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.

Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

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.

Well that's great news. And it means that this is turning out the way it was meant to. To make friends, raise money, and bring people together and have a great time. It it ever strays from that I will personally make the donation myself and go fish with friends.

As for sponsors this year. Well. I haven't talked to many yet but as per standing agreements from years past and to keep it short. THEY ARE ALL IN.

Also. Will be adding StormR as a sponsor.

Now. In case any of you forget JohnR is a huge supporter of this and gives us free run on making this happen. HE CAN'T BE THANKED ENOUGH.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Run to Home Base
 

It is really a trip that I will never forget.

This was last year's recap.
http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...ad.php?t=82892

The trip alone is worth much more than my winning bid...not even
accounting for the experience and skill of the fisherman with whom I
was sharing the beach with. These guys are the cream of the
crop and some of the best people you will ever meet.

Nowhere else can you find access to a week of guided fishing with
some of the best striped bass fisherman on the planet....and at the
same time, make a significant donation to the soldiers who have
sacrificed for us. Such an easy decision to make.

good form guys !!!!