Let's begin January 12^th 2009 - just over a year ago… My phone rings at the office, my Dad is on the other end… he says "Hi" and the phone goes silent… "What's up"? I ask. "I have cancer" he solemnly said. What a shock… Holy S#it!!! Well at that moment, my heart sank. Everything went into slo-motion, my face got hot and went tingly numb and I got the most overwhelming sense of fear, check that - sense of Terror I have ever experienced. "I start treatment immediately" he told me. I tried to be positive for him. You know, give an encouraging "you can beat this" speech, but looking back on it now, I don't think it worked out that way. We were both terrified… I can't begin to imagine how he felt having something inside that might kill him.

Thru my too-often waves of incessant denial of possibly losing my Dad, I got to thinking about time and how precious it was… Including all those clichés about life being short, live every moment like it's your last… blah blah blah,  a unique opportunity surfaced. WFN's marketing department conveniently came up with the WFN Father's Day - Fish with your Dad contest. You and your Dad fish with me and my Dad in Florida. A great way to let Dad see what we do on the road and a great chance to spend some time with him away from all the B.S. The winners were Roger and Rick Elsner a father son fishing team from Ontario Canada. 

 

I have to hand it to Rick and Roger. They were extremely patient while Dad went thru his cancer therapy… they waited months and months until we were able to fulfill the trip. And honestly, I was beginning to wonder if the trip was going to take place at all… between treatments and a possible major surgery, as Tom Petty sings, "the waiting is the hardest part" but both Dad and I were bound and determined to make it happen.

Fast forward to January 12^th 2010. I got another call from Dad - I later learned it was one year to the day of hearing he was fighting for his life. I picked up the phone and heard him say "Hi" in a regular kind of way. "What's up"? I inquire… "it's gone!" he nearly jumped thru the phone, "clean bill of health" he exclaimed. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders I had gotten accustomed to over the last year… I instantly had a new outlook on things… and we were going fishing!!!

The weather was terrible for Rick and Roger the day we were heading out targeting sailfish in Ft. Lauderdale Florida… We went out with old friend Capt. Jimmy Wickett in 25-30 knot winds and 9-12 foot seas… we kite fished for a couple of hours before we had to call it a day due to the inclement weather. Rick and Roger had never experienced saltwater fishing before so I think they got a real taste of what the ocean can be like… We did hook up with a peanut dolphin fish, but that was it for the day.   I think they had a good time, It's just too bad the weather didn't cooperate.

I was shooting a feature on the Winter Sailfish in south Florida so we had another day booked with IGFA COO Mike Myatt ( www.igfa.org ) and the Mercury Verado Pro team. (www.mercurymarine.com ) 2 days after fishing with Rick and Roger, the ocean laid down and we were presented with perfect sailfish conditions. Aboard the 38 foot Sea Vee pushed by Trip 300 Mercury Verados, Capt. Art, Capt. Scott Beattie and son Capt. Kirk Beattie put on a sailfish clinic. 

We had WFN Art Director Frank Russo, Cameraman Darryl Van Slack, our 4 hosts, my Dad and I on board for a total of 8. The boat was unbelievable! Ample room and a perfect fishing platform… we ran 6 lines out the back on kites and had 2 or 3 flatlines out the bow. A slow start soon gave way to an afternoon I won't soon forget.

About 1:30, 2 sailfish come into the kite spread. One hooks up and Dad fights his first sailfish. As I suit up to dive into the water with the underwater camera, I hear him yelling and screaming - seemingly having the time of his life… I jump into the water, camera in hand and document the fight from the fishes point of view. After a 10 minute fight, the 60 lb sailfish is released and Dad, keeping with tradition, gets wet after successfully landing his first sailfish.

 

 

 

Cameraman Darryl Van Slack and Capt. Kirk Beattie then locked horns with the 2^nd double header of the day. Darryl rarely gets to fish outside his cameraman duties so the look on his face during battle with such a sporty fish was truly worth the price of admission. Darryl's first sailfish resulted in a dunk in the pond - and I still smile recalling his excitement… I bet he still has this grin on his face.

 

So all in all, we went 6 for 8 on sailfish that day - (2 fish came into our spread but weren't interested in goggle eyes.) After Darryl got out of the ocean, we headed back to the dock. Cruising at 60 mph in the Sea Vee, I took a moment and thanked each of our crew. I was more than pleased to see 8 grown men smiling like it was Christmas morning, like they had just won the lottery… For me, I did win the lottery. We had one of the most epic days on the water to date, I was with good friends and most importantly got to share it with my Dad after such a tumultuous year.   The personal experience those gentlemen from Mercury and IGFA provided us will never be forgotten. All I can say is "thanks", Thanks to Scott, Kirk, Art and especially Mike - everything aligned perfectly.