Rod and I were asked by Firetrol, one of our sponsors, to fish at Lake Bob Sandlin on October 3, 2009.  We were pleased to be asked to represent them in what was, in the past, a construction industry tournament.  The Associated Builders and Contractors had been having this tournament for 10+ years, averaging 40-50 teams per year.  This year, however, the Lake Bob Sandling tournament became the 1st Annual Big Stringer Screamer Bass Tournament, open to all entrants.  Since that was the case, we had some pretty heavy-hitting competition, including fishing guides!

The lake was closed to entrants for two weeks prior to the tournament.  After the off-limits, an optional pre-fishing day was scheduled on Friday, October 2, 2009.  We took advantage of this pre-fishing day to see the lake for the first time in person.  As per my usual pre-fishing researching routine, I had already obtained a lake map, studied it thoroughly, and gleaned any and all information that I could get off of the Internet.  I spoke with a couple of people who had fished Bob Sandlin in years past, but could find no one who had fished it in the last few years to gain any up-to-date knowledge.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Website, Lake Bob Sandlin is a 9004 acre lake near Mount Pleasant, Texas.  It is a moderately clear lake, with an average of 2-4 feet of visibility, with very little (approximately 3%) aquatic vegetation, mostly hydrilla.  Most of the cover is inundated timber, which was flooded by water when the lake was impounded in 1977.  In addition to the timber, there are a few fishing docks and piers.  Upon personal observation, however, in addition to the timber, there appeared to be a lot of grass and lily pads to fish around and through. There was a lot of that slimy grass that sticks to your hooks and lures, which some fishermen have dubbed “snot grass”, for obvious reasons.  I think that it is actually some kind of slimy algae growth.  At any rate, it is nasty to get off lures, and always seems to want to stick to your boat when you try to flick it off.  I’m sure every angler reading this knows what I’m talking about.  Anyway, ya’ll get the vegetation and fishing conditions background, I’m sure.

We launched Saturday, October 3rd at 6 am out of Barefoot Bay Marina near the dam at the east end of the lake.  Weigh-in was scheduled for 3 pm.  It was foggy and cold the morning of the launch, and Rod and I hung around the ramp until safe light when we could comfortably see to run.  As the day went by, it got very windy, and when the waves changed from white-caps to rolling waves, the ride got pretty bumpy.

Our fish came one at a time, on a sort of milk-run approach.  We fished the rip-rap near the rail-road bridge first, picking up several fish, but with only one weigher.  Onward toward the State Park, we fished around the timber along the main lake points, picking up a few more fish, adding one more weigher in the livewell.  Over at the radio tower we again fished along main lake points, and hooked into our biggest fish so far, who not-so-happily joined his buddies thumping around in the livewell.  Starting around noon, as the wind picked up the bite seemed to turn on, and we started hooking into more fish.  After culling through multiple fish, we finished out our limit in the radio tower area, and decided to call it a day and head to the weigh-in. 

Rod and I came in with a respectable five-fish limit and were one of the first ones in line at the weigh-in.  The creel limit was set at 14 inches, minimum, and we had a couple of pretty respectable fish, just no great kicker for big bass.  Our limit came in weighing just under 10 lbs, and we were pleased with our catch.  Unfortunately, we came in one place out of the money (the story of our lives).  We were proud to come in with a solid five-fish limit to represent our sponsors, especially Firetrol, who put forth a huge effort for this tournament!

Mr. David Ellis, representing Firetrol, attended the tournament.  Firetrol even donated all of the food and drinks for the festivities, including the huge barbecue rig on which the brisket was cooked.  The anglers and all of those attending the tournament were treated to a terrific barbecue meal, including drinks and beer!  All those in attendance sincerely enjoyed the nice spread.

As per usual, I would like to thank all of our sponsors for their support in making our fishing possible.  Thank you to Lake Fork Marina and Motel, Gamma line, Bayou Tackle Company, Steve’s Custom Props, Hawg Wild Custom Baits, Champion Boats, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Academy Sports and Outdoors, and Toyota Tundra.  Rod and I both would like to say a special thank-you Firetrol and Mr. David Ellis of Firetrol, for going above and beyond, especially in this tournament.  Check out our Sponsors page and links, and help us support our sponsors so that it is a two-way street.  Anyone who has any need for fire detection or suppression equipment should call David Ellis at 214-343-9200, or email him at dellis@firetrol.net.  Check out their website also at www.firetrol.net.  Before his life as a Professional Bass Caddy, Rod was in charge of many hospitals (67 at one time), and can tell you about David Ellis and Firetrol’s exceptional equipment and service.  I know that if Rod trusted them to take care of HIS hospital facilities and patients, they’re the best.  Please help us by supporting our Sponsors.  We only have sponsors that we really respect and believe in their products, so you can rest assured that if you patronize their services, you will be getting the best for your money.

The new schedule is finally out for 2010, and I’m so excited. Two of the tournaments are going to be in Texas.  That’s especially great news in the current economy, since the people at ESPN/BASS who are in charge of our tournament trail tell me that the majority of women in the Academy Sports and Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Trail (our official team name) are from Texas.  Yes, you heard me, the majority of women fishing professionally are not just from the south, but from Texas itself.  I think that says a lot of good things about the women of Texas.

The schedule starts at Wheeler Lake, in Decatur Alabama in March 18-20.  Lake Wheeler is part of the Tennesse River system, like Lake Guntersville, and is second only to Guntersville in size in Alabama.  Second stop is Lufkin, Texas at Lake Sam Rayburn.  According to the people at BASS, Big Sam, as it is affectionately known here, is the site of more BASS tournaments than any other lake.  We will be fishing Lake Sam Rayburn April 22-24, the week following the Annual Big Bass Splash otherwise known as the McDonald’s or Sealy Tournament, so that should be interesting.  Hope they leave a few fish for us to catch! In June, we head up to Temple, Texas to Lake Belton on June 10-12.  Lake Belton is one of the few lakes in Texas to have any Smallmouth bass in it, so that should be an interesting tournament.  Lake Sam Rayburn is mostly largemouth bass, but Lake Belton has largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass, so the fishing could be very varied.  It is also the first time in ESPN/BASS history that they have had a tournament on that lake at all, so the Women’s Tour is paving the way to new ground.  The final stop of the regular season will be September 16-18 at West Monroe, Louisianna, where we will return to the Ouachita River for the second year in a row.  We will be fishing in the fall rather than the summer season that we fished this year.  After the regular season is over, we will return to Lake Sam Rayburn in Lufkin, Texas on October 15-17, for the Championship.  The woman who ends up in the Number One Position in the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year Points Race after the Championship will again be going to the Bassmaster Classic in February 2011.  As in years past, the points from the lowest tournament will be dropped before determining which women are in the top 20 to fish the women’s championship in October.

