LAB Memorial PUOSU VII 11/29 and 12/6

[MVP]

I have not posted that much on my previous trips being my work is extremely busy which is a good thing. I have also had my hands full helping take care of my parents. Dad will be 81 this Dec. and suffers from dementia which is getting progressively worse. My mom who is 76 and has been dealing with arthritis in her hands which makes it very difficult to do day to day activities which now take her 3x longer to do. She recently fell and broke some ribs from a recent fall which has not helped any. She is one strong German lady who does not no how to slow down as she is always worried about taking care of everyone else but does not take care of herself. I guess that is where I get it from. Add helping out with my elderly neighbor who I still help out and it does not leave much time in the day. Will try to put together separate post with pictures of past trips.

That is why getting out on the water and doing some fishing with friends is my Sanctuary. Blackfishing is my therapy as focusing on the bite seems to be the only time I am able to put everything that is going on to the side for a few hours while I am waiting for that right bite to swing at.

The weather Gods were on our side for a change and gave us a nice comfortable day at the rail with just a little flurry towards the end to remind us that Lab was watching everything that was going on. Want to thank Gerry for Keeping up the tradition and getting us all together. Great to see allot of the same faces as well as some new ones. I big thanks to Capt Bobby and crew for doing what they do best and giving us some extra time to give anglers the opportunity to put a few extra fish in their coolers. Might be just one of the many reasons why he is one of the best captains around and has cliental that is loyal to him and keep coming back.
To our sponsors for the great raffle prizes that helped us raise a lot of extra $ for the cause. We can always count on Sam the Sinkerman. Even though he is feeling not so great he still finds time to always step up to the plate. As we all know Sam is the Best. Special thanks to Yong from Jigging world for donating rod for the raffle as well as hats he gave out at the end of the trip. To say he was extremely generous would be an understatement. Just wanted him to let him know that we all appreciate his generosity. If you are ever up in Rochelle Park it would be worth your trip to stop into his shop as it is a fisherman's dream. Hookset came through with some great looking crabs as if you took the time to cut them right you had that nice couch bag the tog seems to love. Enjoyed speaking to Dale while helping him run the raffle and 50/50. Greatly appreciate all he does for us fisherman. Super nice guy. Wilson for being the official cameraman. Next year I want to see him catching blackfish. He is one funny dude. I am hoping by next year he will come out with a girls in bikini's holding up fish calendar. That would be hot stuff.

As mentioned before it seemed like only certain parts of the boat were on the fish even though I kept hearing Capt. Bobby saying I keep adjusting anchor to get guys on the port side into fish but it was a starboard side bite most of the trip no matter what he tried. I spent about half hour the night before drawing how I thought the boat would sit in the wind that they were predicting. My conclusion was port side for sure. Just goes to show you never know. It seems like Jmurr and Vinny were the only guys catching on that side in the back. Do not let these two guys fool you with all their shinannegins as they put together a killer catch that probably would have taken the team pool. That was even with Vinny taking his power nap.

Some guys you just could not help. Called Gerry over as I was getting bites and was hoping to get him a qualifying fish. I catch my share of tog but I am no Miracle Worker. Word of Advice to my brother from another mother. Keep changing your bait. Shrimpy came buy to ask me how the wife and kids were doing. It was so nice of him to ask. The only problem with that is that I am not married and do not have any kids. After he tangled me up I think he felt bad and went back to the front and gave me a few of his tog crack (hermits). If you can not catch tog on those it may be time to start taking up golf

I learned one thing about Blackish Bobby on this trip. Not only is he a great blackfisherman but he is even a better father. That is saying allot. I hope his kids appreciate how lucky they are.

As for me the blackfish gods were looking down upon on Saturday.
* High hook with 9 keepers
* Pool fish at a legit 10 lbs on my digital and 10.2 on Wills boga
* Gave my extra fish to guys who did not catch. Always have to pay it forward.
* Released the big girl to swim another day and give future angler the opportunity to catch their first double digit. Hoping the good Karma gets me the 20 I have been looking for.

Looking forward to next week as I can just hear Lab saying nice job MVP you have made a nice brides maid 2 of the last 3 OE trips but you will never be the bride. With those parting words I look forward to fishing with everyone next week.