Florida Catfish Classic--Testimonials from WIF Members

[Stump Bumper]

Well folks, BIG COUNTRY, Spoons and me just pulled in about 2 hours ago and what a great time we all had in Wewa! We pulled into Wewa on Wednesday morning around 10:00am and stopped by the park to see NoSnag and Hushpuppy then headed on over to Maurice and Lucy's house. After unloading our gear, we had a short visit with Lucy and Maurice. BIG COUNTRY and the Mohawk left to go catch some bait so me and Spoons headed over to Don and Angie's. After visiting there, I launched my boat and we went bait fishing later that afternoon until dark. Oh, and by the way Soupy, poor ole NoSnag and Hushpuppy are still dealing with Soupy's curse (but that's a whole nother story in it's self). I'll just leave that one for them to tell....LOL....Every night we were there, we ate like KINGS as Schoe and Angie were non-stop in the kitchen cooking up them vittale's. As far as the tournament goes, every team has their own adventure's to share. Congrad's to catwoman-fla (JoAnn) for an outstanding effort during the tournament! As for me and Tyler, I just caught one little baby flathead (5 pounds) and Tyler was on the board in the Kid's Channel Cat Classic, up until the last few hours of the tournament with a 1.8 pound channel cat that he weighed in. When I asked Tyler how he was doing after not placing this year, he just looked at me with a big ole grin and said "pappa, I never had so much fun getting beat"....LOL....I would like to say thank's to Maurice and Lucy for having us at their home and to Don and Angie for having us all over for some great meals and fellowship with the other WIF members. AND....to Jerry and Anne....and Wayne, thank's for all of ya'll's help. As alway's, I feel like ya'll are my family and any time ya'll are down this way, our door is open to you. Can't wait to get back up that way again....Ray

[Tee]

I got home about an hour ago, tired and achy from the ride, BUT READY TO GO BACK!
And it only took the "normal" 10 hours to get home..... :D

It was great to finally meetr all the family that made it to the FCC. As Ray has already said, the Tournament was fantastic, as usual. We made lots of new friends, visited with old ones, and gaines several new member to the family.

There is a rumor going around that of the 100 + species in the Appalachacola River System, I only need to catch 3 more to have caught atleast one fish of every species this weekend. UNFORTUNATELY, the 3 I need are sturgeon, talapia, and CATFISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More fish stories after some sleep.
T

[nosnag]

Hey Ya'll,
Candy and I got back home around 6:00 P.M. yesterday.We had a great trip back with no problems.
Had a beautiful campsite at the park in Wewa.Donnie Is going to have a showplace there that should be featured in a travel magazine.Absolutely Amazing. We had room for more members to camp.Although we had a great turn out of WIF members,it would have been the icing on the cake to meet those who could'nt make it there.I hope that 2007 will have twice as many in attendance.
Don and Angie went beyond being great hosts.They gave everyone the feeling that they were a part of the family.Schoe and Angie put on feasts fit for kings.There were still left-overs even after everyone was beyond full in the house that ended up with standing room only.
The whole trip up there far exceeded expectations.I am sure that God willing we will be sure to return for the 2007 event.Meeting the members I knew only by their avitars and posts was an experiance in itself.The whole trip was something that I will look back at with a warm glow inside.
We had some downsides with the boat,(I'll explain later.)but I would do it all again even if I knew that they would happen.The experiance was well worth it.I'm willing to trade those mishaps for the rest of the trip anytime.
I'll sign off for now so I can get some chores done.Do some more posting next chance I get.
BILL

[big country]

well i can't begin to express how much hospitality was shown to us while we were down there. between mohawk and miss lucy putting up spoons,stump bumper and myself for a few days and donnie and miss angie with having all the wif members being welcomed and fed every night over at there house..and then theres schoes cooking, let me just say if you have not had some of his cooking you might wanna get to the next get to gather you can.and i agree with ray good job joanne on outfishing robin and the rest of us...lol
i goota say i learned a lot about what not to do when it comes to catching flatheads,and mohawk taught me allot about finding them and how to set up the boat for them (thank you for taking maurice) i didn't get a chance to tell ya by when we left,sorry........ well look forward to seeing everyone again at the tccr(turkey creek catfish rodeo).....:D

[catman-fl]

well joanne & I got home about 1115 pm sunday nite. took all day monday to get everything unpacked & put away. got to meet alot of wif members and find a lot of new friends.to say that schoe & angie put on a feed is the understatment of this century. & yes joanne caught more fish than I did. She & I had the greatest time we have ever had fishing. and yes you will see us at tccr.
robin

[catwoman-fl]

hey "kids" just can't thank everyone enough for sharing a piece of "heaven" with us. it's a rare "thing" to experience The Catfish Classic and all that it stands for. I will never forget it. "Rock On" or should I be saying "Fish On!!!!!!

