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Most everyone has an inspirational person in their life.

A teacher, a relative or mentor that helps to give direction to us as we fumble and negotiate our perilous way through life.

For me, that person was my sister Esther.

Truth be told, she was more like a mother to me. Making sure that her little brother who romped through life with little direction, and even fewer rules, had some form of caring discipline to keep him from straying to far from an honest life.

Some may argue that my being a fisherman and writer would make her a complete failure in her attempts to achieve that goal, but they would be wrong in expressing that notion.

Cancer is a terrible thing.

It took my sister from this earth at the age of 26. Breast cancer to be exact.

I was 18 at the time, and you just might as well have reached into my chest and tore my heart out.

Cancer at any age is scary, but to be told at age 24 that your life is in peril can be devastating. My sister handled it with the most dignity, courage and strength that I have ever witnessed. By the time chemotherapy, breast and lymph node removal,and the spreading to her bones had taken it’s toll on her, she looked like an eighty year old women-yet her smile never left her soul and she still only thought of others first. Right up to the planning of her own funeral.

Didn’t want anyone else to have to go through that trouble.

Esther was a teacher by trade, and a Saint by virtue. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from college, loved children, yet never realized that joy,having found out about the cancer just prior to trying for her first child.She never missed a birthday or holiday celebration. Esther loved life, was intelligent, responsible, overly caring, and generous.

Pretty much everything I wasn’t.

Breast cancer diagnosis and treatment was still in it’s infancy back in 1974. In fact, at first they told her to go home and not worry about it, that it probably was just some fatty cysts.

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

What does this have to do with fishing? What does this have to do with a fishing blog?

Everything.

An organization called Casting For Recovery, a non-profit group of support and education for women who have, or have had breast cancer, offers weekend retreats to help promote healing both physically and mentally while learning the sport of fly fishing. The retreats are held in natural settings and offer counseling, stress relief, as well as the gentle excercise that fly fishing offers.

Casting For Recovery offers these retreats at no cost to participants. They provide lodging,meals and instruction. They have volunteer physical therapists, psychotherapists,and professional fly fishing instructors on staff. Most of all, they offer dignity and hope.

If you are a true fisherman or fisherwoman, then you can certainly understand the value of using any form of fishing as therapy,and it is great to see a program like this exist to help women get back onto the road of recovery.

What can you do?

Go to www.castingforrecovery.org

AND GIVE.

If you have ever had or known a family member or friend who has gone through breast cancer, you will know the trauma and fear that comes with it- for all involved. But obviously, for the victim itself it is life changing at best, and devastating at worst.

I know it altered my life. Almost everything major I do in my life, still comes from my sister’s influence. Even my living in Oregon was influenced by a final trip we made together just before she died. Even her last months were spent giving me proper direction.

In many ways I feel that I am living two lives.

One for myself-and one that was never realized.

I recently finished my first book, The Fish Wrap, which is about the furthest thing I or anybody would have ever thought would come from my hands. By no stretch of the imagination would I even consider myself a professional writer, but the book was done as a fun project and it was done to honor my sister’s inspiration and is dedicated to her memory.

Also, as a dedication to her memory, I am going to give half the proceeds from the book to Casting For Recovery so that others can do what Esther never got a chance to do.

Recover.

Please give to Casting For Recovery.

A.J. Klott is a writer of fishing stories and the people that surround the fishing world. His first book was published in December of 2005, and is available at his website at:
http://www.twoguyswithflys.com

You can’t catch anything unless you get your line in the water. In life, you will accomplish nothing, unless you get out there and try to do something. Yes, you may come home from a long day of fishing with nothing to show, but on other days your pail will be full and your smile will be wide.

Fish often hide in unexpected places. I often catch the biggest fish in the shade of a submerged log, or at the mouth of an underground outlet that I can’t see. A helping hand, a good friend, a great job, a good spouse, the perfect house can all come from the least likely places - if you let them.

The big fish get away when you try to hurry. When I have a large fish on the line, and you know the type - the pole is bent so far it looks like a great big C - I get real excited and tend to reel in too fast. The line snaps, or the fish wasn’t properly hooked in the first place and I lose the fish - the whopper. Take time to do things right, and you will often be pleased with the result and you won’t mess up so many things.

