NEWS FLASH – April 12, 2009

I’m writing this on Good Friday. It’s raining and blustery outside, but after all, it’s early Spring here in the Midwest. Rain, snow, winds, and almost every other iteration of weather is always a possibility.

I decided this newsletter shouldn’t be so much about gear and fishing stories or pictures as it should be about just how good we, as children of this earth, have things. We live on a most beautiful planet. There are lakes, mountains, meadows, forests, deserts, oceans, and much, much more we have access to simply by our citizenship with earth. We live in democratic countries where we are free to explore, whether it be new geography or new ideas. We have the ability and capability to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We have access to art, music, ideas, philosophies, literature, and much more whenever we please. Truth be known, the only limitations we really have are ourselves.

Our little company is blessed to have almost 10,000 subscribers to our newsletter who span this globe we call earth. We have Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, agnostic, atheist, and many other beliefs represented by our customers. Yet we all share a common interest in the bounty of this earth through angling. With this interest we are better stewards for all of earth’s resources. Angling has created an awareness that has not only made us better people, but has given us a precious gift to pass to future generations. Certainly a blessing we can all be thankful for.

Whatever beliefs you do or do not subscribe to surely you agree that being a citizen of this earth is really about as good as it gets. Just take a few minutes to think about what we DO have. It usually makes what we don’t have seem insignificant.

So, I wish each and every one of you a most wonderful Easter weekend. We are all blessed with one gift that surpasses all others in it’s ability to sustain us. That one gift is Hope. For that, we should all be most thankful.

We will be back with our usual newsletter format the next issue. May you all have a wonderful weekend.

Tight Lines,

Tom Ashby