Rod and I are both excited about next years’ schedule and looking forward to getting on the road again.  We are anxious to visit friends we made last year on the tour and make new ones this year.  It is both of our favorite thing about the Bassmaster Women’s Tour.

Loudest Lake in Tennessee

I’ll bet none of you thought I would lead with the simple fact that Old Hickory Lake is the loudest lake in Tennessee, in fact probably the loudest lake I could ever imagine fishing in!  I could do what everyone else does and say that Old Hickory is a beautiful lake full of beautiful scenery, gorgeous lakeside mansions, and a great place to fish, all of which are  true, but one of the biggest impressions left on me by from my time spent at Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville Tennessee, is that of a really loud lake.  I used to associate fishing with peace and quiet, but no more.  First of all, the lake is in the take-off and landing pattern of the airport, so you have low-flying airplanes to contend with.  Add in the noise of all of the mowing, edging, and weed-eating going on all around the lake non-stop, and the seemingly non-stop construction and re-modeling being done on lake-side lots and houses, and the picture gets even louder.  Now add boats.  Lots of boats.  Bass boats are the least of it.  Pleasure boats rule, including jet boats, and boy are they loud.  The grand finale of this 1812 Overture (remember the symphony as a kid? the one with the cannons?) is that Geese and Duck season opened while we were there.  At one time I actually thought that all of the people in Tennessee, to celebrate opening day of Duck Season, were required to take out their shotguns, and fire rounds continually starting at 7 am.  It was an amazing sound! I thought a war had broken out!  After awhile, it got to be too much trouble to even try to talk to anyone while on the boat.  I kept thinking “just shut up and fish”!

Pre-fishing

I actually had a good time pre-fishing, and was really on fish.  I learned a lot about the lake from Ranger Dave Watson, who I met while he was fishing with his mother.  He grew up fishing Old Hickory, and knew a lot about it.  He actually made me a custom-made jig that he called the “Fleeing Frenzy Jig” and taught me a “quick-frenzy” retreive that worked great during the pre-fishing.  I averaged about three to five good fish every day, especially once I started using that jig.  He has a website, www.rangerdavebaits.com, which probably shows some pictures.

Tournament time

When the tournament rolled around, I had Bonnie Ward the first day and Kim Martin the second.  We caught fish both days, but only Bonnie caught any weighable fish on either day.  Kim and I had a lot of fun though, she’s a hoot.  I’ll fish with her anytime.  We were all business during the tournament, but while we were waiting in line to pull the boat out of the water on Day 2, she told me stories from her time in Bass n Gals fishing days, and boy were they interesting.  She was one of the women really “in the trenches” fighting for womens’ rights to fish in tournaments.  I really admire all of the women who paved the way and made it possible for us to fish today.  I want to say “thank you” here and now to all of the women who did all of the work that makes women’s angling possible in the form that it is in today.  You are all very much appreciated.

Squirrels

If one thing made an impression on me at Old Hickory, I’d have to say it was the squirrels.  They really had it in for me.  In one area where I pre-fished one day, a squirrel started throwing nuts on my head everytime I went beneath a certain tree.  I know that sounds paranoid, but it’s true! It happened on more than one day in that area, so I know it wasn’t an isolated event.  It also happened during the tournament, so I have multiple witnesses. 

To sum up my four tournaments for my rookie year I can say this.  I tried hard.  I learned a lot.  I had a lot of really interesting (some funny, some not-s0-funny) experiences.  I met a lot of really great people.  I made a lot of new friends, both on the road and on Facebook.  I wish I could have finished higher in the standings, but for my limitations I think I did great.  I was worried at the beginning of the year that I wouldn’t be able to persevere, but I made it through all four tournaments.  I am really proud of myself.  I am really proud of my husband (who learned a lot too).  I am hoping to do better next year, that is, finish higher in the standings, but I am in no way ashamed of how I did this year.  I was a good sport throughout, kind and ladylike to everyone I met.  My parents were proud of me.  My husband was and is proud of me.  My children are proud of me.  That’s all I can ask.  I did my best, and I’ll be back next year for more.

From the Beginning

It is difficult to know where to start for this tour stop blog, so I guess I’ll start at the beginning - where the venue changed.  Actually, that wasn’t really the beginning.  Many of my fellow WBT Anglers had already been fishing our alternate site when it was announced that, due to the conditions on the Arkansas River, the site for the third tour stop for the WBT for 2009 would be changed to Lake Maumelle.  During my research for the third tour stop, while researching the Arkansas River, I, like many of my WBT colleagues, noticed that the river flows were consistently high and that daily Small Craft Advisories were being given, meaning that conditions were not safe for small craft to be on the river.  Of note is that many days there weren’t ANY craft, including the large barges, on the river.  This condition made many of us stop and think, “What if these conditions continue and we aren’t able to fish the Arkansas River when it comes time to practice and fish the tournament there?”  After asking that question, I started to research for alternate lakes, and felt that Lake Maumelle would be the closest alternate.  Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, BASS came out and announced that, if we weren’t able to fish on the Arkansas River, Lake Maumelle would be the alternate.

Pre-Fishing and Gnat-Eating

As tournament-time started to get closer and closer, it became time to commit - i.e. decide where to start pre-fishing.  After researching conditions on the Internet and asking all of the local fishermen that I could find in the Little Rock, Arkansas area, I came to the conclusion that the tournament was going to end up being on Lake Maumelle, so it was time to bag all of my Arkansas River fishing plans and baits and start concentrating on Lake Maumelle.

