Sweet Home Alabama

BAMA JAM - WHEW HOOOOOOOOO ! Well, I can say I am glad alabama is not my sweet home! Don't get me wrong, it was yet another interesting people life experience to observe. Bama Jam, showed up, after 8 1/2 hours of winding through backroads from savannah ga to albany ga to lower alabama to middle alabama and then backtrack again, then when you cannot possibly see another 2 feet ahead in the dark around the blind turns and hills, you arrive in Enterprise, Enterprise Alabama. Got my booth, thought to my self, Self, this is gonna be one easy set up, I will be done in 2 hours, as both EZ Up tents cracked during the EZ Up process, I found the only replacement would be Sams, in Dothan Alabama, an hour away. The quick set up that started at 8 am quickly ended at 6 pm after a trip to Dothan, and then a set up in the humid alabamy heat in the 450 acre field, could they be expecting THAT many people? Yep, and they would have arrived if it did not rain off and on, every time we put out merchandise on day one and day two. Day One the only busy sales time happened just as funnel clouds formed, and Grace Potter and the Nocturals hit the alternate stage, the one band I was desparetly looking forward to seeing - so I sold a few things, missed the first 30 minutes of the set, and quickly went to dance in the rain, and the thunder, and the flashes of lightening that was like a disco strobe - front row dancin, I realized, a girl dancing alone in the rain in Alabama is like if a man with 2 heads, one being a fish, and one being a monkey, came walking in your workplace with a pizza and a poem - super weird! So I continued to dance, but the band loved it, and a few cool kids (like late 40's, and a guy with a walker and a 'hell yeah' flag t shirt, and one hippie girl) rocked out the rest of the show with me. (BTW she rocks, I love her!) Worked the next few days watching 40,000 folks drink, swear, spit, and wave flags, and military men (and women) grunting, and cheering and challenging each other to physical feats of strength with pull ups and push ups, and Charlie Daniels led a rousing I pledge allegience, followed by all his USA hits, it was moving and fun, and I have to say, one of the nicest group of folks. Taylor Swift got totally rained out, but she played, and Chris Robinson and Black Crowes, and Alan Jackson, and a Miss Alabama wet t shirt contest, and a few couples mud wrestling for braggin' rights, ended with a Kid Rock performance, which actually was kinda fun, but made me miss Steph and Jason. They sure love to be cowboys in Alabama, and by this point all girls were wearing cowboy boots and short dresses, and the boys were wearing, well no shirts, just a bandana and/or rebel flag cross their head. Kid played over an hour past time, leavin out none of his 3 hits, nor allmans bros ramblin man, or lynerd skynerd, or a cool song called 'let you love shine' very gospel, or my favorite, one I have been thinking has been noodled by Jerry Garcia many times, Cat Scratch Fever! oh hell yeah! All and all it was fun and interesting, but when we went to leave out at midnight after, traffic was backed up for miles, with this being a military post, each car was tested for DUI, about half the 40,000 came by car, the rest camped onsite to avoid this. We finally got out at 3 am to sit in traffic and arrive at the hotel at 5:30 am as the sun came up, and just decided to drive home. Charleston SC - you never looked so good! Still wired from staying awake this long, 36 hours now, and not a good meal in days, I am looking forward to a night of steak, vegies, red wine and early to bed! Missed fishing this weekend with all my buddies in Fourchon LA though, but last year, I caught an 89 lb Wahoo, this year, I was not on the water, but I think I still managed to get a record setting WAHOO! bottom line though, I met so many nice, real, funny and happy people, who in this military town, give up their husbands, their sons/daughters, their hair, to go fight for our rights to be who we are, and that's a pretty big sacrifice that I sure do respect, and thank them all for. peace love and hell yeah, USA! sk

