Why I love fishin: Whats your stories?

[muddy]

I started fishing, for snappers,mackrel and blow fish, off the shores of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in the very early 60's. My dad, who was an Italian Immigrant, owned an Italian Butcher Shop and a part of a Pizza Place with a couple of uncles. He worked 61/2 days a week! He started to send Mom and us kids up to GREENWOOD LAKE NY/NJ Border,for the summers, to a bungalow colony full of NY Italians called CONTI's. My dad got me my first tackle box with a pocket knife, I proceeded to carve my initials into a neighbors tree/My dad made me go over and confess it was me and told me I had to cut the neighbors grass ( hand powered mower) for the rest of the summer. The neighbor owned a boat livery on the lake, buy the old 17 bridge, from which he had see me spend hours catching bluegills,sunnys,perch and the occasional pickrel.
His name was Brickner, he told me he did not want to interfere with my dad, but felt it was a bit severe. He told me if I would come by on Mondays to clean out the boats and primitive livewells, he would toss me a dozen minnows and take me out bass fishing.
So we go a few times with the minnows, he is using an old 3 ounce pyramid sinker and a rope, with color stripes on it to see the depth, when he brought up weeds, and it was deep enough, he said we fish here, I was getting an early lesson to stay away from the shore!
Anyway he is killing them on minnows, I am feeding fish. He ties on a #9Black and Silver original floating Rapala. AND MY FIRST BASS all 10 inches of him is on and I get hooked.

Now I have been fishing a lot of years, I lived in New Orleans for a time, and I sank into the desperate life of a 27 year active addiction, the last 6 years of that addiction there was no time for fishing, and then i wound up homeless.

Any ways a guy I used to get loaded with comes to the park where I am living and takes me to a 12 step meeting and i continue to go for 30 days and I GET MY FIRST CLEAN DAY!!!! I got clean in May, so a group of the older guys, who were retired would fish between meetings, they gave me a rod and reel and took with with them every day, no more Blow Fish, as the water was too dirty, but they kept me busy between meetings and fed me, got me some clothing and most of all we would fish and they would teach me how to stay clean.

When I made my 90 days they took me to my boyhood lake;Greenwood and 6 of us went bass fishing, I cried that day and when they handed me a calendar it was pointed out I had made over 200 meetings in 90 days and fishing had a lot to do with it

So now here I am 17 years and nine months later , still clean and still fishing. I live in rural PA now, soon to move back to my beloved Brooklyn. I have given a rod and reel to at least one guy getting out of jail or just getting clean , yearly since I got clean.
Now , so many have stayed clean, that several of us were doing this yearly, and we would get a big campout for 6 guys a year to get set up. We give them some basic spinning equipment, a few lures, have a couple of campfire meetings and host them and their 12 step sponsors to a weekend of fishing, and for many it has turned into a good ,clean passion

We formed int a Club last year SERENITY BASSERS, whose main Mission is to honor the fellas who hepled me get and stay clean , by equipping 6 guys a year.

I love bass fishing, never grew up from it IT IS THE ULTIMATE ANTI JOB!!!!!!
I went on some big lakes: Fork in TX.George and Champlain here, but in the end, even though we caught fish I prefer small bodies of water, with my 12 tinny and MinKota TM, period.

I catch some fish,have great company and do not like competition at all. We participate in no competions and are affiliated with no one, and i am grateful for all of this.