Rod and I arrived in Little Rock a week ahead of the tournament, as usual, and, after checking into our hotel went straight to Lake Maumelle to check it out.  It was beautiful!  There is one particular spot on Highway 10 where you come over a rise, and through a break in the trees see the lake down in the valley below.  It is just such a scenic place it is unbelievable.  I knew it was too good to be true when I first saw it.  Beautiful surroundings, beautiful lake, killer gnats.  Yes, I said killer gnats.  Here, they have a “special” species of gnats called “Buffalo Gnats”, probably due to either their size or their herding instincts, I wasn’t sure which.  One of the best things I learned at Lake Maumelle was a hint given to me by a local, Eugene Ethridge (more about him later).  He actually told me to use vanilla extract to repel the gnats.  Yes, you heard me.  You just apply it liberally, and when you quit craving chocolate chip cookies and milk, you know it’s time to re-apply.  It works great.  All of those things with real “bug-repellant” are just “bug-attractants”.  I’m not kidding, things with DEET actually seem to attract gnats and other bugs.  Those gnats bite and I’ve heard that some anglers are actually allergic and have had to go to the Emergency Room from attacks, so they’re nothing to laugh about.  If you don’t learn anything else from this post, the take-home lesson is this:  USE VANILLA EXTRACT TO REPEL GNATS WHENEVER YOU’RE FISHING!  Okay, enough on this subject

Tough Pre-fishing/Tough Tournament fishing

I would like to thank Darryl Thacker and Eugene Ethridge, both local firefighters, for their help.   Darryl was helpful in leading us to Gene, and Gene helped us with pre-fishing.  I can’t say enough good things about Gene.  He is actually an important guy at the Little Rock Fire Department, where he is some kind of Fire Chief, and appeared to be a very important and busy guy whenever we visited him at the Fire Department.   Whatever his official title is, he’s a great fisherman, and has lots of experience at Lake Maumelle.  He is not only an avid angler, but a very nice person, and Rod and I feel we’ve made a great friend in the Little Rock area.  Any failures I had in the tournament cannot be dropped at his doorstep, for he showed me lots of great spots and techniques.

When the tournament rolled around, it was almost like a comedy of errors.  I’ve had great experience with this type of tournament, and am beginning to feel comfortable in the “head comedienne” role.  I guess my non-boaters just get to play the “straight guy”.  First day, I fished with Kim Mendoza, a really nice young lady fishing her first year on the trail.  Right away, I knew I was in trouble when I wrapped up line in the trolling motor and had to remove the prop to unwind it, all the while with the wind blowing and the choppy waves making me seasick as I tried not to drop the little pin into the water.  I suppose everyone could have days like that,  but this one got better.  While going to the back of the boat to help my non-boater with a gut-hooked fish (those poor fish at Lake Maumelle hit the hook like they were all starving - it wasn’t her fault!), I somehow managed to kick one of my expensive, borrowed rigs overboard in about 25 feet of water.  I was sick about it, but managed to mark the spot on my GPS, for the possibility of later retrieval, and just kept on fishing.  We were on fish, but I couldn’t seem to bring in any weighers.  Kim did, though, and I was proud and happy for her.  The second day, I had Jennifer Rice, another really nice boater.  Whatever we did, we couldn’t seem to manage any weighers between us that day either.  We both caught a bunch of little fish.  So…two days of tournament fishing, zero fish weighed in.  It didn’t matter that I had caught a bunch of fish, and I think I’ll be happy if I never weigh another fish that is just 1/8 or 1/4 inch short.  It just is too disappointing to do it time after time. 

The good news is that my husband and Gene (with our tournament director’s permission), were able to go out and dredge up the rod and reel that I had knocked overboard.  I have to say, though, that my proudest moment of this whole tournament was that I talked Caprice Cherry, my co-angler from Day 2 of the Ouachita River Tournament, into bringing her own boat and fishing as a pro in this tournament.  She did well, weighed fish, and I was very happy that she came to fish with us, and proud that she came at my invitation.  I would love it if more women would bring their boats and come out and fish with us!

There’s a ton to get caught up on that happened during the Ouachita River stop, so I’ll jump right in and get everyone up to speed.

Prefishing Week (The Week Before the Tournament)

We got to West Monroe on Saturday, April 12, and immediately found out we had booked a hotel a long way from the tournament site.  We were lucky enough to get a room at the Jameson Inn, where Manager Karee Sketoe went out of her way to welcome us.  She even went so far as to have her husband bring her personal long extension cords from home, in case we needed them to hook up the boat.  I met another guest, Christy Hovious, who kept me company every day while I was doing my physical therapy.  She was really nice and from Tennessee, and I am going to look forward to seeing her again at the Old Hickory Tournament in September.  The staff at the hotel even made a “Good Luck” sign and guests and management alike came to the weigh-ins.  Their support was awesome and I really appreciate everyone at the Jameson Inn - I definitely recommend staying there if you are in West Monroe or any city that has one!

Monroe Fire Department - Firemen/Fishermen!

Easter Sunday was the first day that Rod and I had to scout out the river, so we went downtown in Monroe, and were at an old pump station downtown that overlooks the river when we saw a uniformed District Fire Chief.  It turned out that it was District Chief Mike Finkbeiner of Fire Station No. 4.  We asked him if he ever fished the river, and he said that it had been a long time since he had done so, but if we wanted to follow him back to the station, there were guys there who fished and might have some ideas for me of where to start. 

Back at the station we met the whole crew and found that there were several fishermen in the group.  We had a lively discussion about bass fishing and got a lot of good information and ideas about places to go on the river.  At that point, I noticed that the table was set for lunch and decided that it was time to go, so that the men at the station could have their lunch.  The guys then invited Rod and I to stay for dinner, and it was a sincere invitation, not the just polite kind that sometimes is offered.  They said they had plenty to share, and they weren’t kidding! It was the best Easter Sunday dinner that I have had in ages - Baked ham, sweet potato casserole, black-eyed peas, a cornbread/corn casserole and sweet tea! I was so full that I didn’t have room for the lemon ice-box pie offered for dessert.  I would like to thank all of the guys at Monroe Fire Station Number Four for a terrific meal and a great time.  Thank you to District Chief Mike Finkbeiner, Captain Jim Solley, Lieutenant Jon Green, Lieutenant Robert Pearson, Private Daniel Ezell, Private Carlos Wilkins, and Private Jason Fontana for an excellent meal, the terrific fishing advice, and just an overall fun time spent with everyone.  I would love to invite everyone to visit us at Lake Fork and go fishing with us here.  Lieutenant Jon Green was especially helpful, and quite the fisherman himself.  He was about to leave to go fish the McDonald’s Big Bass Splash at Lake Sam Rayburn in Texas, and also invited us to his Crawfish Boil at his house, which we were sorry to have to miss since we had to be back on the road on our way home. 