Blue Suede Shoes

Well, since I am temporarily semi-retired from the fishing tour, I found a new tour, a world I never knew existed, the pro BBQ tour, they got sponsors, and equipment, etc. Just coming home from Memphis and enjoyed an evening at BB Kings on Beale street before I got to get in the festival working zone of 7 am - midnight vending shoes and clothes at the world bbq competition. Over 285 teams compete, in all categories, whole hog, wings, bbq, etc. Saw the largest group of unhealthy people ever, they are professional eaters! The guy set up behind us, big guy, I hear his buddies come up to greet him and they say, man you are looking good, what are you weighing now, he aswered, well last weigh in was 508, they said, how are ya doing it, and he said, I cut calories to 1700 a day and walk 4 days a week, but I really don't think I can get any smaller! Yep.
The other side of memphis was a darker scene, lots of abondoned buildings, homeless and gangs everywhere. First night in after a brutal wait to get set up in the knee deep mud, we walked to Rendevous, an established bbq house recommended by a vetern of bbq and travel, basement of a building, underground, laid back staff, old black man comes up, come sit in my house, we gots bbq, brisket, and chicken, get one or all, you get cole slaw and beans, that's the choices babee, as he slaps down two waters, a picher of coke and a pitcher of beer-he was fun and nice, singing and telling jokes as the room (one of about 6 dining rooms) filled up. Def. the best bbq we had in a long time, if not ever, we thought about getting out early each night if it rained and going back for another meal, but the festival ran until midnight or later each night, so our one meal a day consisted of mc donalds all night drive through! Last day of the event, one of our customers brought us plates of food from her booth, and Rendevous quickly got replaced by the nice folks from Brandon MS, homemade potato salad and cole slaw that tasted as good as ice cream, and the ribs and brisket, man, literally, melted in your mouth, followed by perfectly seasoned pulled pork, we were in food heaven! Enjoyed my only 15 minute break of the festival, late sunday am, and walked along the mississippi, current was rippin, and I thought, I wonder how long on a tom sawyer raft, it would take this huckleberry to float all the way to venice lousianna, bbq for lunch, gumbo for dinner, in one of my favorite destinations in the world-hmmm, my calculations were interrupted by a huge train chugging across the bridge of the ole mississip, kinda cool, I love trains!
No Elvis sightings - boo hoo!

Funny Team Names:
sweet swine o' mine (won the 10,000 purse)
pork fiction
tangled up in que
rub me tender
the pig lebowski
pork illustrated
count basie and the porkestra

and my favorite
big al and the butt rubbers

First thing when I get home: (in order of imortance!)
nelson! miss him!
pedicure - 4 days in the mud, dirt, and heat standing
shower
vegetable!
extra sit ups and crunches, maybe a 2 h our spin class,
100 times on a wall- I will not go all the way to Memphis for a BBQ festival again
buy a map, maybe a GPS
(long story, very repetative, but lets just say I saw all of memphis, top, bottom, middle, industrial, suburbs, and half of mississippi-daily)

peace love and pigs!

