Good work puppet. Going to be a trip of a lifetime.
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Yes,start catching up on sleep now.. Congrats!!
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Puppet. I will be in touch with you to help you plan everything. If you have any questions we can discuss them then.

Get in touch with DZ also. He has a copy of his book you want to try and read before too.
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Nice job and congrats, Steven!!... This trip is unbelievable and the knowledge you'll gain will last a lifetime! Have a blast, and bring a notebook!! Way to go, bud!
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Right on. I have to start making a list of things I want to ask.
I will pm DZ.

Thanks Man! I am so pumped!

Congrats Puppet!

Whoa ... awesome trip, awesome cause, awesome benefits - looking forward to the great recap ... catches, stories, pics, etc.

Way to go, was out of town for the last part. Can be nothing but awesome with these guys!!! At this place!!
Rick Seifert

Congrats Puppet I have your package ready for shipment and Enjoy the trip and enjoy the island. You will learn a lot and just have fun. JB.
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Congrats Puppet. You'll meet some great folks. Good luck.
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Very nice fundraiser. Congrats to all! Hope the fishing is epic!

Puppett - check PMs so I can work out your prize!

Congrats

Thanks guys. I spoke with Greg, Dennis, and Tom over the
weekend. It sounds like its going to be a blast. The more I
hear about the trip the more I am just blown away by the
generosity of all the people involved.

It should be epic!

I am so looking forward to the bucktails you selected. I received
my order I placed with you a last week for some canal goodies
and they look awesome. I cannot wait to use them.


Thanks. Very cool!

Amazingly generous bid! See you on the Porkchop!

Yeeeeeaaaaaaah!

I have been reflecting on this a bit, and I do not feel generous, as it
was the bid that I truly feel the trip is worth. With the extra days
added it is worth even more, but my budget capped out where it
did, and the auction played out in my favor.

The opportunity to rub elbows with such a talented group is really
priceless, and I see all of you and the sponsors as the ones who are
being so generous with your time and resources. You guys are the
ones with the amazing generosity. Thank You!

Best of luck and good all the way around for all involved.

This is Painted Rock - I took 2 days ago.

Just to get you guys in the mood.

That's nice. Thanks for sharing.

Any fish? was out there for the day Thursday (work related) and it was relatively stirred up in tight on the S. Side...

I have always wanted to paint that rock in a faux granite texture to make it look like someone replaced it with a new one. :hihi:
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Even though it is over, I thought a bump on Memorial Day weekend was appropriate. Everyone should be commended for being so generous to a worthy cause.

Caught up with the winner last week,,, Once again we have a GREAT guy coming,,, In talking I decided heck with waiting until the specific day and asked him to come Sunday night instead,,,, So it will be almost a week of fishing and fun,,,,

Puppet. Congratulations on your winning bid and I'm sure you'll have a great time on this noteworthy trip. While I've fished BI several times, I won't be offering you much fishing advice while I'm out there as you will be in the company of some real experts.

Actually, I'll be the guy getting off the ferry with rolling pins, pizza pans, fresh erbs, food stuffs, my espresso pot, and .... 6 black sluggos.
Anyway, I be cooking while I'm there and planning at least 1-2 major meals suited to your specific tastes. Feel free to PM me your food likes /dislikes so I can give the menu some thought.
Naturally, with the last name "Capone", Italian is my specialty, but anything goes. I hope to not dissapoint.

Frank

Right on! This trip just keeps getting better and better. Not to
mention Tom spent about 4 hours the other night giving me the
download on what to expect and some crazy stories from other
seasons.

Six nights of fishing. Its gonna be a marathon....I am really pumped!

Wow! Thats pretty cool.
I eat everything, so the canvas is yours. I am Looking forward to the feast!

Thanks Frank!

Well, as of 8:15am on Saturday, there were no reports of stomach illness, food poisoning, or anyone being evacuated from the island due to my cooking. As for the fishing and the good times, I'm going to defer Tom, Pete Lajoie, Toby, JLH, DZ, Chuck, Gary Soldati, Pat Abate, and all the others who spent time fishing with Puppet. I can only say that Puppet is a great person and was very appreciative of the trip.

Tom- great job sponsoring this 2 years in a row !!!!!

Frank your cooking was fantastic, and needless to say I had a blast.

I am on the road for the next couple of days...but when i get home I intend on writing up a report on the week and the fantastic experience I had on this trip.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all contributers of this trip. I am really humbled by the caliber of people both on the trip and behind the scenes.

It was awesome.

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It was an enjoyable trip for a great cause. Kudos to everyone involved. Steve (Puppet) is a very nice person whom I feel privileged to have met. I wish I could have found him some striped bass on my night out with him but it was not to be. But we did manage to have a great day sweetwater fishing for largemouth bass. Thank you to Chuck "Eelbob" Duval for renting the house, Tom and Greg for set up. Capone for some great grub - he even put a cherry on my pancakes - I'm a little worried by what that might mean ;) Pete Lajoie for finding the bass and sharing the location (real class act), Pat for some great stories and good company. Toby for finding some larger specimens.
Few photos of Puppet and some Block largemouths.
Thanks for the invite Tom.

DZ

The fishing was slow but it was a great group of guys and I thoroughly enjoyed my two nights on the island. Frank's cooking was great, no worries about going hungry on this trip!

Steve is a real nice guy and very passionate about the sport it was a pleasure geetting to fish with him I just wish we could have found some more fish while we were out there.

Thanks again to everyone involved in setting this up and to Steve for making the donation to a great cause.

Its getting to be that time a year again,,,,,,

Best thing about being a previous Winner of the Auction is You are invited back FREE to fish again during that week for a couple days,,,,,,,

I can't wait to see what this package looks like this year. This is quite possibly the single best thing in the entire surfcasting community. Really proud to consider you guys friends.

Fixed it for you..a trip like this is a dream trip. I don't think any winning amount is truly worth hanging around these guys learning from them.