[nosnag]

I have to say that this was truly a family type event.Catman Fl. was there with his truck when I needed a launch and take out.When I had engine trouble Stumpbumper was right there to lend a hand with a tow.Schoe was a great gentleman that took time to be sure we all had a good stay and devoted more time to the group than he did to his preps for his own fishing.Not to forget the excellent cooking he did for us all too.Donnie and Angie opened their doors to everyone and helped the newbies by showing them where to fish.Mohawk and Lucy were great hosts and helpful to everyone.Bigcountry,Spoon,Kirk,Sue,and Joanne all were there for the rest of us when they were needed.Tee was upscale even after having car problems and was right in the thick of things as soon as he arrived.There were others that I met there that I did'nt catch the names of that were truly ready to lend a hand also.Made a aquaintence with Dale,(fishinbum)that impressed me with his bulldog attitude of chasing after that elusive fish.
I guess all in all that,when we say that the WIF is a family,it truly is.
We made contact with the some of the best people you would ever want to meet.I hope to meet more of the family at Turkey Creek and the 2007 FCC get together.Ya'll come down.
BILL

[capt.kirk]

Well folks there is not much that i can say about the event that has not
already been said by others attending the tournament.I have attended many
tournaments thru the years and this one is the best run one that i have ever
had the pleasure of attending.It was good to meet our members and meet
some new people that have the same intrests that we here at WIF have.
Nosnags wife along with my wife set in that hot sun selling shirts and hats
and had a sign up sheet for folks that will be joining WIF,we had 14 that
i know of and im sure there will be more to follow as we go along.

I wont attempt to name all the folks that need a big THANK YOU they
know how they are and have been given there hand shakes and hugs while
we were there for those who couldnt attend i hope that you can attend
next year and wittness SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY AT ITS FINEST,by the
great people that live in WEWAHITCHKA FLORIDA.It just dont get any better
than we received,I was told not to go by the doctor that is going to do
my back surgery,but little did he know how good it made me feel to be
there and be active,at times it made me forget about the pain.:cool:

Now on to new business,the 2nd annual TURKEY CREEK CAT RODEO will
be coming up on March 10th we had a nice turnout for the first one and
we expect this one to more than double last years entrys,Schoe is going
to furnish the food and that alone is worth the entry fee,we are now in
the process of gathering door prizes and a main prize for the drawing,
there will be a 50/50 drawing and and an optional BIG CAT POT the
tournament is being put on this year by our own Hush Puppy and STUMP
BUMPER leanding a helping hand,the proceeds from the tournament will be
given to the Turkey Creek Masonic Lodge for there scholarship fund to
help some one go to college that cant afford to go,education is the best
tool for our young people to have to enter the world that we have created
for them to live in.Mark your calander MARCH 17TH 07, more details to
come as these guys get there things lined out.:D KIRK

[Tee]

All I can add is to tell you to schedule your vacation NOW! for next years Classic. It truely is an indescribable experience!
Ya just have to be there and live it to completely understand.

And for those of you that wonder if I "practice what I preach", wanna guess who the first person registered and paid in full to fish next years classic is? :cool:
ANd if you aren't careful, I'll bring Soupy with me....... :D

[hushpuppy]

Howdy Ya'll.
I guess that everything that needed to be said has been. I can only offer this. I will not (good Lord willing) miss the FCC as long as it/me will be around. After all the issues and back aches and driving cramps, I can honestly say that being up there was a check point for me. I now know how a catfish tourney should be run and will do my best to imulate that during the rodeo. I cannot thank the folks from Wewa enough for the hospitality and fellowship. Most of all I cannot thank Nosnag too much, because he was up there under extinuating circumstances and still pushed on as hard as a man can do. Bill and his better half made me feel as welcome as the folks in town did, and I thank them for that. I sure did have a good time and learned what and more especialy what not to do to catch a flathead. I shall return.

