Enjoying the Break

The Mississippi River tournament is behind us. We now have an opportunity to spend some well-deserved time with our families and catch up on business matters.

The Mississippi River tournament is behind us. We now have an opportunity to spend some well-deserved time with our families and catch up on business matters.

When I returned home I had a chance to work with the boys on their baseball game. They play on a local team. I help coach when I'm in town. I'm not the full time coach or anything. I just help out — keep the batters in the right order, work as a base coach sometimes — you know, those sorts of things. It's about being involved.

But that was last week, and last week was the last week of their season. Now it's on to other things like baseball camp and golf lessons in between swimming parties and the like. We'll be doing some fishing, too.

Sherry and I both believe that they should be exposed to as many good things in life as possible. That way they'll have a better chance of finding something they're truly interested in doing as they mature. Maybe they'll make a career out of something or maybe it'll be their hobby. Either way they'll benefit from being happy.

I mean, it'd be great if they decided to fish. If that's not their thing, however, they need to find something else to do. Basically, we both want them to find something they want to be a part of, something that helps them live a full and rich life. That's the most important thing.

While all that's been going on I've also been filming in northern Michigan for Bass Pro Shops. It was a really great experience. The water's up and the fish are still shallow for the most part. We caught largemouths one day and smallmouths for two other days. The bite was strong. We caught them until our arms got tired.

That's a really neat experience for me. I grew up smallmouth fishing in Michigan. There's something special about trying to catch smallies in those natural lakes with lighter tackle. I don't care how many of them you've caught, the next one is still a thrill. It's a challenge I want to face until the day I die.

As you can see it's a pretty busy schedule. That's why I didn't say anything earlier about taking time off during our break. I don't look at it as taking time off. To me it's more like doing something besides competing in Elite Series tournaments, something different that gives me a fresh perspective on things.

Anyway, I'll update you next week on some more stuff that'll be happening with me and with my sponsors. And remember, it's all about the attitude.