As soon as we left the fire station, we called our local contact with whom we were to fish the next day, only to be informed that he had made other plans since he had last spoken with us.  In a panic, since I needed some guidance on the 119.5 miles of river where we were going to fish, I called Jon Green and asked for some help.  He gave me the name of a fellow fire-fighter, Brandon Dunn, who he said was a very accomplished local fisherman who knew the area very well.  I had a great couple of days fishing with Brandon, and very much appreciated his guidance and advice.  He happens to have won the Bassmaster Opens Division on the Ouachita River and is about to go to Kentucky Lake to compete in the Bassmaster Opens Championship.  Good luck on Kentucky Lake Brandon!

After the loss of our local guide, I also called Steve Streeter, who owns two local baitshops called Toledo Tackle and is also the President of the Louisiana BASS Federation.  He was very helpful and recommended Mike Baker to help show us around.  We spent a fun couple of days with Mike, who even took it in stride when I hooked him in the mouth with a fish hook!  Since my husband’s name is Rod Baker, they took to each other and called each other “cuz” and we had great fun fishing and laughing.  Mike was also nice enough to man the “Rescue Boat” during the WBT tournament and was much appreciated for all of his input.

Day One WBT Competition

After my week prior to the tournament in preparation and study, and spending one day of the official practice by myself out on the water, I felt well-prepared to face this tough tournament environment.  Day one dawned windy but pretty and I was excited to set out with my Day one partner - Liz Sanders, a pro who has been on the trail for quite some time.  Interestingly, Liz and I had been corresponding by email and by phone ever since I had joined the trail this year and sent out an email to everyone in the WBT.  She is an embryologist, and I obviously have a lot in common with her from my prior career as an Ob/Gyn physician.  I was really pumped to have drawn my closest friend on the WBT circuit on only my second pro tournament.  Liz has a very caring nature and is “everyone’s Mom” on the WBT trail.  She has nothing but good things to say about everyone, and I love people who have such a positive, upbeat attitude.  We both caught fish the first day, but, unfortunately, Liz wasn’t able to weigh any of hers.  Like so many river fish, hers were just a hair short of the 12 inch mark needed to make them official.  I loved Liz’s attitude of knowing that she was a good angler, regardless of whether she had fish to weigh that day or not.  We had so much fun talking and fishing that the day passed by much too quickly.  Liz is the best co-angler you could ever wish to fish with, and I loved fishing as a team with her.  We were truly a team on the water, working together towards the goal of catching fish and being safe on the water.  I weighed three fish the first day and was thrilled to be able to go across the stage.  I finished the day in 23rd place, which meant I was in reaching distance of the top 20!  I was so excited I could hardly get through my physical therapy and get to sleep.  At the weigh-in, I was surprised to see so many fans, including guests and employees at the Jameson Inn where I was staying, firefighters, and as a final surprise, my Mom and Dad came for the tournament!  I told them they must be my good luck charm, since I really came up in the world after my shaky start at Neely Henry with all of my boat problems.  It was great to see my parents at the weigh-in!

Day Two WBT Competition

For Day Two of the competition, I had a local angler, Caprice Cherry, as my partner.  This was her first WBT competition, and I hope that she will decide to be in more, as she is very enthusiastic about bass fishing, and a very skilled angler also.   She also caught short fish, so was unable to weigh any of her fish, but I told her not to be disappointed.  In fact, I think that I was more disappointed than she was because I really would have liked for her to be able to weigh fish and walk across the stage in her first tournament.  She was very nice to talk to and I got to know her very well during the day.  She has a great sense of humor and because of the very gusty winds, we ended up with a lot of crankbaits up in trees, which we collected as we would leave a spot.  I went through a lot of crankbaits that day and even gave Caprice some of mine to use, as the bass seemed to be hitting on a particular color that she didn’t have.  Caprice was so nice that I found two crankbaits and a measuring stick in my boat when I went to pack it up that night - replacements for ones that had been lost and gone overboard - which I told her weren’t her fault - it was just what happened during a days’ fishing.  It was so sweet of her to replace the crankbaits and the measuring stick.  I will never forget her sweetness and look forward to seeing her in other tournaments.

One funny thing did happen during the day - I was getting frustrated at the wind blowing all of my crankbaits into a particular tree, so when it happened for the umpteenth time I jerked really hard at my line, hoping to free up the bait and not lose another.  What happened next I should have seen coming! I jerked on the line and freed up my bait, which flew through the air and embedded itself into my right calf.  Caprice tried to cut the slip-ring so that we could just leave the hook in my leg - it was embedded all the way up to the curve and I didn’t want to waste fishing time removing it.  After calling the tournament director for permission, a passerby with a sharp pair of pliers was able to cut off the hook and leave it in my leg, while another fan watched.  He just reached across from his boat while I stuck out my leg and snipped it free from the bait.  I taped the hook down to stabilize it in my leg and fished the last 2 1/2 hours of the tournament with a treble hook stuck in my leg.  I would like to thank Pam Martin-Wells for the use of her husband Steven Wells, who removed the hook from my leg after the tournament.  He is now my primary physician along the trail.  After the Bass Bite and the Treble Hook, who knows what will be next?  It’s a good thing I had just had a tetanus shot and been on antibiotics, though, so all was fine.

Interestingly, I caught three weighable fish and three short fish both days of the tournament, to finish with a total weight of 7 lbs and 3 oz and finished in 25th place overall for this tournament, which I felt was pretty respectable. 

Thank-yous to Everyone

I would like to end this with heartfelt thank-yous to everyone who helped me in this very difficult tournament.  The river was tough, but beautiful, and the people were terrific.  I visited all of the local tackle shops at one time or other, and want to thank them especially for their help.  At the Spotted Dog Sporting Goods in Columbia, Louisiana, I met a lot of nice people and want to thank Brandon Dunn especially, for taking us there, and Bob and Lori Wallace, the owners, for all of the great stuff I bought there, and for the terrific t-shirt you gave me.  Steve Streeter and Chuckie at Toledo Tackle are at the top of my thank-you list also, both for both of their tackle shops that I went to and also for helping me find Mike Baker to fish with.  Finally, David Owen at HoneyHole Tackle, thank you for your help and merchandise also.  I want to say a special thank-you to everyone at EK’s Marine in West Monroe, who worked on my boat several times.  Thank-you to E.K, Charlie, Misty and Glynn and everyone else there.  If you ever have any boat problems, EK’s is the place to take your boat.  Thanks to Karee and everyone at Jameson Inn, for your hospitality and support.  I want to say a special thanks to all of the guys at the Monroe Fire Dept, Station No. 4 for your hospitality and support.  Finally, thanks to all of my sponsors, Academy and BASS, of course, and my personal sponsors, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Lake Fork Marina and Motel, Firetrol Protection Systems, and Caves Jewelery and Champion Boats, for all of their support and help.