FLW Pro Nationals-Loose Lucy Sebago #1

WOW
WOW
WOW
We all knew it going in,
we wanted the win,
we felt the win,
we had the confidence.
Day One,
we worked our way through small fish and different spots,
and then magic happened,
we caught a decent fish,
confidence grew as we continued to fish,
then,
it all came together,
the fight was not much different than the others all day,
but when mike put the gaff in,
well folks,
things got more interesting,
in a big way.
He stepped to the mid of the boat,
and heaved twice as the big long kingfish emerged out of the water.
The boat aft our port,
our good friends, less than a football field away,
gasped and screamed,
as we all still could not see the whole image,
as it made the approach from water to deck,
WOW
big fish.
did not fit in the bag,
capt said, its time to go,
we have a 20 minute lee way if our ride is problem proof.
we rode home,
got back with 15 of those 20 to spare as the scales opened,
we all knew,
this would be a moment to enjoy.
Our fish weighed 57.10, just short of a personal best
for our team,
but just enough ahead, to take the lead, and secure a spot
in the top 5 on Sunday,
let the dance begin.
Saturday, weather turned, and fishing got cancelled,
we enjoyed a breakfast of too much food and bloody mary buffet\and capt Ed and Linda, poor little pincus, and Ramos Fizz, aka FUZZY RAYMOND.
We secureed the boat and bait and such,
thanks to many good friends for giving us their bait once they were
out of competition,
and I headed to spa Hard Rock with my super fun friend jen,
then we did camera stuff,
which trust me,
will be one of the funniest things you ever watch,
if you know us,
and really,
why would you read this if you didn't!
Jan 18th crew,
blah blah blah,
last day,
rough cold
cold rough
and then just cold cold cold
a whopping 38 degrees,
but we bundled up and froze,
to find the fish also,
were bundled up and not out gallivanting,
we moved around to our best ability,
and found a 20ish lb fish,
we ended up
after loading the boat,
taking it to wal mart parking lot for weigh in,
waiting, hoping, celebrating in our heads, and then
worrying,
the number 5 team,
weighed in a 39 lb fish,
therefore making us responsible for a 25.20 or better,
well,
we knew confidently our fish was 24,
but any more than that was just up to the fish gods,
we quickly sat anxiously,
nervously,
and for what seemed hours among hours,
to wait and sea.
I had already convinced myself that 2nd was good enough,
but knew 2nd is just the second loser,
I DIDN'T COME HERE TO LOSE!
27.7 it was,
we won.
Has been crazy since,
interviews, autographs (i know - right!),
and lack of sleep and overload of emotions!

But we planned our work,
and worked our plan,

Half of it,
our plan was and is,
to take both Championships in a row,

so here we are,
getting ready to do it again,
or die trying.

Many,
and I do mean MANY!
Thanks,
to our support,
our family and friends filled with good wishes
and congrats, on not only this,
but every time we fish a tournament,
and to Chris Blanton, the big bird and his crew of My 3 sons,
Bobby and crew on Cat Daddy,
Rick Ryan and crew on Crawgator,Jenifer who kept me sane and somewhat from getting nervous, thank you so much!
Mark Maus and Dell and Bill Platt(platapus!) and Joel and todd and that whole crew of Broxies,
Wylie at Yellowfin, and Myreon at Yamaha,
and that cute cajun redfish guy, can't remember his name,
and of course,
all the friends, that kept calling and wishing us well,
and last but certainly not ever least,
Karen, Mom B, and Mom K,
Gary, Jimmy, David, Rose, Peggy, and Glenda,
the Team!

love y'all!
peace love and fishing!

OKAY one more, with words......

Sorry, lots of photo's,
years of fun,
millions of memories,
and gosh only knows how many stories, jokes, and bonds of friendship amongst us, made us look forward all year,
to our yearly pilgramage,
to Capt Tony's,
where you did not have to be anyone, or anything,
just smile, and laugh, and meet new friends,
and old friends,
in a different light.
I personally felt a connection with not only Capt Tony,
but his off the beaten path bar of touristy Key West,
becuase it was locals, and down to earth folks,
and great sing alongs,
and the place where I and my friends,
still had more fun, than,
well,
anywhere.
Capt Tony, even at the last visit,
was vibrant, and happy,
to be in his bar,
the nicest thing he ever said to me,
after,
'you're the girl I wanna marry'
was,
'you, you and your friends,
(in his italian casanova accent)
you make my bar alive,
and fun,
and its like,
like it used to be in the day.
Come Marry Me!'
then he would grab for skin and such,
and smile for a photo.
I and Mike, were one of the few'yankees' ever invited to his home,
to play tuesday night poker, with the Key West Locals,
no one past Big Pine besides family was ever invited,
and I felt honored that we were considered,
Locals, in his town,
the town where he made Jimmy Buffet a star,
the town where he buried his anger at life and death,
in fishing and drinking with the likes of Ernest Hemingway,
his political agenda when he ran for Mayor of Key West,
was,t shirts, shorts, and warm hearts,
take care of your neighbor, and welcome the visitors.
He won by a landslide victory.

