Some of you may have already heard, but long-time member Skitterpop has been ill for quite some time now, and as a result has fallen on some hard times. Mike has been battling Diabetes for a few years and it has left him unable to work and support himself and his wife Karin. If anyone of you knows someone with Diabetes, then you know how debilitating it can be. I don't know Mike outside of the site, but I do know he has been very helpful and generous on many occasions to many people, including myself. When others are in need he is always one of the first to donate, even when he could use the extra cash.

So with that said, I would like to get an auction up and running to help Mike cover some of his medical costs. If anyone would like to donate plugs or send a check to Mike I know he would be greatly appreciative. If we could get some of the builders to throw in some goodies that would be fantastic! You can PM me for my address to send the plugs to. I will take pics when I receive them then post them on here in separate auction threads. I can also give you Mike's address if you would just prefer to send him a check directly. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me or ask in this thread.

I know Mike is embarrassed about his situation and would never ask for help, but he is one of the good guys and I think we should help him the best we can. Thanks for your support!

forgot to add: got the Bossman's approval on this :hihi:

Rob Bartolini

could someone make this a sticky please? thanks...

I,ll have some cash soon >.I hope .. if you raffle I,ll go there otherwise I,ll BIT to send a check ><>><><

thanks Mike!

Count BigFish in Rob...ship something out next week! Skitter should not be embarrassed!:btu: I wish him the best and any way I can help let me know.....plugs on the way!

And thanks to those who've shown support through PMs. there should be some nice stuff coming in!

Here are my contributions: first is a used, but in good condition, 704 greenie with extra spool. second is a slightly used Hab's squid popper. I'm sure one of you plug mongers could use it :hihi:

Thanks Bart, you're a good guy and so is Skitter

thanks Slip! you see the celts hit the big 6-0 mark? :uhuh:

If you're planning on having a raffle or something to raise money I'd be more than happy to offer a set of Custom Tied Fluke Teasers & a 4 Pack of Custom Tied Fluke Rigs as a prize to help out.

Ed

Pm sent

thanks Slip! you see the celts hit the big 6-0 mark? :uhuh:

Oh ya, watched the whole game :happy:

the response to this thread has been amazing, I'm having a hard time keeping up with the PMs! really goes to show what great people we have on here, and what a great guy Mike is.

I'm going to relax and watch PTI before class, but i'll be back on around 930 or so to reply to any messages. also feel free to post donations on this thread.

Please keep the donations coming. We can really do something great here!

thanks again,
Rob

PM sent Bart.

I'm going to hunt around and figure out something really good. At least equivalent of a new reel or rod, may be in the form of some pluggage

Maybe we can also have some fun and make someone moderator for a day in a goofy (non destructive) sort of way :bl::lasso:

Dozen rigged and ready to go 9 inch black sluggos. Perfect for the upcoming herring runs. Ill pay for shipping. Let me know Rob.

I'll scrounge something up when I get back from Florida...

-spence

4 needles, made by Mike of Mikes Custom Plugs, these are some of his earlier needles. Have done very well on these models, in the summer and early fall.

NICE WORK, Rob...............

As Skitts is truly ONE of the goood guys.
i've been wonderin' where he's been and am
sorry to hear about his recent debilitation.

this site has not been the same without his
witty repartee and his hilarious contributions.
sure hope his situation improves, with a QUICKNESS!

thanks for keeping us informed and yer efforts to
organize sum dough for such a generous gentleman!!

MISS YOU, Mike, get well lad!

You guys are the best! i'll get back to you as soon as I get home from class. Thanks again!

count me in bart per pm!

http://surfcasting-rhodeisland.com/merchant2/graphics/00000001/K-1100sm.jpg
One New Pair Of K1100 Korkers (http://surfcasting-rhodeisland.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SRIOTS&Category_Code=K) Plus free shipping - pay Bart not me.

I knew I could count on you! Way to step it up my man! thats an awesome donation from SRI. :claps:

Keep em coming guys and gals. Anything and everything, no matter how big or small, will really help out a lot!

Thanks again!

Thank you very much Bart, JohnR, and all the members here at S-B.com.

My wife Karin and I are so very thankful and deeply appreciative.

Best to you,
Mike

NIP 3oz RM for the cause. Good job Bart. Best of luck Mike.

Tony, you're the man brother :kewl:

Haven't had the pleasure of meeting Skitterpop, but enjoy reading his posts......I'll donate a couple of pencil poppers...someone please PM me and let me know where to send them

Bart I have a couple plugs to donate. Where are we sending them?

Great work kid!:cheers2:

Thanks guys! PMs sent.

If anyone picks something up over the weekend that they feel like donating please let me know! I'll start up the auction some time next week as many of the builders indicated that's when they would be shipping stuff. Thanks again guys!