Final Thoughts

I knew from the first time I went through West Monroe and stopped at the Monroe/West Monroe Convention and Visitor’s Bureau that it was a friendly place.  The friendly and gracious women I met there were so friendly, especially Norma LeMoine, who sent me her husband Keith’s personal maps so that I could have some idea of the river system.  I was glad to see Norma at the PreTournament meeting and thank her again for her help and hospitality.  The Ouachita River System was a tough, but beautiful place to fish.  As I have told my sponsors repeatedly, the people I meet along the way are what makes the WBT Trail so great for me.  It’s so exciting meeting and making new friends along the way.  I’m really looking forward to the Arkansas River for that reason - it’s another chance to get out and fish and mix with people who have interests similar to mine in a fun atmosphere.  See you all at Arkansas!

Well, I never thought it would happen - I actually never thought about it at all, but the bass have now officially gotten revenge for all of their brothers and sisters that I have hooked in the past.  In my defense, I want to point out that every bass that I have ever caught was safely released live back into his or her watery environment, but I guess fish can hold grudges just for hooking them and taking them out of the water.  Apparently the humiliation of being held up for picture-taking has caused the less-photogenic members of this class of fish to seek retribution. 

It all started on Sunday, when my daughter Jenny was visiting me at my place at Lake Fork, where my husband Rod and I have been getting ready for the second WBT event at West Monroe, Louisiana.  Those of you who read my previous blog about how the first WBT event went will know that we have had quite a bit of work to do on our boat to ready it for the next round of river adventures.  Anyway, Jenny, Rod and I were bank fishing at Lake Fork Marina when Jenny suddenly got a bite!  Even though she is nineteen and actually likes to fish, Jenny doesn’t like to actually touch the fish.  Being the good mother that I am, I went to take the fish off the hook for her.  The fish had gotten the hook a little deep into its mouth, and being without a pair of needle-nose pliers on my person, I reached my hand down into the fish’s mouth in an attempt to remove the hook.  Since I worry about fish conservation, I was trying to remove the hook quickly, with as little trauma to the fish as possible.  The trauma came to the back of my hand.  I already knew that bass have those sharp little “teeth” that can scratch your hands, and I got a little puncture wound on the back of my middle knuckle on my left hand.  After appropriate pictures were taken and the fish was returned safely into the water, I noticed that my hand was itching terribly.  I looked down to see that the back of my hand was red and covered in raised, white welts.  It itched and burned so I did what any good angler would do in the presence of cool lake water - I stuck my hands in the lake and rinsed them off until the itching and burning subsided.  I thought no more about the event and went about my normal business.

On Tuesday night - I awakened with my left hand hurting, and noticed a blister on the back of my hand.  I had forgotten about the fish event, and assumed that I had gotten bitten by an insect.  After being awake and uncomfortable for awhile, I got an ice-pack and managed to go back to sleep.  Wednesday dawned with my hand red and swollen, with the blister expanding.  I used ice packs and alternately soaked my hand in Epsom salts, promising my husband that if I continued to have problems I would actually see a doctor in the morning.  Today is Thursday, and the hand was worse than ever this morning.  I broke down and went to the doctor, who drained and de-brided my wound (which made it burn like fire and hurt worse than ever!), gave me a tetanus shot and prescribed antibiotics.

I am now attempting to type with my hand red and swollen, wrapped copiously in gauze.  It is 1 am and I am still awake, primarily because my hand is hurting.  Hopefully, it will get better in time for me to fish the WBT tournament in West Monroe, because I have really been looking forward to it.  I have had to tell everyone that a fish actually bit me.  Many of my “friends” have laughed and said that I am always wanting to get bit by bass, so I should be happy.  Ha, Ha, I get it.  It actually is pretty funny when you think about it.  I can see the headlines now - “Bass Get Revenge by Biting Female Professional Angler”.   So far, my Professional Bass Fishing Career hasn’t broken any fishing records, but it has sure been filled with danger and adventure!   I can’t wait to see what happens next.

If any of you have ever seen the movie “The World According to Garp”, do you remember the part where the main character is looking at a house to buy and a small plane crashes into it?  As the Real Estate Agent starts to walk away, just knowing that the sale has been ruined, Garp exclaims, “I’ll take it!”  When his wife and the agent ask why he would want a damaged house, he blithely quips, “It’s perfect! It’s pre-disastered! Nothing bad could ever happen in this house now!”  The purpose of this little story is to let you know how my year with the WBT started.  I feel that everything that could go wrong already has, so I just know it’s going to be smooth sailing from here.

Immediately upon arriving in Alabama, we hooked up with Larry Estvanko, the Georgia BASS Federation President that we had met at the Classic.  Larry and his friend came all the way from Georgia and had dinner with us, and told us a lot about the local conditions on Neely Henry, and a lot of information about fishing on rivers, as I had never fished a river before.  I cannot tell you how much help Larry was, and he was to be more help in the week to come. 

My husband and I arrived the week before the tournament to find that we had some expensive boat problems to fix.  We called our friend Larry, who hooked us up with the nice people at Buck’s Marine, who worked on our boat several times during our stay in Gadsden, Alabama.  After our trolling motor battery charger was replaced our livewell pumpout  was also fixed by Buck’s.  We could not get ahold of anybody about our Lowrance problems, but after talking to Larry about it, he called someone he knew at Lowrance and called me with the free fix!  Thanks primarily to Larry Estvanko, we were ready to put the boat on the water for the first time in Alabama. 

A local friend, Gene Ward, was kind enough to show us a lot of shallow fishing spots, and with water temperature in the 60’s, we were really putting them in the boat!  On my last day of practice, I was culling fish with 10 lbs in the boat in only two hours!  I felt confident going into the tournament.  In addition, many nice local people helped us along the way, including Chief, who fixed my favorite Loomis rod that had broken a guide. 

While we were with Gene eating lunch on the Thursday the week before the tournment, the Vet’s office where my two Chocolate Labs Milly and Mudslide were being boarded called.  Milly was in renal failure.  She was not quite four years old and my pride and joy.  Despite every effort, we lost her the Monday of the tournament.  Mudslide was pining so much they put him with other dogs.  My daughter Jenny went and picked him up so he could go to live with his sister, Dora.   I loved those dogs so much.  I can’t tell you how much I miss them both.

