07/14/2026
I wanted to take a minute to sum up my weekend fishing the Josie's Gift by Uncle D's and Tomorrows Anglers events on lake winnebago. One of my passions in this sport is getting youth out.on the water fishing.
First off Josie's gift on Saturday. This was the first year I've been available to fish this event and what an incredible experience. My young angler was Liam, an incredible youngster that has gone thru so much in his young life having been diagnosed at 11 months old with Leukemia. He is a kick ass survivor with a true passion for the outdoors and especially fishing. I was honored to have Liam and his Dad Bob on my boat for the day, and what a day we had! Liam cranked in a big Catfish, and the 2nd largest Walleye of the event along with the largest 3 combined Walleye limit of the day out of all the teams! He was grinning from ear to ear and was watching the leader board on the Fishdonkey App like a hawk all day!
Knowing what he has endured it makes me so proud to have been a small part in his life journey thus far. I can only hope to be as strong and determined in life as he is!
On to Sunday and Tomorrow's Angler's kids tournament. My 2 youth were ready from the get go to head out and tackle some trolling. Jack and Evan and their Dad's climbed aboard and as team 38 we headed out of Skipper Buds towards Winnebago. Jack fished with me last year so he had some knowledge of the program but this was Evan's first time with me as a Captain. In no time both boys were setting lines and Off Shore Tackle Company planar boards like pros. Before all the lines were set the action started and it never let up! The crew had themselves one of those "tournament days" and they laid into a great sack of Walleye. For this event if you want to have a shot at that 1st place trophy you gotta find a respectable Sheephead kicker to push you to the top. For the last 90 min of the day the boys chose to go cast hair jigs to see about rounding up a bigger Sheephead. Just a few casts in and Evan stuck a good one at 5 pounds! The stage was theirs and the two boys were so jacked up about the day. The continued thanks I received from a pair of well mannered and talented young fisher men was phenomenal. The team took both the top honors for the biggest 5 fish bag of Walleye at just over 19 pounds and the added Sheephead vaulted them to 1st place overall with 23.77 pounds of total fish. I am pretty confident both boys were still smiling today!
Being involved in both these events always reminds me 100% why I became a fishing guide in the first place. Passing on my passion to youngsters like Liam, Jack, and Evan fills my heart with happiness. Knowing that youth like these fine young men will be there to carry on the sport gives me great hope for the future.
Big thanks to Dan and the entire Josie's Gift team for their efforts. And a huge thanks to Debbie from Mercury Marine for her passion and continued dedication to the youth of Tomorrow's Angler's, and to her entire team that works hard to make that event what it is!
If you have ever were looking for a way to give back to the sport of fishing and promote it to Tomorrow's youth jump in and get involved in one or both of these events you will feel the love back 100 fold!
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