A lot of little fish make an excellent supper. Many times I have started fishing and caught little fish and threw them back waiting to land something bigger. The whole night passes and I don’t catch a single big fish, but I threw away a dozen smaller ones. If only I had kept the small fish, I would have had a good supper! We pass up a lot of good opportunities hoping for the big fish when it never comes. But if we were take advantage of all the small opportunities we would get ahead and have something to show for our hard work.

You can miss a bite if you’re not paying attention. How true! Some of the best things happen in a flash and if you’re not ready, on the edge of your toes and expectant, your chance will be gone. And the worst thing is, we often think there will be a second chance.

If you talk too much, the fish won’t bite! When I was younger, and sitting in the boat with my father, I would want to pass the time by talking. My father would always respond in whispers and when he got real frustrated, he would shush me. “You’re scaring away the fish!” And it’s true; very few loud fishermen catch anything. Picture this: two fishermen sitting on a dock, their lines out in the water, and the only sound is the crickets in the high grass along the lake’s edge. The fish slowly swim in and around the dock. Each of the fishermen catch a few. Then up tromps the third fisherman, his loud steps thunking on the dock. He drops his pole and it clatters against the metal pilings. He turns on his boom box and tosses out his line. He asks the other fishermen how the fishing is and continues a running dialogue. The fish will be no where in sight! Wisdom comes from reflecting on the things we do and see.

Persistence pays off. Persistence and experience are often the same things. A good fisherman knows where the best fishing is. Why is that? They go out everyday and learn from experience. They try different lures and baits until they find what the fish are biting. Even if they don’t catch anything the first day, they come out a second and a third. A fisherman who gives up after the first day of fishing because he didn’t catch anything is not really a fisherman. They are just an idiot who went fishing one day. If you fail at something, keep trying. If you’re persistent, you’re bound to succeed one day.

Fish tales always seem to grow in the retelling. Life is better when it’s shared. Friends and family. They’re interested in your life’s stories, they laugh in good natured fun when you embellish a little. And they’re there to enjoy the spoils.

Seth Crossman is an award winning writer and the editor of http://theopinionguy.com. He is also the editor of OG’s Speculative Fiction.

Golf and fishing could not be more different but they both have something in common and that being is, how they give enjoyment and pleasure to all who participate in the sport. For most people they are hobbies and for others it is how they make their living. You can earn big money as a professional golfer. May I suggest if you do not play golf and think the sport is not for you then think again? The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

If it is the Rupert bear yellow checked pants, red jumper and blue cap that deters you from venturing onto the green then do not let this put you off. This is a familiar trade mark of most players who are comfortable with the Disney look. You wear what you are comfortable with.

Golf has to be one of the most laid back relaxing and enjoyable sports out there; if a sport can excite and give pleasure throughout a whole game then need I say anymore.

Learning to play is a great experience and can be great fun; mistakes will be made and no doubt this will leave your fellow golf partners doubled over with laughter. It will be easier for you to understand why this game is one of the world’s most popular sports by joining in.

Fishing,

If you intend to take up angling in the sea make sure you are in a boat, as you do not want to end up bait for most big fish.

Another peaceful sport is fishing. Imagine yourself sitting on the river bank with your fishing basket at your side fully packed with sandwiches and a flask of piping hot coffee. And to make the day even more special are the sedate and scenic surroundings accompanied of course by a flowing river.

The beauty of fishing is the feeling it gives as i.e. not having a care in the world. A very rewarding sport when the fish start to bite.
Fishing can become an addictive sport or hobby where you never want to go home, what is so wrong in that I ask unless of course you have a wife and kids.

How to cast a baited rod like a professional is not as hard as you may think, the right guidance tips and advice from an experienced person in this field will prove to be the best move you could make in acquiring these skills for your self.

Kevin Brovold gave me the inspiration that was needed to fulfill my dream of becoming a pro with his Golf Magic tips on the sport.

Choosing which sport to take up may cause problems. Problem solved do both.

http://www.benidormbeaches.com

Expert coaching willl help to achieve. Kevin Brovold became my mentor. I now enjoy teaching others.