FINISHING STRONG

My biggest fish of the year was this post Christmas carp.

I have to admit that I didn't catch a whole lot of 'big' fish this past year. So when Bob the Carp Whisperer invited me to try for some Lake Marburg bruins, I couldn't resist. He had been catching fish from 15 to 20 pounds at the lake, maybe 1 to 3 per day, so I knew that action wasn't going to be fast. Still, it was worth a shot on a balmy, late December day and I need to catch up with Bob on family and fishing fronts.

Bank sticks and bite alarms...cold carpin'.

Bob's an expert carp angler and he put me on this nice fish, somewhere between 16-18 pounds, and it was our only fish, and only run, of the day. We consumed a bag of mini donuts and drank some sodas and shot some bull. Chatting with a few other assorted low-lifes helped the day go by. This was on December 26...a day when most are just dreaming about fishing, and spring.

Paul moseyed down the bank and found the 'sweet spot'.

The next day my bro-in-law, Paul, invited me to hit a couple ponds. Weather was 55 degrees and calm and at our second pond, a small public venue, he found the fish close to an incoming runoff seep and it was 'game on' with our float-n-fly efforts with micro-jigs tipped with wax worms and meal worms. We scored an unusual winter slam...bass, crappie, red ear sunfish and bluegills on our ultra light spinning sticks. Here are a few of the highlights...

December bass on a jig & wax worm.

Paul with a nice crappie on December 27, 2014.

I like crappies any time of year!

Most gills ran 6 to 8 inches.

Paul with a near citation red ear sunfish!

It was a great trip, and easily the fastest action I have ever experienced for a December fishing trip, as water temps were at 42 degrees. Non -stop action for over 90 minutes as we totaled 104 fish, mostly bluegills from this catch and release, small lake that is pretty far under the radar. Other December efforts looked like this here...

Foot-long crappie in the cold.

These guys always crash the party!

Red ears in 40 degree water...sheeesh!

My 'personal best' December bluegill at 10.25 inches, from 38 degree water.

Purdy!

Yeah,,,I could go for a mild winter!

We caught numerous crappies throughout the month of December.

Finishing strong...something we accomplished in December with local fishing and the help of God's blessing with warm weather from time to time. We managed to land 3,971 fish altogether for 2014...our best total ever. But wouldn't it be cool to finish strong in our work, family and faith life? I believe it to be a great and worthy goal.  We just finished up a study on Steve Ferrar's inspirational book "Finishing Strong'. In it, Ferrar points out that only one in ten men who enter the ministry to proclaim Gods Word actually finish strong. I thought that was an exaggeration, but it is indeed, and sadly, true.

As I have watched Godly men all around me fall victim to greed, fame, money and sexual sin, I realize that none of us, no matter how deeply rooted we think we are in the Holy Scriptures, are exempt from this potential tragedy. We are weak, but Christ is strong, and we need that strength to 'finish strong' in every aspect of our lives, no matter what the conditions are. As the scripture says...'the enemy roams about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour'. All of us, man, woman and child, carpenter, politician and pastor...are vulnerable to the ememy. Be prepared, suit up, and as it says in Ephesians 2:8...put on the whole armor'...including the 'breastplate of righteousness'. I want to finish strong...how about you?

Be thankful for the calm...rough waters could be ahead.

PERSONAL BEST

Bluegill...2 pounds 4 ounces...12.5 inches. Richmond Mill, NC.

Interesting topic...personal bests. Doesn't have to be a record to anyone but yourself...the best you have done, or, the best you have to offer. A goal, a benchmark...something to shoot for, new heights to reach. But...does that mean that we are never satisfied with what we have caught, or accomplished, or have done in our lives?

Charlies'  PR blue cat at 60 pounds. James River, VA.

Seems like there's always new species to catch and conquer. Is a 60 pound blue cat big enough? Or do we quest for that 70, maybe 80 pounder? Is a 2 pound bluegill good enough for our own personal achievements...or do have to have a 'three'? Is there ever any end to it all? Worse yet...are we ever really satisfied? Ten pound bass? Thirty inch rainbow? Forty pound carp? What makes you happy?

Linda's best black crappie at 13.5 inches.

Personal best bowfin at 30-inches and ten pounds.

My 'first ever 2-pound bluegill.

How about these personal records...personal earnings, personal number of medical procedures in a given year, or personal deepest snowfall in recorded history? Sometimes a personal record can be a 'worst' rather than a "best". Personal bests come in a wide range of things, including fish...

Paul's best ever largemouth bass.

Matt's 12.5 inch hybrid sunfish another personal best. Local pond.

Black-nosed crappie at 13.25 inches.

Flier sunfish at 9 7/8 inches, Little River, NC.

A 22 inch largemouth bass through the ice from February 2014.

'Best' way to eat fish!

My 'new best friend'...Ken Smith from western PA.

Yes indeed, we all have goals, benchmarks, destinations and desires that we have either reached or are still trying...'striving' to accomplish. Nothing wrong with setting our sites high and staying the course to reach them. In many ways, it is what we live for...a house, a job position, a family, or perhaps an athletic goal.

Is there abetter setting than this?

Some of my goals are life-long in achieving...they are the goals of pleasing my God, Lord and Savior...Jesus Christ. Some days, I do very well at reaching them. At other times...not so good. Things like lust, greed and selfishness get in the way of these goals. I'll admit that I don't need the help of the devil. I can sin just fine on my own, thank you. And am I ever glad my Savior pours grace and forgiveness over this broken down, train-wreck of a man who constantly needs His guidance, but doesn't always seek it.

I really like what it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17..'If any man be in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. All things have become new'. Wow! Can you or I really grasp what God is saying to us? He is telling us that, by simply accepting His free gift of salvation, by accepting Him as Lord of our life, that we are no longer slaves to sin. We can work dilligently on removing sin from our lives. And when we do screw up and do fall, He will forgive us and renew our minds and hearts with the Holy Spirit within us, enabling us to conquer the evil one and triumph over our once sinful lives.

THAT, MY FRIEND, IS THE 'PERSONAL BEST' I WANT TO HAVE! MY PRAYER IS THAT YOU WOULD DESIRE THE VERY SAME THING AND ACCEPT JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR OF YOU LIFE.

May you never thirst, for the living waters of God will satisfy.

As waters flow full and high in the spring, God's intentions for our lives are also high, but they don't recede and dry up when times are tough...the waters continue to flow. Let His Love, Grace and Mercy fuel your life. Let Jesus Christ be your own 'Personal Best'.