His daughter wrote him a letter in March 2005,
he gave me a copy of it one day,
and said, 'read this someday, not now, but someday'
TJ Tarracino
To My Father.
I am currently 18 years old, and when I was born, I had no idea that my family would so odd,
would be so different. My father is currently 88 years old and was 70 when my mother had me. I grew up my whole life with a father who could have been my great-grandfather in some other families. But there is a difference between my father and other people his age. His body is old, but his mind is as sharp as mine, if not sharper. I agree that people do stereotype others by age, .......growing up I would make new friends, and they would find out how old my father was, and they would begin to make presumptions about how he lives his life. Most people, like my friends, would start to create images in their heads about what my father looked like, they would picture an old man hunched over with a cane, no hair, and suspenders. But after they met him, they ended up thinking he was really cool, and how he wasn't how they excpected him to be. That is becuase my father never let himself fall under the stereotype of an 88 year old man, he has always been, and always will be, Capt Tony, and nothing else.
the point I am trying to make, is that in all of my fathers life, he never looked at an opportunity and said to himself, "I'm too old to do this, or I'm too young to do this" He always did what he felt, and said what he wanted. I have come to strongly believe that the reason why people find him so interesting is that he has never followed the same path as others have done at his age. He found his own path, cleared a sway, and has always fought through every obstacle until he could over come it. He is the definition of "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" I think he fought his whole life, just to be his own person, and to show people that it's okay to just be yourself.

This was written when Capt Tony first began getting ill,
and he passed it on to a few friends over the last few years,
he said he has never been so proud,
of his family,
his town,
and his own personal being.

Cheers,
sk.

Part Two, Capt Tony, THE Political Pirate

Double Issue, To Capt Tony, more photos, many years, many laughs

July August Sept Re Cap

WOW, ITS BEEN AWHILE!
So sorry, life has been crazy busy, so here’s a fishey recap of latest adventures:

Charleston King Classic
Did our match our fish weight, donating to Hospice of Charleston,
Raised over 4,000 with a little 22 lb fish, thanks to the tremendous response from friends, fishermen, family, local business’s, sponsors, and 105.5 the Bridge radio.
Karen, Chris, and the kids came up and helped out a lot! The cool crew of the Corbins, from Corbins Trailer Hitch fished with us as well as Jimmy flew in, and Gary drove up, great fun for a great cause!

SKA Pro Event Brunswick GA
Showed up from Shoe Show in Vegas in time to jump on the boat, we went against the grain of fishermen, and found a little spot, where we missed a terrific fish each day,
But our best buddies in fishing, Rat Pak, Darren, Big John, and the General, posted a huge fish on day two, to win it!
Karen and Chris were there, and we all enjoyed spending time together!

FLW Venice LA
Yep, story goes as usual, nasty weather, but good fishing, we just missed the top 5 boat shootout (again!) and placed 8th overall and enjoyed great fishing, rough seas, awesome Cajun gumbo, and hospitality and fun with the other teams,
OH, and a new Boat! Met and hung with jen and coley from raleigh, they were the other girls there, but we had big fun!
32’ Yellowfin, twin Yamaha 350, running fast, kinda miss that third engine, till we get to gas pump, and WOW, its perfect! Though we are being called Junior, MinnieMe, and Pocket Rocket. HMMMMM!

