My Famous Friend

Do any of you know someone who is famous...I mean REALLY famous?? I'm not talking about a shelf full of Oscar's or Platinum records on the wall. Oh no...that won't make the cut folks!!

So what does it take to be famous? How about getting your name on the Wisconsin Record Fish List? You only need to click on the link if you are interested in looking up what all the record fish are. Unfortunately they only display names of these World Famous Anglers in a separate PDF file. I saved you all the trouble and cropped the file and circled the name of my good buddy Andy Lickel (click on picture to enlarge).



As you can see, Andy holds the record for the Shortnose Gar. Andy and another friend went out with the goal of catching the state record Shortnose and Longnose Gar in the same trip. He had a longnose on that he believes may have been the state record but lost it when a flashlight was shined in its eye and it went crazy and snapped the line. If you wonder why it snapped the line, just look at this ugly, prehistoric looking beast with razor sharp teeth (no that's not Andy in the picture). Next time you're swimming in the Wisconsin River you may want to be wearing your iron pants!!



Let me tell you a little bit about Andy. Besides being an absolute stud, great friend, amazing man of God, and new blogger, he is the most incredible fisherman I have ever met...and I know some pretty phenomenal fishermen!!

The first time I went fishing with Andy I didn't know him very well. He was using two poles that I thought he had just pulled out of a dumpster somewhere. I had my fancy setup with my expensive line. We were fishing for Redhorse (junk fish) where the La Crosse River flows into the Mississippi downtown La Crosse, WI. That's where Andy caught about 5 times as many fish as I did and made me feel like a fool.

I could also tell you lots of stories of ice fishing when me and another guy were on each side of Andy with the same exact lure and he was pulling fish out one after another and were scratching our heads in disbelief.

Andy is also the only guy that I know that has ever used a pink plastic reel. Don't ask me where he found that one!

One thing that I really appreciate about Andy is his absolute love for trout fishing. Andy is the one who taught me how to fish for trout. What blows me away every time is that he really delights in God and His creation while fishing. Every brook trout that he catches he just marvels at how beautiful God made them...and he is right!!

Andy, thanks for being a wonderful follower of Jesus and an amazing friend!

Check out this monster!