Overnight, with rain predicted, Alabama Power drained out the shallows on Lake Neely Henry, and all of the spots that I was fishing in practice became sandbars or mudbars.  The docks were actually sitting on dry land and the rock rip-rap along the banks was actually several feet above the waterline.  Unless the fish had started breathing air, they wouldn’t be where I had pre-fished when I went looking for them on tournament days!

The first day of the tournament, I was up at 2:30 am, driving up and down looking at all of my fishing spots.  They were easy to see since they were all on dry land.  I had gone to bed studying the map and making a new plan to fish the main river, which was pretty much what was left.  My Day 1 Non-Boater was Nancy Oliver, a seasoned veteran who was so experienced that she could even read the boat’s electronics.  We fished one likely area without any fish, got stuck briefly, and managed to get out.  We went to a point I had pre-fished and Nancy caught a nice-sized bass.  I was actually happy that my non-boater had caught the first fish, because I was very concerned about that in practice.  It made me relax a little to get a fish in the boat.  Did I mention that it was steadily raining all morning and that my Goretex and boots soaked through?  I was shivering so much that when I stopped, I wasn’t sure if I was getting warmer or getting dehydrated.  Nancy and I later went downriver aways and caught some small fish, and I caught a keeper.  Nancy was the first to notice that the dash electronics had gone out.  Then the trolling motor stopped responding.  Following that, the front electronics failed, and then the trolling motor failed completely.  We motored to a boat ramp and tied off to a tree and fished it for awhile.  When I went to start the boat, guess what?  You guessed it! The battery was totally dead!  I kept telling myself all day that with the new battery and new chargers, surely the battery couldn’t be the problem.  I was wrong.  With all three turbines running full-blast downstream all day, my batteries couldn’t take the strain.  I waved to another WBT angler and Pam Bolton in her Yamaha boat was kind enough to tow us back to the ramp in time for our 2:40 pm weigh-in and for her 2:50 pm weigh-in.  I was really embarrassed being towed in, but at least I got in, and with fish, no less!  I really felt like I had had my trial by fire for my first pro tournament, and told the emcee that I was really proud of my first fish!

We had to leave immediately from the weigh-in to go to Brown’s Marine (since it was an electrical issue, Buck’s referred us to Brown’s).  I have to say that, once again, the people of Gadsden came through.  Several guys on the dock muscled my boat onto the trailer, without the help of any type of motor.  At least three separate people offered me the use of their boats the next day if I couldn’t get mine up and running.  After my husband got back from Brown’s, he reported that the boat was “good to go” for the next day.

That night, as I did my daily physical therapy (several hours on the treadmill actually felt pretty good after the cold, freezing hours sitting or standing getting stiff on the boat), I reflected on my game plan for the next day.  I studied my map again and made my plan - I was going to start Day 2 with a whole new attitude and forget all of the previous problems!

Day 2, my Non-Boater was Dawn Dudak from Chicago, Illinois.  She is younger and has three small children, and I really admire her for coming and fishing the trail.  We started in the area Nancy and I had caught our first fish the day before, and Dawn boated a fish.  I was so excited!  It was a beautiful fish, over two pounds and healthy.  We went south and fished where we had caught fish the day before, and both boated several smaller fish.  I kept noticing that the current kept getting stronger, and thought it was the combination of the three turbines running like the day before, plus high winds and floodgates also being open.  I started my trolling motor on 3-4, then kicked it up to 5, then 7, then was running full out at 10 (Max!), and noticed that I was losing ground.  Surely I wasn’t losing power again, after having had the thing serviced the night before!  I was wrong.  The trolling motor conked out and we were left to fish by pulling unto sandbars and dropping the PowerPole to anchor us and fishing around the boat.  I caught a nice keeper that I called “Deuce”, since he was my second weighable fish caught in the WBT Pro tournament trail.  That turned out to be a pretty good name, since he also weighed exactly two pounds. 

Throughout the second day, wet and shivering as we were, Dawn and I put on a good show for the people of Gadsden who had come to watch.  We spoke with fans along the banks as we fished.  At one point, I caught a big fish that I had to let go.  It was on braid and I made the mistake (with gloves on) of trying to pull us over to it using the line.  After tearing up my hands quite a bit and to the fans’ disappointment, I finally had to cut the line and let the fish go since I couldn’t get the boat to the fish to get it loose.  It was disappointing to me also, but I just smiled and said we’d just have to catch another big one. 

When Dawn and I were beached and fishing, we kept seeing the rescue boat going by.  We just kept fishing and smiling and waving.  We must have been pretty convincing that we were just out there having a great old time and not a care in the world, because my husband said that the fans that the rescue boat were riding around were reporting that we were having a good time and just steadily fishing.  No one could tell that we were having boat problems.  Once again, I only had one weighable fish by weigh-in time, but I was very proud of that fish!

Overall, I had a great time in my first WBT tournament.  I have had a trial by fire, and survived.  I have met many Boaters and Non-Boaters in the WBT, and they are a terrific bunch of ladies.  I have also met many of the WBT fans, and they are a great bunch of people also.  I want to say a special thanks to the incredible people that I met in Gadsden, Alabama.  These people turned out to watch us in not-so-great weather, were cheerful and helpful, and very proud of their town.  I would go back there in a minute, just to see the people of Gadsden again.  Thanks also to my Guardian Angel of this tournament Larry Estvanko.  I don’t know what I would have done without him.  Thanks, too, to Gene Ward, a terrific gentleman.  To all the guys at Coosa Landing - you’re a great bunch and I hope to see you soon.

Finally, I would like to thank all of my sponsors: Lake Fork Marina and Motel, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Firetrol Protections Systems, Caves Jewelry, and Champion Boats.  I did my best to represent each and every one of you and make you proud.  I discussed all of my sponsors’ products with the many fans that I met, and got a lot of very positive feedback for all of my sponsors’ products.  I am honored to be representing these great people and their terrific products.  Thanks for the opportunity.  I’m doing all of my pre-tournament research for West Monroe, Louisiana now.  I have high hopes for a better finish for my next tournament, but the excitement and people that I met in Alabama couldn’t be improved on.  Thanks again, Gadsden, and I hope to see you next year!