FLW Orange Beach AL
Showed up two days later than planned, due to Hurricane Hannah, Charleston was spared not only winds, but did get heavy rains, just enough anticipation to keep the city tourist free for about 5 days-ARG! Then we got to Orange Beach in time for the bands of Hurrican Ike, we were now weather cowboys, roads washed out, tournament was postponed each day, as seas topped 32 feet, yep, those seas in a 32 foot boat, equals no way! Those seas in a 100 foot boat would still be horrible and dangerous!
But we made the best of it, my new friend Jen, and Fish Fever Team, and the My Three Sons crew of Big Bird Blanton, Mr T.G., and Pig and Squirrel. We had pool tournaments, dance offs, and a bit of lazy river pool and waterslide days! We also had a karioke jam with Mike playing guitar on our condo deck, and me and Ed singing. We finally got to fish on Sunday, still had 9.5 seas every 6 seconds, so sporty was an understatement, we could only run about 14 mph, and we had to go straight into it for 62 miles-OUCH!
The monkeys did not make it, as Gary is on injured reserve due to a health scare, and I think Jimmy was just plain scared! But our giant, David Van Lent came to fish and we caught a whopper of a 17 pound fish, that was a top ten fish! At 2 pm, there were only 5 boats with fish, but last minute, in last hour, 5 more good fish got caught, and a few small ones, for a total of 17 total fish weighed in, unheard of in the gulf! We brought home a check for 10th place, and moved into 3rd in the Overall Year Standings. Ed and Sean on Fish Fever, with Pincus, poor little Pincus, are leading, My Three Sons 2nd, and us 3rd. So we hope to change that order a bit at the last event in Wilmington in October!

Peace, Love, and Fishing!

FLW Sarasota Pro Event

Enjoyed a few days of pre fishing and relaxing poolside and having a super bbq at the monkey mansion aka Mark Maus Family Compound, before getting a 2 day beating of rough seas and long runs! We ran day one from Sarasota to 38 miles out of Key West Harbor, it took us over 3 hours each way, we caught quite a few fish, biggest one being 28.08 and got some good camera coverage for the show. Day One we led the tournament with that fish, till the last 10 minutes and we got bumped to 2nd. Day Two the seas were nicer so we ran even further, we were 13 miles from Ft Jefferson, closer to Cuba than Key West, 186 miles each way. Even in calmer seas, you get sore going 50-60 mph just by hanging on for almost 8 hours. We had a BIG FISH sky on our first bait in the water, and he missed the hook. He must have been traveling fast, because he was 20 feet high out of the water and kept on going. That was the break we needed, then we had a 40 lb fish circle on a bait and tail cut the line. Our confidence was still high though, as we trolled around shrimp boats. We ended up catching about 20 more fish, all about 30 lbs, we really needed 35 lbs to get in the Final Five Fishing Day, and we just couldn't get it. We finished 8th overall, but brought home a nice paycheck for it.

Boat ran great, we were the first ones to the fishing spots both days by like 30 minutes or more. It is such a fast boat!

Our friends Ed and Sean from Fish Fever, won, and our buddy Big Bird Blanton came in 3rd.

TV Show to be called Off the Hook
http://www.204studios.net/fishme/fish.mov
copy and paste to see the trailer.
Got some good footage on all the boats involved this tournament.
Will start airing in about 5 weeks on Florida Sports Network.

peace, love, and fishing

Stink, Stank, Stunk (but not skunked!)

Jensen Beach Florida,
awesome accommodatins again this year, fishing, less than stellar,
one fish day one, zero on day two, but saw a few good fish caught.

Did a cool photo shoot for Sebago on the water, and accidentally assisted Darren Ratley in giving Mr Monkey Man Maus an ice water washdown at the pool one day,
that will make great tv, apparently monkeys don't like water like cats don't?
Go figure.
Enjoyed having my sister Karen and Chris in town, as well as many wives of the guys,
the ladies all stayed poolside, as it was rough and snotty both days!
I, not being a lady, enjoyed bouncing around the waves with Chris Chase on Day one,
though I think his fish catching mojo was actually buried in his spleen, or whichever organ was removed one year ago today,
but no worries,
we still enjoyed the fact that he is alive and able to be on the boat again!
Other celebrations included
Happy Birthday John Mott from Rat Pak Mr Tequilla Sunrise
and two years cancer free for my best buddy Tom Cheffo, who had just joined Mike, my lucy and shoe crew, Phil and Kelly and kids from Baltimore (homeless Phil), and Kent and Felicia Doobrow, and about 40,000 other friends at Merlefest Bluegrass Festival.
Didn't break the bank there either, but enjoyed the atmosphere, the festival, the friends and the music, but mediocre sales.

Onto Sarasota FL for FLW tournament this week,
can't wait, never fished that division before,
ready for a win!