The trip was better than can be described here. I got to meet some great new people, see some old friends again, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. It's about a 10 hour drive from DFW to Lincoln, but 9.5 of that was super slab so it seemed like less. Mike Otto and I carpooled home, and it definitely made the ride more enjoyable. We solved a lot of the world's problems, so everybody can relax now.

Bruce graciously opened his home and pond to all of us, and the lack of a defined agenda or schedule worked out great. After a talk from Bob Saturday afternoon, we all discussed our goals and how we planned to get there. Interestingly enough, sprkplug (Tony) was the only person that had already hit a home run. He had defined goals, a method of getting there, and a timetable. Despite what we all try to do, that's very rare thing. Great job buddy!

Friday for me was mainly spent at TJ's with esshup and TJ. I was very impressed with his ponds, fish, and future plans. Never have I fished any private pond where there was the possibility of catching so many different kinds of fish. In 3 or 4 hours 7 different species, all fat and happy, were caught and released. It was a great afternoon. The only burp was when TJ's neighbors started texting him asking what caused their windows to implode. At that point, it was time to leave and leave quickly.

Friday evening was spent at Bruce's, and I won't discuss that because one Pennsylvania attendee is trying to write revisionist history.

Saturday we all met at Bruce's place, and it was a wonderful day. Lots of fish were caught, and the indoor gathering made a perfect match. I will say this about Bruce's LMB. Never have I seen so many XXL LMB caught and released. Very impressive results.

Finally, we laugh sometimes about funny quotes like "here, take this I swear it's unloaded" or "I think I can jump that ditch with 5 more MPH". You can add "come on aboard the boat, it'll hold one more person no problem" to that list.

Upper end of Bruce's pond. Beautiful view.


TJ with one of his large HBG's


esshup (Scott) with one of TJ's SMB



Scott with a HSB at TJ's. IIRC just a shade under 10 pounds.


Mike Otto and a homeless person.

AL