Bill McElroy
Well-Known Member
I participated in this event this past weekend....it was my 4th in the last 5 years and 3rd in a row. The affect it has had on me both personally and professionally is unbelievable! A lot of top tour level Pro's were there,...like: KVD, Alton Jones, Mike Iaconelli, Shaw Grigsby, Kim Stricker, Kevin Wirth, Mark Zona, Kevin Vida, Art Ferguson, Terry Scroggins, Chip Harrison, Stacey King, Frank Scalish, and too many regional and local pro's to even mention.....atleast 50 Pro's total and 100 or so "guests". The "guests" pay to go fishing for 2 days with a different pro each day, and Life Line puts everybody up for both days and cover's 100% of their lodging, food, and each guest also receives a NICE gift pack with lots of donated stuff from tackle mfgr's and sponsoring companies, etc..etc. There is also a live auction and a silent auction, with 100% of the proceeds going to LifeLine. This year at the live auction alone, they raised $11,000.00!! (and that was for 8 items!!) I donated a customized S&T original, matted and framed, and that sold for $500 at the live auction. VERY COOL!!
I also had the privelage of taking 2 of LifeLine's sponsored kids fishing on Saturday....they are brother's and one is 21 and the other is 14.....the 14yr old is deaf and mute and it was the first time that either one of them had ever fished from a boat! I took them to a local lake, got them rigged up with spinning gear and tubes, and we went fishing!! It wasn't 15 minutes before "Eric" (the 14yr old) caught a nice Lrgmth and @ 5mins later, another one!! Then I caught one, and a few mins later, Matt (the 21yr old) caught 3 in a row!! Those 2 kids had the time of their lives!! Matt "interpreted" Eric's sign language and various "sounds" for me, so I could answer his questions and satisfy his "needs". At one time he wanted to go FAST, so we put the rods down and I let Eric wear my sunglasses (he didn't have any) and we went for a boat ride,....I wound that Ranger up to 65mph,....we did some tight turns and zipped around for a bit, Eric was squeeling with delight and pumping his fist like a mad man!! We ran around and back and forth and then went back to fishing. They both caught a few more and then Matt told me that Eric wanted to be back to the Great Wolf Lodge by 2pm so he could go to the indoor water park again before the 4pm "weigh-in". We got back about 230pm and Eric made a Bee-Line over to his LifeLine Guardian and proceeded to "sign to him" what a AWESOME time he had fishing and how much he liked his "pro" and how he had caught the MOST, and BIGGEST fish he's ever caught in his life!! His gaurdian told me,..."Eric was soooo excited about the day, that he was having trouble signing as fast as he was thinking......it was like he was stuttering with his fingers and hands!!....you did one helluva job with those kids!! THANK you!!".....I just told him,....."No,..THANK YOU, for the opportunity to do something like that for those 2 boys,....Matt is a helluva big brother and everything he thinks and does revolves around caring for his little brother,....I was really moved by that.....THAT is why I participate in this event every year...it's awesome!" Several other staff members from LifeLine came up to me later that day and told me how much "Matt and Eric" enjoyed their day and how t hey can't stop talking about the boat and the fishing. It was a grand slam of a weekend!!:wub:
You should all take time to check out the link below and think about participating next year if you can,....either as a "Guest" or a "Pro",.....what started out 6yrs ago with 5 Pro's and 10 guests, has now grown to 50 Pro's and 100 Guests,.......we can use MORE!! And you just never know,....you may get paired with KVD for a day on the water. The 2 guys I took out friday, fished with KVD on Saturday!! They both told me,...."That was the best thousand bux we ever spent in our lives,....we WILL be back next year!!"
I'll post pix
http://bassfan.com/news_article.asp?ID=1482
I also had the privelage of taking 2 of LifeLine's sponsored kids fishing on Saturday....they are brother's and one is 21 and the other is 14.....the 14yr old is deaf and mute and it was the first time that either one of them had ever fished from a boat! I took them to a local lake, got them rigged up with spinning gear and tubes, and we went fishing!! It wasn't 15 minutes before "Eric" (the 14yr old) caught a nice Lrgmth and @ 5mins later, another one!! Then I caught one, and a few mins later, Matt (the 21yr old) caught 3 in a row!! Those 2 kids had the time of their lives!! Matt "interpreted" Eric's sign language and various "sounds" for me, so I could answer his questions and satisfy his "needs". At one time he wanted to go FAST, so we put the rods down and I let Eric wear my sunglasses (he didn't have any) and we went for a boat ride,....I wound that Ranger up to 65mph,....we did some tight turns and zipped around for a bit, Eric was squeeling with delight and pumping his fist like a mad man!! We ran around and back and forth and then went back to fishing. They both caught a few more and then Matt told me that Eric wanted to be back to the Great Wolf Lodge by 2pm so he could go to the indoor water park again before the 4pm "weigh-in". We got back about 230pm and Eric made a Bee-Line over to his LifeLine Guardian and proceeded to "sign to him" what a AWESOME time he had fishing and how much he liked his "pro" and how he had caught the MOST, and BIGGEST fish he's ever caught in his life!! His gaurdian told me,..."Eric was soooo excited about the day, that he was having trouble signing as fast as he was thinking......it was like he was stuttering with his fingers and hands!!....you did one helluva job with those kids!! THANK you!!".....I just told him,....."No,..THANK YOU, for the opportunity to do something like that for those 2 boys,....Matt is a helluva big brother and everything he thinks and does revolves around caring for his little brother,....I was really moved by that.....THAT is why I participate in this event every year...it's awesome!" Several other staff members from LifeLine came up to me later that day and told me how much "Matt and Eric" enjoyed their day and how t hey can't stop talking about the boat and the fishing. It was a grand slam of a weekend!!:wub:
You should all take time to check out the link below and think about participating next year if you can,....either as a "Guest" or a "Pro",.....what started out 6yrs ago with 5 Pro's and 10 guests, has now grown to 50 Pro's and 100 Guests,.......we can use MORE!! And you just never know,....you may get paired with KVD for a day on the water. The 2 guys I took out friday, fished with KVD on Saturday!! They both told me,...."That was the best thousand bux we ever spent in our lives,....we WILL be back next year!!"
I'll post pix
http://bassfan.com/news_article.asp?ID=1482
