For Labor Day 2007 Tricia and I woke the kids early for a fishing trip out on big Lake Ontario. No other wife than the best one in the world would be willing to sacrifice her beauty sleep for the sight of a Rochester sunrise, and the chance at a big nasty fish. Anna was surprisingly chipper for 5:00AM, but Mason was GRUMPY. My only saving grace was to allow him to be the ‘light man’ by strapping LED lights to his hat and promising he could help bait the hooks.

It began as a beautiful morning. Tricia captained the boat for the first time as we launched out of the Genesee river. She drove us out to 80 feet of water, and I set the lines. She even had time to snap this picture.

First mate Mason had his break immediately after I got set up.

Second mate Anna was all smiles as she sang to the fish gods for some action. Here fishy,fishy,fishyyyyyyy…

And then it started to get a little nasty. The wind kicked up within 10 minutes of the lines being in the water. I captained the good ship Fish Fry, and Tricia manned the lines. As any rookie would tell you, watching those lines bob up and down can sometime make you a bit uneasy. Within 10 minutes Tricia let me know she wasn’t feeling so good. She looked a little green, and believe me I wasn’t going to take a picture of it:) So I pulled up the lines as fast as I could and we motored in surfing the waves and getting plenty wet as the boat bashed water up and over the windshield. Luckily we made it into the river where it was a bit more calm. Sea sickness doesn’t go away quickly and Tricia was thrilled to kiss the docks when we got back. She was a real trooper. I really felt bad for putting her through that. Next time we’ll be prepared with some dramamine. Overall it was good to get out. No fish, but another great story to tell.

Up-to-date local fishing information can be very difficult to come by. The best source of information in the mid-80’s were frequent checks of the VHF radio, a trip to a local tackle store, or hanging out by the ESLO derby weigh stations hoping to get a fish story.

With the internet I figured there would be a much easier way to avoid floating out in the big lake without a clue. Fishing for the big salmon is an art and a science. I thought for sure that all of the local charter captains would be hanging out online somewhere. To my surprise, it was nearly impossible to find any up-to-date information for the port of Rochester. It seemed many fishermen were posting information for the Salmon River, or Oak Orchard.

Then, FINALLY, I stumbled upon Lake Ontario United that is hopping with information from the Rochester, NY fishing scene. There are tons of charter captains and weekenders sharing fishing reports, lures and tactics. Of course you can see pictures of the big catch as well. It has everything I need to enjoy salmon fishing again like my dad and I did in the heyday of the ESLO derby. Now, I just need to get out on the water.

There’s nothing like Friday morning crack o’ dawn golf at Genesee Valley. Today the North course was closed due to an impending 9am tournament, so we were directed to the South Course. It was Marc, Kevin, Mike and me playing the front 9. We’ve never played that course before and it was not at all impressive. The fairway was in rough shape. It is just a good thing that I rarely hit the ball from the fairway. Any chips from there were hitting off of rock hard, sandy soil. That meant with my brutal short cgame, that I was flying the green with consistency. The rough was much better though. I played well from about 130 yards out, sticking the ball within 10 feet of the cup 3 times. Plus, my putts were rolling much better. I have this online video by Gary Player to thank for the simple putting advice. Put the label of the ball to the back and stare at it. Listen for the ball to roll into the cup instead of watching it. While my drives weren’t very accurate, I ended up with my best round of the summer at 47.

True to its name Victor Hills is indeed hilly, and for me treacherous. This morning Dad Agosti, Matt Agosti, and I played the front nine of the North Course. This was a tune up for the big pre-marriage golf game to take place this Friday. Matt, who is getting married on Saturday will be looking to calm his nerves with 18 more on the same course. We’ll be joined by Adam Agosti and Don Watters, the father of the bride. Today we all had our struggles. For me, it was a game that deteriorated as the course wore on. I started strong and finished weak save for a 25 yard chip that landed 2 feet from the cup on 18. Alas, the scores don’t lie.

Friday is another day and another chance to try and tame the beast of a course. The good news is we’ll be on carts, thus removing one excuse, and adding to the possibilities of other excuses to come. My personal favorite – cart whiplash.

