BigBendFishing.Net

Right now, we have 24 kids.

Thanks - Steve

we will get the sunscreen and donate that for the kids. if there is anything else let us know as well.

I met Steve at Kevin’s today to get some jig heads for the swag bags. They gave me a good discount on 24 packs of jigheads, so if your going to donate anything, go to Kevin’s and tell ( miles or Lin) and you’ll get a good discount. Thanks again Steve

Thank you for donating. Likewise, I need to give a shout-out to Kevin's, Capt. Dave Lear, and DOA Baits who have also contributed. We are headed to the Florida Baptists Children's Home tomorrow evening to discuss safety and basic fishing with the kids.

Thank you to all the Captains who are making this possible. - Steve Stinson

I am getting some questions about the daily schedule for Take A Kid Fishing - If you are a Captain, please have your boat in the water and ready to go by 8:00 am. Catch lots of fish and be back to the ramp at Noon for a hot dog lunch.

I appreciate the dedication of those who have given up a day of fishing to help with these kids. Mike S. and I are headed to the Florida Baptist Children's Home this evening to talk with the kids about boating safety and fishing basics. I have 24 nice gift bags in my truck ready to go.

If any of you have any questions, feel free to contact me at (850) 509 - 3116.

- Steve Stinson

I wanted to say "Thank You" to all the Captains and other volunteers who helped out with Take A Kid Fishing. I have already called some of you individually, and will be contacting the rest.

We had a great time on board my boat, catching a lot of sea bass, some small grouper, lady fish, a 4' long gar, and a shark which earned one of my kids the nickname "Jaws" for the rest of the day. I must say, both kids and their guardian on my boat were very polite, and a real pleasure to fish with. We tried the flats a little, but did not get any love from the trout or reds. The time went by so quickly that it caught us by surprise and we had to hurry back to the ramp.

I didn't get to chat much with all of the gang at the ramp or even eat a hot dog. Somebody told me Chuck Simpson's boat was broken down, so I had him text his lat / long to my cell phone and ran back down river. He had fuel supply issues or water in the fuel. We spend about 45 min. upside down in the bilge cutting fuel lines and by-passing the water separator, but never could get the motor to crank.

So that began a few hours of chugging 4 - 5 mph back from the Stoney Bayou area to Shell Isl. Marina. I can tell you I would not make a good captain on a trawler. In spite of the misadventure, our spirits remained high and Chuck bought me a couple beers and a fish sandwich at Riverside Cafe, so the day ended well.

We will likely try to make this an annual event again. Those of you who participated would be doing Mike and I a favor if you would send suggestions on what we could do better to my email at steve@msmincorp.com

Thank you very much to all of you who helped make a memorable day for these kids.


Steve Stinson

Chuck Simpson deserves a big shout out along with son Parker for guiding my 11 year old attendee from the Guardian Ad Litem program. He enjoyed it and caught his first trout and gaff cat thanks to Parker's kindness. The fuel filter thing got us, but that is fishing ---Chuck had tested boat out extensively day before, so just one of those things.

Also our Knight on a shining Sea Barge steed, Sir Steve Stinson was a champ coming out to tow us. He put in a huge work effort to pull this off and the club should be very proud. Thanks for sacrificing your Saturday for some kids who need things like this more than we can know.

Carl Vinson