoors celebrity was repeatedly fishing with Roland Martin, of the Roland Martin cable TV fishing show and appearing on a nationally televised bass fishing segment featuring the tidal Potomac River.

Gene also goes on to add:  President George H.W. Bush (the elder Bush) invited me to the White House to have breakfast with him and some other national outdoor writers back when he was in charge. He loved the outdoors press. I went and eventually offered to take him fishing. A couple of days later a White House wheeler-dealer called to set up a date for George, Sr., to do just that. We arranged to have him in a boat with a bass fishing guide, while I was in another boat following him around, shooting photos and exchanging pleasantries. He is quite a man. I was very impressed with him. All this happened while Secret Service agents surrounded us on all sides, even on land when we got close to the Alexandria, Va., shoreline. He caught one bass on a very cold day, but he was all man; tough as nails; never complained about the cold --- while we froze our ***** off!

FB:  Is there any one article that you’ve written that you are most proud of and why?

Gene Mueller:  In the late 1970s I wrote an article for the Washington Star (I was the outdoors editor at the time) concerning the plight of Louisiana's huge Atchafalaya Swamp that was in danger of being slowly drained by business interests that wanted to drill more gas and oil wells. It would have put an end to the Cajuns' crawfish industry, the great bass fishing in the swamp and would have affected thousands of small and large wild creatures whose home is the Atchafalaya. I went down there, fished with a Cajun guide, almost got into trouble with some back-woods Cajun swamp moonshiners. What a blast. My article won the top sports story among all the entries received from newspapers in the middle Atlantic states.

FB:  Many anglers and hunters are proud parents that love to take their kids or grandkids fishing.  Would you like to share some fond memories of those experiences?

Gene Mueller:  There are too many to list them all. Let's just say that my grandchildren (2 boys and a girl) are the light of my life and they accompany me whenever their schedules and mine allow it. All three love to fish, the boy, who is 13, will be trained to start hunting this fall.

Gene boats a Southern Maryland slab crappie

FB:  What was your funniest outdoor experience?

Gene Mueller:  A friend of mine who shall remain nameless hunted deer with me one icy winter day when I watched three deer walk straight toward his elaborate, roofed 6'x8' deer stand. I watched helplessly from a distance. He didn't shoot and the deer kept walking right past him. His answer: "I had on so damned much thick clothing, I couldn't lift my gun and bring it to my shoulder." He was right. I actually had to climb up to his deer stand and help him remove some of the goosedown jackets, vests and heaven knows what else, before he could move. He had taken a bag filled with spare clothes early in the morning and simply kept layering on more and more until . . . well, you know what happened.

FB:  What type of fishing do you enjoy most and why?

Gene Mueller:  I enjoy traveling to distant places, and the finest fishing I've experienced again and again were my outings to Brazil's Amazon region and its fabled peacock bass. That, and Argentina's golden dorados in the Parana River in the province of Corrientes. It's a tie between the two.

FB:  What type of hunting do you most enjoy?

Gene Mueller:  Sitting in a hedgerow blind with 60 or 70 Canada goose decoys in front of me, and me calling on an old wooden goose call that actually brings in a bird now and then. That, and sitting camouflaged from head to toe in my woods, scratching my call box, hoping my hen yelps entice a wild turkey gobbler to get within shotgun range.

FB:  Many anglers dream of that trip of a lifetime.  Have you ever been on your trip of a lifetime?  Where did you go and how would you describe that trip?

Gene Mueller:  See my Amazon and Argentina mentions above. If I had to suggest a trip of a lifetime, however, I'd probably urge everyone to book a fall outing to Alaska and fish for silver salmon, Arctic char and grayling. Alaska is America's treasure chest. Visit it before somebody tries to pave it over.

FB:  Looking forward to your outdoors career, what are you goals for the future?

Gene Mueller:  I've written several books. None of them made any real money to speak of. So my goal for the future is to write the great American novel, Hemingway-style, with lots of fighting, loving, fishing, intrigue, maybe a mysterious, voluptuous woman who'll say she will kill herself if I don't make love to her.

