Fishing Story May 2008
By Robert Nelson |
Mon, 19 May 2008
Too many times we are tied up with the everyday things in our lives and therefore we do not always take the time to connect with friends as often as we should. Recently, I received a phone call informing me that I lost a friend, Craig Kowalczyk. Craig’s passing hit me quite hard since I had not spoken to him for about a month. His death made me reflect on his friendship and our times together chasing bass on many area lakes.
Craig was trained to be an architect. When I got to know him, I learned that that career was cut short due to the demons of drugs and alcohol. Craig had found his way out of addiction through a twelve step program, where he met his future wife. He met Lorraine and they enjoyed their time together until she passed away a few years ago from a long battle with cancer. Craig battled depression, yet he was able to continue to go on with the help of family and friends.
I met Craig when he joined Westchester Rod and Reel Bassmasters. He came to the club with very little bass fishing experience. He would attend meetings and sit quietly and not say much, except to a few close friends. Craig often wondered why there was always so much bickering between club members. Craig had spent years saltwater fishing and fishing from shore on many small area lakes. When he joined, he was full of enthusiasm and a desire to learn about tournament fishing on the club level.
Craig’s love for tournament fishing was obvious. He was the first one at each tournament and he was always eager to learn from his boater. When traveling to a lake together, he would often arrive two hours ahead of time with coffee and a box of doughnuts for my family. Craig started many tournaments with a top water bait regardless of the situation or the season. He always said that “fish are fish and they all like injured baits on the surface”. Craig learned quickly that this was not always the case.
Craig’s tournament knowledge grew and his tournament weights increased fairly quickly. He attended many local seminars to improve his knowledge of bass fishing. He would then order just about every bait that was mentioned in the seminars that he attended. Craig was a retailer’s dream.
Craig found increased success by using a white spinnerbait when fishing on Lake Champlain in New York. In a two day tournament he caught many largemouths that would make any angler very happy. He was so excited about his success that he told the club president ( the boater in the tournament) that the club “should only go to lakes where you can catch fish with a white spinnerbait”. They both laughed, but I know that Craig was serious. He wanted everyone to catch fish.
A knee injury kept Craig from fishing in tournaments for the past 2 years, but that did not lessen his love for the sport. He would always record and watch all of the fishing shows on television. He would then call or stop by and want to talk about all of the shows that he had seen on television.
When Craig’s nephew called me last week with the news of his death, I was quite saddened. At the same time, I was also glad to hear from his nephew that he had found the Lord again and was at peace with himself when he died. Craig died in his sleep and knowing Craig, he was dreaming about the sport he loved so much.
I know that he has a white spinnerbait tied on his Helium LTA right now. Goodbye my friend.
This month’s story was written by Robert Nelson of North Salem, New York.