[Soupy_1us]

Boy this really sucks..... Now for the next year we'll have to hear all the stories and tales about this damn tournament... And all the fun they had....all the fish they caught AND THROWED BACK (Kirk)... I'm sick of it already.


I'll be there next year.

[nosnag]

Yea Doggie,
Soupy,You and the others will just have to grit your teeth for missing the 2006 FCC, and get yourselves ready to attend the 2007 one. I'll be waiting to meet you all then and swap tales and bent truths with ya. The FCC is something you really have to experiance to understand.The folks in Wewa are exceptional in their hospitality and have the knack of taking you back in time to when you were able to trust your neighbors and everybody pulled together to help each other out.It sure reminded me of the better,younger days,in a small town.
Get there next year and I'll bet the farm that you will have fond memories of your stay for the rest of your lives.
Right now I'm already getting prepared to attend the Turkey Creek event and add another get together of people who are cut from the same cloth as the ones met at Wewa to my memory files. Hushpuppy has promised that this event will carry a lot of the earmarks of the FCC tourney.At 1/3 as good it would be a winner to attend.I'm sure that the organizers,along with the sponsors, and the WIF backing,it will be more than that.
BILL

[Schoe]

Sat. PM I made it home without any problems along the way. Fri. night I stopped by an old friends place that I used to work with and had a nice visit and spent the night. After breakfast I headed for the house.

The FCC really was something this year with the City and County opening their arms out to the members of WIF and making us welcome. I cannot thank them enough for their hospitality.

Don Minchew, his wife Angie, search and rescue, and city and county staff worked their behinds off putting this Classic together and it was really a big success.

There was no slack time in getting things started for next year as Don and Angie have already started organising sponsors for next year.

WIF had a good showing of members this year and I hope to see the numbers double or more for next years event.

It was really nice to meet the folks we corrispond on the site and meet them personally. I really enjoyed talking and relaxing with you all. One thing we didn't have time for was a fish fry out at the campground . Next year I will try and plan a specific time and place to have one prior to the Tournament. This year was like our maiden voyage for a get together of this magnitude and we will strive to make it bigger and better next year. Schoe

[Timotha7]

Have heard nothing but OUTSTANDING comments from anyone that has ever been to this event
2006 was a great year for WIF participation in the FCC
2007 should be even better!

I am for sure saving my pennies, would love to make this event and
see about winning the money so I could buy Soupy some BBQ Sauce, so he ain't all the time
worried someone is gonna find out his secret recipe :-)

Lets hear from everyone that has been there and can tell us what it is
all about!

[capt.kirk]

Well for me it had nothing to do with winning money,that was the last thing
on my mind,It is meeting new people,making new friends and seeing some
that you havent been around for a while,lot of us keep in contact by
phone,PMs and e.mail,but its not like walking up and shaking hands and
have a nice set down and talk session.

Due to the condition of my back before i could have the Surgery,Schoe
gave up his bed for me and slept in a tent on the ground so that i would
be able to attend the event,Schoe is one of the finest men that you
will ever meet,he belives in people taking care of people,and i cant
Thank him enough.Donnie,Maurice,Miss Lucy to name a few are the salt
of the earth,and am proud to know them.The town of Wewahitchka has
its own time zone, different than any i have seen for 40 years,it is slow
and easy,take time to smell the honeysuckle,it just dont get much better
than that.

I mentioned winning money here in the beginning,That would be nice,but
if that was the main reason for going,I would stay home,you just gotta
be there to know what im talking about.Today is the 2nd annual Turkey
Creek Catfish Rodeo,and we will be missing 3 WIF members that are having
some medical problems and we wish them well and a speedy recovery.
Kirk & Sue

[Timotha7]

Once again it is time to start planning on attending the FCC

As you can see from all posts above, WIF's relationship with this incredible family adventure is long running and very special

Schoe and many other members of our family will be attending the FCC this year
and hope to break some WIF attendance records!