Rob

Bart I'll put something together for mike.
give me a call.

Thanks Matt! PM sent...

a 7 3/4" - 3 1/2 oz afterhours polaris popper...let me know where to send it bart...best of luck skitter...

An almost new Abu 6500C3. Spooled with red PowerPro 50#.

I bought it new at Boaters World last Sept and used it on my boat twice. Never even been wet

Skitter was nice to me regarding something I'll not go into but I would like to repay his kindness.

Bart, let me know how to handle this. Auction, outright sale. PM me.

PM sent on a new RM Smith 3 ounce strider.

-spence

Getting some serious donations here! :kewl: Thank you all so much! PMs sent...

Bart here:

Auction: A tuna trip for 2 people in August, September, or October with me on my boat. I will take care of the bait, gas, etc. You take home all the fish I'll even cut it up for you. All you have to do is enjoy the day and hopefully reel in charlie tuna. No trips during the full moon because the fishing sucks. We will fish east of Chatham and leave early and return in the afternoon sometime. We will agree on a date that is good for all of us. Bid it up high for a good cause. If we dont catch a tuna fish I will take you out again on me. -Matt

Bart here:

Auction: A tuna trip for 2 people in August, September, or October with me on my boat. I will take care of the bait, gas, etc. You take home all the fish I'll even cut it up for you. All you have to do is enjoy the day and hopefully reel in charlie tuna. No trips during the full moon because the fishing sucks. We will fish east of Chatham and leave early and return in the afternoon sometime. We will agree on a date that is good for all of us. Bid it up high for a good cause. If we dont catch a tuna fish I will take you out again on me. -Matt



Great gift Matt!

People this will br a great trip.

Bid it up!

I bought two of the plugs started by Hab's Senior and finished by Junior. These will be auctioned off to benefit Mike. I will post the pics and the thread details tomorrow...

As usual >.im confused ;;

is there going to be one auction /or a bunch of small ones ???

IE << someone donates a plug > somelse bids $50 >>auction stops ><><><:conf:

Sorry, I don't think I was quite clear with my initial response. That's kind of what I was thinking MIke, smaller separate auctions, except hopefully there won't be just one bid for each of the items. :) But I'm open to other ideas as well, anything that will get Skitter the most money. I'm just waiting for some of the stuff to get here before I start posting auction threads.

John- that is very generous of you. Thank you very much. :kewl:

Matt(keeperreapper)- Wow, what can I say. That is one hell of a contribution. If anyone doesn't know by now, Matt is a tuna master. He will definitely put you on fish. Lets really try and raise some good money for this one.

Thanks again everyone and keep the donations coming! Even if you don't have anything to contribute you could always throw in a couple bucks to help me ship all this stuff out when I get it.

Thanks again!

Rob

Tuna Charter is up!

Thanks again everyone and keep the donations coming! Even if you don't have anything to contribute you could always throw in a couple bucks to help me ship all this stuff out when I get it.



Rob

Rob,to whom and where do i send a check?

Thanks.

I'm sorry if you haven't heard back from me, just walked in the door to find some really great donations already here! Please give me a little while to respond back to you if you've PM'd me, I should have everything squared away in a couple hrs. Thanks for your patience.

Can someone please tell me who sent the very nice Gibbs style pencils(yellow and white)? I couldn't make out the handwriting.

Thanks again guys!

from Strike_King, Bronko, and unknown. these will go up soon!

pencils!

Bart i have a bm cowboy i would like to give. PLease pm a address

very generous of you RJ. PM sent...

I put the Korkers in the classifieds. Money will still go directly to Skitter. Thanks!

Bart, I will pick something up this weekend and forward it to your home for the raffle - as a diabetic of 30 years, I have an idea of what he could be going through.

Bart, I have a BW medium surf bag that I'll send to you for the raffle

Thanks guys, very generous of you! see Pms :)

some "reel" beauties came today. :drool: I will put up some new auctions tomorrow. thanks again everyone!

Wow :( ...............Too much! Thank you very much everyone.

God bless,
Mike

Watch for some new auctions coming up today!

Hey Everyone-
I think that we are all set with donations at this point. If you would still like to make a donation you can mail Mike a check/MO directly, I can give you his information. I know that some people just sent out a few goodies as of yesterday so obviously I will post them and any other donation I receive as as they arrive. I still have a couple items here that I need to put up as well.

I just want to thank everyone here on S-B who either bid or donated in some way. I know from speaking with Mike, your contributions have really helped him out a lot. Once the auctions are over, I will figure out how much money we raised and write a more thorough synopsis of this whole experience. Thanks once again to everyone who helped out! :kewl:

Rob Bartolini

Penn 704 Greenie with spare spool up in the classifieds to benefit Skitter!

See the thread in the main forum. Thanks to everyone who participated!