Prepwork

If  any of you managed to wade through my first post, you’ll see why my category is called “Ramblings”.  It’s what my husband says I do a lot of the time.  I can’t help it.  It just seems like I have a lot to say.  Rod and I are literally “living the dream” this year and I am savoring every minute of it.  I’m the kind of person who really gets into all the small details, and love getting everything organized.  There is something very satisfying to me about making a list, and going through and checking things off as I get them done.  Unfortunately, I don’t always get one list finished before I have to start a new one, with even more “to do” items on it.

“To Do”

I really can’t believe how much we need to get done before even throwing a hook in the water this year.  I am used to all of the organizational details that tournament prep takes, and Rod and I have that pretty much down to a science.  We each have our jurisdictions that we are in charge of, and we work independently and together as a great team.  It has gotten to where we don’t even have to discuss it anymore - we just automatically get it done.

Over the winter we got several things done to the boat in preparation for this years’ competition.  We meant to get a new wrap since the old one has a couple of scrapes, but time and money seem to be against the new wrap idea at this time.  I do need to get reservations made for the tournament venues.  It is hard to think about staying week(s) in a hotel, but I have to have someplace to do my physical therapy - i.e. someplace with a treadmill.  It’s too bad I can’t find any lake cabins for rent that have treadmills.  Even if I could find a 24-hour fitness club with treadmills I could get a temporary membership if the place where we are staying doesn’t have one.  I am mainly worried about our dogs.  We have two three-year-old chocolate labs (Milly and Mudslide) and I am worried about what to do with them while we are on the trail.  I would love to bring them along, since they love the lake, but unless we are renting a cabin I don’t see what I could do with them.  Even though they actually love the vet’s office where they board (since the office girls spoil them terribly), I hate to be gone from them myself, not to mention the incredible expense of boarding two big dogs when they charge according to weight.  If anyone reading this has any ideas, please comment.  I would really appreciate it.

Sponsors II:

I saw that Rod was concerned about getting sponsors in his blog, but I just feel lucky anyone would even talk to us this year about sponsorship.  We are really excited about the whole thing and have a lot of great ideas for things to do for sponsors, fellow anglers, and at appearances this year.  I am so appreciative of the businesses who have stepped up to provide things for us for the tournament trail this year.  I have “order tournament shirts” on my list also, but am mired in confusion about what to do about that also.  We don’t have all of the written commitments in from all of our sponsors yet, but the first tournament we are going to fish is on February 14, 2009.  In addition are the appearances scheduled at the Bassmasters Classic February 20-22, 2009.  I hate to go down to the wire with nothing even ordered yet.  If anyone can comment on where they have gotten shirts in the past, it will help.  One place I am looking at has the dye-sublimated shirts, which I heard are better since everything is printed on and nothing is sewn.  This place only has men’s sizes.  The shirts seem very expensive, however.  Does anyone know where to get the nice tournament shirts that are dye-sublimated, but that won’t cost us an arm and a leg? Please comment if you do, and anyone who knows how long these shirts take to make would be greatly helping me if they would comment also. 

Classic:

Having mentioned the Classic I would love to hear from some of you that are planning on going to the Classic.  I’ve never been before but Rod and I have been looking forward to this for years.  We are Lifetime Members and my appearances are supposed to be in the Lifetime Members’ Lounge.  Rod and I have a fun mini game show planned with giveaways from our sponsors, so I suggest everyone bone up on their fishing knowledge before the Classic.  That’s all the hints that I am going to give for now.

Hope to see and meet a lot of you at the Classic, especially my WBT colleagues!  .

The Beginning:

Many people have asked me to tell the story of how I ended up going from being a physician specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology to professional fishing.  For those of you who don’t know what an Ob/Gyn is, it’s a doctor who sees only women for women’s issues, like babies and hormone problems.  I’ve never heard of another woman Gynecologist, or doctor of any kind, who ended up fishing professionally.  Here’s how it happened, starting from the beginning…

A few years ago I had some knee problems, and doctors did a scope on my knee.  I got a resistant Staph infection and ended up on IV antibiotics and crutches for six months, and having multiple other surgeries and procedures to try to repair the damage from the Staph infection from the first surgery.  I ended up being worse after my surgeries than I ever thought about being before it, but through it all I persevered and continued my private medical practice as best I could.  I had started an office in Lancaster, TX in 2001, and was settling into the hospital there when I was challenged by the CEO of the hospital to fish in their annual bass tournament benefitting the Children’s Arthritis Foundation.  I learned how to fish, beat the CEO, placed second overall in the tournament, and learned I had a new passion - bass fishing. 

My knee problems continued, however, and it was discovered that I had ruptured discs in my back that were causing problems.  I underwent surgery for back fusion successfully, but during the recovery process, had a terrible fall, which messed up the hardware from the surgery, and left me even more injured than before.  Now I had problems with numbness in my hands and feet, more severe pain, and other problems.  A second major back surgery was unsuccessful in fixing the problems.  I developed even more severe nerve problems, and multiple procedures to attempt repair have also been unsuccessful.   Despite daily physical therapy, the pain, numbness and other problems continue.

Losing Everything:

I fell on September 28, 2004.  From there things went downhill.  Even with surgery and daily physical therapy, I never recovered.  Being left with numb hands made me face some hard facts.  I was not going to be able to operate on patients again, and even treating patients in the office was out of the question because I could miss important problems.  In addition, I was in uncontrollable pain and my bone wasn’t healing in my back.  My surgeon told me that it usually takes 4-6 months for bone regrowth after the type of surgery I had.  It wasn’t until a full year and a half after my surgery that the bone re-formed. 

After my fall and realizing I would never be the same again, I made the hard decision to shut down my medical practice.   Since I was bedridden and unable to work, I lost everything in my office to my landlord.  Bankruptcy followed, and I lost everything but my home.  My business, with all the equipment I had purchased, was liquidated by the landlord.  I lost my boat and even my car.  I was pretty philosophical at that point, however.  Since I was bedridden and my hands and feet were numb, I couldn’t drive anyway.  I also figured I’d never fish again.  Because of all of the hardware in my back and the extensive nerve damage, it is painful for me to stand or sit - (actually sitting is harder than standing) - so it was difficult for me to even sit in the car for long enough to go to my doctors’ appointments.  For the past five years, there have been plenty of months where the only times I have left the house have been to go to my doctors’ appointments.

