3 month LUNGiversary / my own custom bait

This week marks 3 months since my transplant. It's crazy to look back to a year ago at how sick I was, how depressed I was. It's even crazier to think I had a major surgery only three months ago and I am already getting back to fishing. This week was intense between doctor appointments and tests, then all the different pieces I had taking place for my business finally all came together. 

On the health front, all my tests came back great. No infection, no rejection, and was able to stop 3 more meds. I was anxious all week for today's Bronchoscopy to be completed and thankfully everything looks great. Physical therapy continues to make me stronger and my drop foot is improving each week. So I am doing great!

Business wise things have been great this week. My boat wrap was completed and honestly looks amazing thanks again to Fresh Ink Signs and Graphics in Orlando. All my reels where re-lined since most of them haven't been used in 18 months. My gear is all organized and the only thing that remains is cleaning the boat. Saturday will be the first launch with my boat in 18 months and excited to be doing it with some great friends. Then next week the charters begin, starting with some loyal clients I have had since my first year as a guide. I will be easing into these charters only doing a few a week as I continue to build strength and endurance again. 

The best part of the week and totally unexpected was the creation of my own custom soft plastic worm by the owner of Cache Custom Lures' owner Kent Thomson. Kent has a daughter battling cystic fibrosis and has done so much to support me with amazing hand poured soft plastics that put my clients on fish each charter. Today he revieled the "KP Craw". It's pretty bad ass that I have a custom bait named after me that others can buy. A bait I haven't fished yet but guarantee you it will catch trophy bass especially here in Florida. 

Like I said this has been great week for what has been a long and emotional ride. Stay tuned for some more photos and video from this week.

Changes have and will continue to happen

A lot has happened these past few weeks. I have deactivated my listing for a double lung transplant with the Mayo clinic. I am only listed now with Florida hospital transplant center. I really do not believe this decision will impact me in a negative way. I am still on the top of the list at Florida hospital, and deactivating my status at the Mayo will not impact my standing on the national list. In fact I am more confident then ever with the entire team at Florida hospital. They are a smaller and newer center, but the surgeons have combined over 30 yrs of transplant experience. If anything, having a smaller center means I know exactly who will be doing the surgery and because there are not hundreds of patients being seen by these doctors, I am getting faster answers and action when I have a health related event happen. I will also be able to recover from my house, so all the issues and concerns we had about having to relocate are no longer a issue. Since I deactivated my listing, I have had a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I will now be able to focus on my recovery instead of worrying about the dozens of major factors with having to relocate to Jacksonville. 

Last week I was asked by Florida hospitals PR team to do a live interview on Orlando's Fox 35 morning show. The story was focused on getting more people to become organ donors, and then I was interviewed live in the studio about what it's been like having been waiting for lungs. Here's a link to the story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp9FUrL5I20

It's been one full year since my doctor made the official request for a lung transplant evaluation. So doing that interview really reminded my wife and I what a fight it has been. It also shows how strong we are as a couple, it's not always perfect but I wouldn't have made it this far without her fighting CF right beside me. It was a nice morale booster, I have been a little down lately because we are getting close to the 9 month mark of waiting

Honestly this process and these past 12 months have really shown me what love really means, and what friendship really means. People have really shown their true colors to my wife and I, and I can say I have already begun reevaluating who and what my priorities will be in the near future and post transplant.  

One thing I can tell you will continue is what this website and blog was intended for....fishing. I will come back to fishing once I am recovered enough. Since I will look healthier and feel better I will be changing my boat wrap and logo around. Start fresh, but it will still be the great fishing and lake I was on. Having better health and even more confidence with my fishing abilities, will make for a great experience for my clients. I have been working on technique, learning more about large mouth bass and their habits, and some fun stuff other charter captains won't be able to do or just don't do. I hope to have to initial design work done this week, so keep an eye out for some updates. 

Like I say at the end of all my entries, hopefully this surgery happens soon. 

Still more tests

Well it's February and again I still have several tests and consults to complete before I will be considered for a lung transplant. This has been a very long and emotional process that was started back in December and was supposed to be completed in two weeks. I manage my disease very well and always stay ahead of the curve so having these delays, and major communication issues with the Mayo clinic really has me down and losing hope in the entire process. I was told last week that they will not even consider doing the surgery until my weight is 130 lbs, I have never weighed more then 105 my entire life. Since my lungs are only function at 22%, I am on oxygen full time and this poor lung function means my body is burning through thousands of calories per day just on breathing. Currently my intake is 6,000 plus calories per day, eating more is just not possible. I am looking into different facilities that will be more willing to roll the dice on the surgery, but my insurance will not cover it until mayo makes a final decision. That decision will not likely come until May.