FB:  Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our readers?

Gene Mueller:  Yeah, check out http://genemuellerfishing.blogspot.com/ and also check my weekly fishing reports in the Washington Times, www.washingtontimes.com/sports/outdoors/.

Gene, thank you for sharing your time and some of your stories and wisdom with us. 

The Outdoors Calls Me - An Introduction

OK, before I let you in on what makes me tick, let me explain the title of my blog.  Fat Boy is my username on most of the forums that I frequent.  I picked it for use on one of the first forums that I joined many years back, Iceshanty.com.  I selected this name not because of a motorcycle, or my stature (although I tend to resemble the name now), but rather it was one of my favorite ice fishing jigs made by Lindy Fishing Tackle Company.  Here's a picture of a Fat Boy jig:

I've had a life long passion for fish in general.  I studied them as a kid all the way through college.  I am an aquarist and have kept many types of tanks over the years including freshwater tropical, freshwater local, marine and currently a brackish water local biotope, an oyster reef.  But most of all, I've fished since I was a young boy on the heels of my grandfather on his fishing adventures, for nearly 45 years.  I've been an avid angler for about 30 years now.

What do I fish for?  Well, I'd say that angling for bass is my favorite thing, whether it's largemouth or smallmouth.  I am fortunate to live in a great place with diverse environments that are home to these fish. 

I also frequently target muskie, walleye, stripers, trout and salmon of the Great Lakes and it's tributaries, crappie, yellow perch, and bluegills.  Heck, I love to catch anything that will bite.  Even on my bass trips, catching multiple species really is fun for me.  I've been fortunate to catch a lot of trophy sized fish over the years with many fishing buddies that have introduced me to opportunities to catch fish of a lifetime for many.  I'm happy to have many friends that fish with me on a regular and not so regular basis.

I've caught fish on all types of tackle, from baitcasting and spinning to fly fishing.  The picture at the top of the page was my first lake trout taken with a fly.  Prior to that catch, I've only caught lakers on spinning or baitcasting tackle.  In addition to the abundant fishing opportunities in my home state of Maryland and neighboring states, I've had the pleasure of fishing for trout in the Rockies and Appalachians, trout and salmon from the Great Lakes and it's tributaries, massive smallmouth from Lakes Erie and Ontario, and fishing on the ice in Wisconsin with my Iceshanty friends.  Well, you can tell what my winter passion is, ice fishing.  It's so much fun for those of you that have never done it.  Where else can you sit over a large school of biting fish without drifting away?  It's been a fortunate run for me that's for sure.  I hope to bring insight to those experiences and perhaps share some of the things that I've learned over the years.

Other hobbies of mine that will influence this blog:  I also love to bowhunt for whitetails, although being in the winter woods with my blackpowder is something special to me as well.  My daughter and I share a passion to collect sharks teeth and other marine vertebrate fossils in our region.  This competes with my hunting and fishing time, but is quality time with my daughter which I cherish.

Finally, I'd like to say that I'd like to dedicate this blog to my brother, Kyle C. Wilson, who passed away from a congenital heart defect at the young age of 36 a few years ago.  Although I introduced him to bowhunting, he wound up teaching me so much about deer hunting with the sticks and strings.  In fact, he had a knack for hunting those big bucks, many of which line my rec room walls. 

He was an outstanding angler as well, with a talent for catching muskie, walleye, and flathead catfish.  Kyle was an excellent bass angler.  Here's a pic of a nice walleye that he caught in my home state:

Kyle was an awesome swim coach too and many families across the country were touched by his coaching ability.  He believed in the pursuit of excellence at anything he did, and he obtained results too.  I miss him greatly.

Thanks to Bass Junky for turning me on to the blogging world.  His blog inspired me in addition to some great reading so make sure you visit his blog (linked on the left hand side of this page).

Now that we have the introductions in order, I'll be writing my next post.  I'm going fishing tomorrow, perhaps something worth reporting will happen.  If so, I'll have pics ready.  Until then, tight lines and thanks for visiting!