Physical (and Mental) Therapy:

Since it was hard for me to sit in a car, even riding 20-30 minutes to do physical therapy seemed to take two steps back for every one step forward.  After a couple of years, we were able to put a shallow physical therapy pool at our house so that I could do therapy at home.  In the meanwhile I used a treadmill that sits beside my bed.  I use either the pool or the treadmill every day, depending on the weather.  I have found that if I feel too badly to do my therapy one day, it is even harder to get up the next.  Although I still spend about 90% of my time in bed, I have been able to build up my stamina and pain tolerance to where I can be on my feet or sit for awhile.  Not comfortably, however. 

My hands and feet are another issue.  My formerly pampered surgeon’s hands have become a mass of scars from the frequent injuries caused by the numbness.  All of the glasses in our house are plastic now, and we eat off of paper plates.  It’s hard to hold a grip when your hands are numb, something I learned to the detriment of our dishes and glasses.  I type incredibly slowly from what I used to be able to do, but since I can’t hold a pen and write anything readable anymore, typing is better than writing.  It seems the harder I try to do things with my hands, the more numbness I get.  As I type  I see the new scar on my left hand from my recent Thanksgiving incident.  Normally my husband does the cooking, especially involving things like ovens, but I had to do the mom thing and try to cook at least one thing for the big family Thanksgiving Dinner at my parents.  Rod painstakingly prepared the dressing according to my directions, but while the oven was preheating I decided to “help” and put the pan in the oven.  It wasn’t until I saw the smoke and smelled the burning flesh that I realized that I had my hand up against the bright red heating element at the top of the oven.  It’s been over a month since that third-degree burn, and it has yet to fully heal and appears as an angry red mark on the top of my hand, keeping company with all of the older whitened scars decorating my hands now. 

Accomodations to Fish:

It was my husband’s campaign to be able to get me out of the house for a little while to fish occasionally.  First he constructed a special bed  for me in the backseat of our pickup so that I could lay down to travel.  By laying down to travel, the pressure on my spine is minimized, and all that I have to deal with is just the bumpy roads.  Rod then rigged my rods with floaties, so that if/when I dropped them he could fish them out.  Next were rod and reel grips to increaase my sensitivity and help me turn the reel crank with numb hands.  he also taught me to “feel” the fish bite with other parts of my body, such as my abdomen where I now rest my rod handles.  He then taught me how to keep hold of the rod and hold my grip (it is more natural to relax a grip when your hands are numb), and encouraged me to change the rod from hand to hand so that I could work out numbness from one side to the other.  He tied on all the lures and put all the line on the rods, something he always does for both of us to this day without complaint.  It was also his idea to get back braces, and pillows and blankets to be able to lay down on the boat.  Because my problems with my feet make it impossible for me to use a trollingmotor foot pedal, he changed ours out and got a remote-controlled one.  I could spend the day listing the accomodations that my engineer/mechanic husband has dreamed up to help me fish.  It is absolutely incredible all the changes he made to accomodate my limitations.  The bottom line is that, after a fashion, I could fish. 

The next item a woman thinks of regarding any activity she is going to be doing is, “What can I wear?”  Rod was even the instigator of my getting different clothes to fish in since my old ones wouldn’t work.  Pretty much everything I wear now is pull-on due to my hands.  In addition, my knee gives me pain and problems, even just due to something like material rubbing  against it, so I have to be careful about that.    Sometimes I get brave and wear some of my old clothes.  It is all well and good to have your husband hook, zip and snap your clothes for you- that is until you have to go to a public restroom and can’t take him with you.  Enough said.

Even though I budget my energy and pain tolerance levels in order to compete, I have a down-time for every out-of-bed event.  Some days are better than others and some activities are more taxing than others.  It has been known to take me a week or two to recover from a day of fishing.  Now for the crucial question.  How am I going to fish WBT?

Fishing the Dream: The WBT:

Since becoming an angler, I dreamed of fishing professionally with women.   I learned as an adult that I am naturally competitive , and  I actually did  fairly well and held my own in fields of men, even with my issues.  In 2007, when I placed first in one of the hours and was tied for the day for the boat (top prize for under-the-slot fish) in the Berkley Big Bass Tournament on Lake Fork, I realized that I might be able to fish the WBT.  Since its inception, I had been following (and envying) the women fishing the tournament trail.  Following the trail news I found out that there were many retired women fishing, including an incredible 82-year-old woman.  I then found out that a pregnant woman given restrictions by her doctor was able to place second in the Championship in 2008.  There were also reports of women dealing with multiple other very serious health issues and still fishing the WBT.  Not only were there women, but there were women like me - who dealt with and accomodated their disabilities in order to fish.  When the 2009 WBT schedule and rules were posted, I voraciously read every word.  Once I found out there were four well-spaced tournaments, I knew I would have my built-in recovery time, so I decided to give it a try.

No Hindrance:

My major concern from the very beginning of deciding to fish the WBT was that I not be a liability to someone fishing with me.  Following the WBT guidelines as our example, Rod and I set out to fish tournaments with me as the boater and him as the non-boater, to make sure he could fish unhindered with me in front running the boat and doing everything I would have to do during a tournament by myself.  We have successfully fished many tournaments in this manner and Rod managed to win a boat last year, so we know that this arrangement works just fine.  Rod is still in charge of all boat maintenance, but he has taught me everything I need to know to pilot the boat safely, without undue jostling of my injuries.  The things I have learned have not only made me a better, safer boat captain, but will also ensure a smoother, more enjoyable ride for my non-boater.  I have learned that the adrenaline rush that the tournament setting provides helps mask the pain during tournament hours.  I only stay at hotels where I can do my physical therapy every day whenever I am away from home.  The WBT Trail of four tournaments and a Championship is spread over an eight-month period of time, giving me plenty of recovery time for each tournament.  I don’t need any special accomodations to fish, other than those Rod has already done, and I promise  my colleagues that I would never do anything that would hinder another woman’s ability to fish and win in her category. 

The Bottom Line:

The bottom line is that I enjoyed being a ladies’ doctor and have missed the socialization that is part and parcel of groups of women.  Even better is being with a group of women doing something that they enjoy.  I credit my husband taking me fishing as the sole reason that, when I lost my career and everything else, I didn’t become overwhelmingly depressed.  Even being predominantly bedridden and in constant pain has not done this either, since I have something that I can look forward to, even on my worst days.  I get happy every time I am heading to the lake to go out and fish.  You can ask my husband - he’ll tell you how almost every time we head out on the lake I will invariably say, “I forgot how much I enjoy this and how happy this makes me.”  And it does.