Meanwhile I am trying to get on the water on a limited basis but as much as my mind and heart want to fish, my body physically won't allow it many days. I am doing all I can to make charters happen, but it is a day to day deal, so booking in advance is tough because I am not sure what will happen tomorrow let alone a month or two out. So for those that are calling, thank you! I won't leave people hanging, if I can do the charter I will, if not I will put you in the right direction to someone that can take you fishing. Thank you all for your continued support and patients with me!

Still not fishing

Well I had hoped that this month I would be back on the water at least part time doing some charters, but not so. I am however starting to feel better a little bit each day. Currently I am starting week 2 of being on insulin for my newly developed Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes (CFRD) diagnosis last month. I have noticed a difference in how I feel, but it is taking longer for my body and my blood sugars to adjust. My blood sugars are still on the high end despite taking the insulin. This will take a few months to get regulated. As for my lung infection; I was placed on a second IV antibiotic last week, and I have noticed a huge difference with having less of a cough, and feeling better in general. The only issue remaining is becoming short of breath very easily with any exertion. Some days are better then others, but I am still not able to do what's necessary to launch and finish an entire charter. My health care team is hoping this will improve once I start respiratory rehab. This is week 3 of trying to get started with the Rehab facility. It took two weeks for them to call my doctor and I back on a start date. So I have my initial evaluation Wednesday, and then hopefully start this Thursday. They are playing games with starting saying there is no room and it may take until December to get me started. This honestly has me and my doctor pissed off because patients being evaluated for a lung transplant are supposed to get priority even if it means bumping someone. So hopefully this therapy starts next week at the latest. This will hopefully give me that boost I need physically to get back to doing charters. So I am sorry to those who have called and I cannot take out, but I hope to those coming this fall, I can make these charters happen.

Bling, because I can

Life is short, so I have to say what made me laugh last night....every once in a great while, I look to see what the competition is doing. I really do not worry what other freshwater guides do, especially since I fish on a private lake, and I never see anyone. I have to say, I got a good chuckle from some of what I saw. Since I started, I have been harrassed by several guides over my low prices, and how I do things. I get harrassed, because I am young, and that I am from the North (as they put it). I havent received any calls or emails in a while. But when I get something, I take it as a badge of honor. I must be doing something right since I am still in business 8 yrs later. Anyway it made me laugh seeing them try and copy what I have been doing since day one.I used that positive energy to help me get through what I expected to be a bad day. I can't express this enough, I share my story about Cystic Fibrosis to educate and make awareness to a horrible uncurable disease, not to get pitty. Just this past month we lost a friend and young man that my foundation was helping to this awful disease, Eric was only 13 yrs old. Today I had to face the music and have lung function tests done to see where I stand. Like I figured my lungs have become worse, very bad actually. In March 2011 my lungs functioned at 35%, today it was 21%. I inhale with both my lungs, less then 1 liter of oxygen. A normal person or even a smoker of 30 yrs takes in 3-4 liters each breath. This would normally set off major alarms with the doctors, it sure did with me. This should have led to hospital admission, 24 hrs a day on oxygen, and a emergent appointment with the lung transplant team. However my doctor came into my room, without seeing the results, and said "you look really good". I chuckled and said you didnt see the tests yet, he then looked and reassured me that yes this is a serious infection, but there is no permanent scaring on the lungs from xrays back in 2011. He believes that with the aggressive treatment plan I am on, I should gain all this lost lung function back. I took this as a sign; I have dedicated most of my life to helping others, today I realized I need to dedicate my time towards my treatments, so I can continue to take care of the two most important people in my life; my wife and son. With this being said, I will take another few weeks to focus on my health, not fishing. I am hopeful I can join my friend this Sunday to fish a tournament, but I am not going to push my recovery.I haven't totally eliminated fishing from daily schedule. These past few weeks I added some Bling to my boat. I didn't get anything free from these guys, and I don't promote businesses unless I think they provide good customer service and a good product. That said, if you are looking for some boat bling then check out the LED kits from Blue Water LED. The kit included lighting for all my cabinets, livewells, deck lights, and even trailer. It will help in the early mornings and when I fish night tournaments, but honestly I did it because they look really cool. There are several photos below, and please check their website www.BlueWaterLED.com Thats the update for now, hopefully I can get back on my feet here soon.

Holy lung infection Batman!

Wish I knew how the fishing is, but for the last two weeks I have been battling the worst lung infection I have had in 9 yrs. I could not even walk from room to room without being short of breath. This past Thursday my doctor and I decided it was time to pull the trigger and use the strongest iv antibiotic as possible to get rid of the pseudomonas growth causing the infection. As CF patients age and get lung infections, the bacterias that cause these infections become resistant to antibiotics. This particular infection only has two antibiotics it's not resistant to. We were using the intermediate antibiotic Merrum but it wasn't doing a thing. So we called in for the hard stuff. I thankfully am feeling a little better each day, I was actually able to walk around home depot without oxygen and without being short of breath. I am hoping these improvements continue!