As close to weekly as possible, I try to get up at the crack of dawn on Friday before work and play 9 holes of golf. It’s always a different crew. Today, it was just my my dad and I. We slept at my parents’ lake house and then played Old Hickory Golf Club in Livonia, NY. We were on by 6am (15 minutes before anyone else was even there) and off by 8:15. Here’s how we scored:

Overall I’m happy with my round. I didn’t lose any balls and kept the 7’s to a minimum. My goal has been to break 100, so I’m on pace. I just lose way too many shots around the green. I’m happy to take the loss to my Dad as he managed 3 pars. Anyone that does that deserves the win.

I’ve played fantasy football for many years, but never have the pan-fried pierogies (as my team is affectionately called) had the kind of weekend as October 1, 2006. 196.3 points. That’s enough for 2 weeks. Are YOU ready for some football?

Last week I took a fishing trip with guys from my family including my dad, father-in-law, uncle Terry, uncle Neal and Duane. We drove to the Cabonga Reservoir in Quebec for 3 days of fishing. The catch of the week was this 13 pound Northern Pike. I’ve done a lot of fishing, but this was by far the most exciting catch of my life. We had gotten off of our boats and onto 2 large rocks. As I reeled in my first cast of a Little Cleo (the blue and white beauty in the upper right corner) and only 3 feet from pulling the lure from the water, this giant swirl suddenly peeled out 30 yards of line and bent my pole into the water. After raking on the fish for 10 minutes I got my first glimpse and I knew it was huge. A Northern does not like to see a net or a fisherman so away he went. We fought the fish for another 15 minutes, dancing around the rocks, praying that he wouldn’t saw through the line with his razor sharp teeth. I tired it out and Duane took one mighty swoop with the net. The beast was landed – barely. The net was not really big enough, and an extremely angry northern tore a nice hole right into it. A day after we had lost a stringer full of fish because of equipment failure, we took another 5 minutes just trying to get 2 stringer hooks into his mouth.

Anyways, words hardly do the experience justice, but the reward was taking in the record Northern so far this summer at Cabonga Lodge. As a matter of fact the previous night I had caught a 10.6 pounder which was the previous record. What a joy it was to beat my own record by over 2 lbs! There were many amazing experiences on this trip, not the least of which was spending it with my dad and father-in-law. I hope I can go again sometime.

My parents are getting rid of our old boat. It’s not really ours anymore, seeing as I’ve been out of the house for many years now. But, it is the boat I learned to water ski on, the boat that went to many fishing derbies, the boat that caused my parents to buy a cottage on the lake. It holds SO many memories. I just hope their new one brings as much fun.

I guess most people would say that Nationals wasn’t very successful for team Salvo. I judge success more by the fun that I had, and the experience. Winning would have been nice, but the whole event was just awesome.

Friday May 23rd Travel/Rest Day
Tricia, Mason and I piled in the truck and headed to Minneapolis. The drive there takes you through some beautiful areas of Wisconsin. We arrived at the Minneapolis Hilton around 4pm. We found that it was connected to the Convention Center via the Skyway – an interconnected network of bridges between buildings. I can only imagine how useful that would be in the winter time. We went and checked out the courts – 30 on one floor and 30 on the lower level. What’s really cool is that the ceiling of the Convention Center is domed. We had an overly expensive meal at the hotel restaurant, then I practiced for an hour, and went to bed.

Saturday May 24th Pool Play Day 1
View the Day 1 & 2 Results summary
Story in progress…

So I’m sitting here bored, can’t sleep, thinking of what I want to do with my life, when it dawned on me. What am I doing going to volleyball nationals when I could be playing professional Air Hockey. As the site says “Many people have a misconception about Air Hockey as a sport.  Air Hockey involves strategy, conditioning, stamina, practice and for tournament success, the ability to perform under pressure.  These are exactly the qualities necessary for success at most sports involving athleticism.”

Much to my amazement, there are professional tournaments right here in Naperville. Since my wife bought me a regulation table a few years ago that proudly adorns my basement, I haven’t been taking the sport seriously. hmmm…I better reconsider. Better yet, I’ll start training the boy now to be an air hockey champion. Aim high Mason. Check out the videos on this page (2000 Texas State Championships). Riveting…