TIGHTLINE CATFISHING and TENNIS COMBO!!!!

As you may know, this TIGHTLINE CATFISHING BLOG weaves together the strange combination of Catfishing and Tennis. So let me take a minute, on the "tennis side" of the blog, to thank all the incredible friends and family who have commented on the Hall of Fame Induction.

I was (and still am) shocked by the TX Tennis Hall of Fame induction. It is unimaginable to do something you love for 50+ years and then be recognized for it. When I was told this, my first thought was that my family should be inducted with me! They have sacrificed a lot, and I am forever grateful.

Here is the family at the induction: son Harry, niece Kelsey, sister Kim, daughter Alex, wife Leni, son-in-law Wil, daughter Ashley, son-in-law Nick, granddaughters Addelyn and Harper, grandsons Wilder and Owen, and my mom, Genny. 

Here is my son-in-law Nick and my Mom and Dad!

Here are some of my Hall of Fame friends - 

WOW! It's still so incredible to be a part of this group!

DAZY

 Not sure if the quote is exactly correct or not - Uncle CS wrote:

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can (change the catfish bait) start where you are and change the ending!"

God, Family, Friends

CHURCH UNDER THE BRIDGE!

It's one of the best TightLine Catfish Frying events of the year!

We estimated that about 100 people were served catfish this past Sunday morning.

This is Jimmy Dorrell. He and his wife Janet started Church Under the Bridge over 32 years ago! It started with just a handful of people (six!) —primarily folks living meal to meal on the streets—but grew to include a large and diverse group of Central Texas citizens.  

I became friends with Jimmy over thirty years ago through Tennis! 

It is a unique experience serving under the bridge...  CUB is visited by 100+ people every Sunday!

Black, White, Brown, Rich and Poor, educated in the streets or the University, all serving the same God, who makes us ONE!  

Visit the website when you can: https://www.churchunderthebridge.org/

Addelyn, Harper, Owen, and Wilder - four of our five incredible Grandkids!

Here is our daughter Ashley and granddaughter Harpy serving it up!

Between fry's, I get to hold our granddaughter Maisie with Addie and Ash looking on!

Here is Cindy (our son-in-law's Mom and grandma to Harper and Wilder). 

Cindy and her husband Carl are a big part of the process and help make it successful!

Here's another picture of the serving line...

Here is Odessey (a good friend and one of our Management Team Members at Little Caesars) helping Ashley, Harper, Addie, Jimmy, and Cindy serve up the folks.

Owen and Wilder are getting in a bit of cousin time, with a super secret catfish handshake.

Catfish Fry with Co-captain Rick!

There is no telling how many Catfish we have caught and fried up - without a doubt - 1000's!

Bob Cervenka in Catfish action

One of the ONLY rules we have at TightLine Fishing is named after him—the 15-lb. max rule!

If we catch a catfish fish that weighs more than 15 lbs - we have to release the Catfish 

it's called the Cervicko Rule.  There have been MANY released!!!!

Here is Carl Boen - fantastic family, Jack of all Trades, and friend! 

Here are two of our granddaughters... Harpy and Addie enjoy Church Service after helping serve the congregation.

This TightLine blog is only complete with a little Tennis mix. This is my little sister from another set of parents, Cindy Benzon, my lovely wife, Leni, and our son Harry!  

Cindy heads up the Adaptive Tennis Programs for Texas and is a member of the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame! She has been a solid inspiration to me, our family, and many others for many years. We are blessed to help her and our Adaptive Tennis Families across Texas.

Cindy is THE definition of a family friend!   

 Life is like Catfishing -you are rewarded for your consistency!

Lake Belton - beautiful and DEEP! Great early morning headed out of Rogers Park!

We were fishing in about 30-40 feet of SUPER CALM water... the water temp was 63 degrees!

We caught a boatload of Blues and Channel Kats - we threw back a bunch for next time.

Here's a keeper... BlueCat 1.5 pounder - Rick tricked this catfish into the boat by saying and I quote...  

"Here Fishy Fishy - free lip piercing!"

I get to brag - 

here is the most incredible family a guy could have...

Harper, Addelyn, Owen, Wilder, Alex (Ali-cat), Len, 

and on my left - Ashley (Crashie), Maisie, Nick, Bayley, Harry, and Wilder... 

I am so blessed!    

DAZY ADVENTURES - Learning Katfishing the hard way...

WARNING - this blog post contains hurtful photos...

She is getting bigger by the day and really loves Katfishing! 

She is only 8 months old and already has a nose for the Kats...

Here are a few of the BIG Kats she helped sniff out.

These are Blues and Channel Kats.

To say Dazy is curious is a BIG understatement... 

she could not stop barking and snapping at the Katfish - UNTIL...

(warning - next photo is bloody)

Yep - she stepped on a dorsal fin of one of the Kats...

The dorsal fin is located on the top of the Katfish and is poisonous!

It went into one of her paws.

To say the least - she did NOT get out of the chair for the rest of the trip.

On the way back to the dock - 

Dazy and I were talking through her pain and wondered out loud - 

we know about Gulls that fly over the sea - they are seagulls 

and we know about gulls like these that fly over the lake - they are lake gulls - 

but, what do we call gulls that fly over the bay?

 

 

DAZY!

This is Dazy - AKA... a natural Catfish Sniffer!

In no time at all she is sniffing out excellent catfish spots! 

She is an eight-month-old Golden-Doodle

Her 'Official" name is DazyDoodleDug

This is a name our grandkids helped us with... 

This is Dazy's first Cervicko Catfish... 16.5 lbs!

Not sure which is nicer - the camo pants or the big cat!?

The Cervisko fish is named after my good friend Bob Cervenka - 

any cat we catch over 15 lbs is released and this concept is something Bob will NEVER understand!

Looking forward to many many Catfishing trips with Dazy!