We did get a lot of rain from issac but it brought some slightly cooler temps, I mean like from 98 degrees to 94 degrees, but that little change will lower the water temps to where the fishing will get back to normal. I am disappointed that I can't do charters this holiday weekend but hopefully I can resume fishing next weekend.

Finally, awesome fishing !!!

The past few weeks has been hell on the water. Fishing has been slow, low numbers and nothing with any size. Yesterday Mark only landed a few fish...I was mad as hell and honestly lost sleep last night over the poor fishing. Thankfully today was awesome. I fished the same areas I fish all the time, areas that always hold fish. The conditions were they same as it has been the last three weeks, hot and 10-15 mph winds out of the southeast and southwest. The only change I did was fish the same areas but at completely different times.

The day began slow but Brian from Illinois stayed focus and fished hard, and at 930 he landed a 5 lbs 13oz bass on a Texas rigged sinko, again the same baits I have been using. Brian retied the hook, next cast lands a 4 lbs 10oz bass...2 casts later another fish at 3 lbs 13oz...then the very next cast another 3 lbs 9 oz fish. It was such a rush for both of us....in total Brian landed nearly 12 bass in 4 hrs, plus several that shook of the hook.

Again a awesome day and proof that my lake still has big fish, you just have to fish hard and stay focused when the water temp is 86 degrees.

On a health note, lungs seem to be improving, but I am now on 2 iv meds and 1 oral antibiotic for two separate bacteria infections in my lungs. Plus the 10 other meds I take daily.

The summer truth

For the past two month I have been battling a lung infection, plus tough fishing conditions. As for my lung infection; I have to take all my normal daily meds (12 different ones multiple times during the day) plus a IV medication 3x a day. Normally these infections wipe me out physically to the point that I get tire just by being awake, i have had a few of those days during this infection but I have been forcing myself to do something physical, usually working on or outside the house with various projects. I am also doing as many charters as I physically can do. This activity is helping me physically but more so mentally. I have several friends that are going through the painful evaluation to be added to the lung transplant list. It is a long, painful 2 week evaluation to become a canidate to receive a transplant, it is also tough mentally plus add the incredible financial burden pre and post transplant. Seeing my friends go through has really brought be down mentally. It has made me push harder to keep my lung function from becoming lower then 29%. Hopefully I will finish this run of antibiotics this week and start doing some serious excersing, like swimming and biking. Poor health has kept me from being able to do a lot of things, and I want to get back some lung function so I can do more with my wife and son. Something I haven't done for over 4 years because of health reason is fish a bass tournament, but this week I a night tournament. It starts at 5pm and ends at 9 pm. It's team style tournament, so my friend, a former guide with me at disney, asked me to fish it. My friend Mike is an amazing angler, I consider myself to be very good, but Mike has this special ability to make things happen. After the first 30 mins of fishing, Mike hit the jackpot spot. In five casts he landed 4 fish. The rules are 3 fish limit, no smaller then 14 inches, and only 2 can be over 21 inches. Top weight from 3 fish win. In those casts, Mike landed one that was just short, then one about 2 lbs, then a massive 8 lbs 9oz lunker, and immediatly after that fish, he lands another one about a pound and a half. It happened so fast, I had to catch my breath, and was just blown away by what he had done. We were unable to get a single bite after that, and came in 2nd losing by 5 oz, in a competition against 30 other teams. This has pumped me up so much. Now the tough news about my charters. I tell everyone this time of the year the truth about how my lake fishes. You will catch fish first and for most, but getting fish with size is hit and miss. Currently my lake temp is 87 degress, these temps are usually common mid to late August not early July. These hot temps make the fish sluggish. It doesn't mean they won't bite, but the big fish focus on moving very little and when they do, its for something big, so they don't have to feed as often. Now all my clients have different levels of experience, but I start their charters with me, all the same. I use weightless flukes and sinkos. These baits will allow the angler to get a feel for all the under water hydrilla (grass), and the suddle way the fish bite. Once they get a few fish in the boat, I will change to what baits and techniques they are familiar with, and focus on getting those trophy bass to hit. That has been the tough part of the job this summer. Latley more charters havent been getting that big bite and it really frustrates me. I expect to give my clients the best, that is why I am on this private lake, no one else fishes it. I assure you the lake has plenty of trophies, but the intense water temps plus the unusually strong winds out of the south have made all the fish so sluggish. Even when a big fish bites they are not holding on to the bait long enough for my clients to set the hook, or we get then near the boat and they spit out the tail of the bait. Again it has been frustrating me more then probably most anglers would be.This report might turn away potential clients and I understand that. I am very up front with how the fishing is, because as much as I want you to fish with me; It's more important to me that you have a good time, and that those that fish with me come back again. We have a long way to go before we see cooler temps, but I will continue to make all my booked charters fun for my clients.

Tough start to the summer season

Wow, what can I say about the fishing....I am working way to hard. Most anglers or guides will admit to having a tough time on the water. I am not afraid to say, "yes, the fishing has been tough, and numbers are under the normal for this time of the year." Here is what's happening.

A few weeks ago I had a lung infection that I thought was going to sideline me permanently but with aggressive treatments I bounced back quicker then expected, and these past two weeks I was able to spend a ton of time on the water doing charters. As good as it felt to be out, I have never been so stressed over the bite like these last two weeks.

Over the past month the water dropped 4 ft but went up 3 ft in a week. This sudden change with added northern winds have cooled, muddied, and turned over the water. It has slowed the bite dramatically. Typically this time of the year it's hot, light or no breeze in the morning making the lake like a sheet of glass. The bait fish comes up to the surface and the bass then school up and feed. This makes for great top water action....yeah that's not happening yet. Typically by late morning to early afternoon, we change up to heavier baits and fish deep drop offs usually with Carolina rigged fluke or sinko.....yeah that's not happening.

These conditions over past two weeks has forced me to constantly change baits and techniques each hour of every charter.

What seems to be the only thing working has been Texas rigged cache custom lures 6" green pumpkin candy xtreme stix. Now I say that so specifically because that is truly the only color they are bitting. I have tried sinkos, zoom super flukes, basspro version of the sinko, and tons of hard baits....but the only thing that has consistently worked is the xtreme stix.

Fishing areas extremely slow, and fishing areas at a specific time in the morning is what's getting my clients on fish. It's taking a lot of patience from my clients but they all have been hammering out fish. The numbers are lower then normal and same goes for size. The winds will be dying down and the rains will be letting up in the afternoon so hopefully I will start seeing that normal June pattern this weekend.

Lee from the UK (white shirt) did manage to catch a 4 lbs bass, it was his first time ever bass fishing, his second time ever fishing, and his first fish of the day.

Today Jose from Texas landed this 3 lbs bass late in the morning. Today was probably the toughest day of fishing in the last two weeks.

I am excited to have more charters this week and hopefully the fish will be just as excited and bite like normal.

Great numbers with a nice way to end the day

Today I fished with Eric and his 14 yr old daughter Sabrina from Wisconsin. It was a perfect day on the water, no wind and hot weather. The numbers caught were extremely good. They caught over 20 fish, and it was very even. Sabrina caught over 10 fish with watermelon fluke, and landed a good 3 lbs bass, but I screwed up the picture so I can post it. We lost a bunch of fish that shook off or just didnt hold the bait long enough. That would have easily made the numbers over 30 fish in 4 hrs. On one of the last casts Eric landed this fish, right around 5 lbs off a bed. Which was shocking because I thought the bass were done spawning but I came across an area with fresh beds and the end of the morning.

Have some charters later this week so hopefully these numbers continue.

The perfect day

After a week off the water from having diverticulitis, I am now trying to get past a lung infection. I am on 2 iv antibiotics which I have to administer 5 times a day and it takes 6 hrs of infusion time. That means while i am on the boat I have my iv meds running. It's been really hard to get motivated to do anything let alone charters but the fishing has been so good, it's hard to say no.

Despite feeling crappy this morning I pushed thru it and got to the ramp, I am glad I did. Today I fished with Terry ( who has had three awesome charters with me over past two yrs) and his friend Shawn both from IN.Terry is a cool guy and a very good angler. This was the first time I met Shawn and quickly saw he was also a very good angler and learned he is a marine. My dad served as a marine in Vietnam so the moment I saw Shawn marine corps jacket, I knew he was a great man. I was also blown away when he said his son is in the NFL draft this year so I am really rooting for him in two weeks. I meet really cool people being a guide but this was special. Seeing the pride in Terry's eyes was cool. I already bet his son going to the buffalo bills.

These guys had probably one of the best days I have had on my lake in a long time. The bite was on with a lot of smaller bass but they both had giants. Shawn landed a 8 lb bass with a watermelon seed fluke. It took a good 10 minutes to get her in the boat... I felt instantly cured, it was a big ass fish. The photo doesn't give the fish justice. I was still on my big fish high when Terry landed a 6 lber within 5 mins after Shawn's. The bite slowed dramatically after that but in the last hour we pulled a few more smaller ones in. Hopefully the charters I have the rest of the week produce like today.

Best of luck to Shawn's son, hope he gets that big money and one day a Super Bowl ring.

Terry's fish is the first photo, Shawn's is the second.