the nightcrawlers

It's on! Four of the Nightcrawlers have just begun their own version of the Biggest Loser with weight loss wager. Browny, Bill, Bailey and Pauly have all begun to change their ways.....sort of.

I (Browny) was looking for some incentive (because obesity wasn't enough appparently) to get back in the (bike) saddle and shed some elbees. So a wager was born and as of Tuesday January 24th we've started our journey!

Whoever loses the highest percentage of weight by March 31st is declared the winner. The losers then have to pay the overall winner $25 plus an additional $10 per full percentage they lose by. Doesn't seem like much, but if you win by a landslide the three losers could pad your pockets. 

So far we're having some trouble getting out of our routines. Beer, delicioius fattening foods and M&M's have been a part of one or more of our diets since we started, but we're coming around and although it's a wager I think we'd all be happy to live a little healthier....except for maybe Bailey, I don't think he gives a rat's ass.

Stay tuned for updates and here's our starting weights:

Darren 'A League Of His Own' Brown  242 lbs

William 'But I Can Still Drink Beer Right?" McDougall  209 lbs

Christopher "Hooch Equals Health" Bailey  198 lbs

Paul "M Plus M Spells MMMMM" Dufault  193 lbs

We all have goals of losing around 20 lbs, but at the rate we've started this could be a low percentage win! Stay tuned......

As per Merriam Webster: tradition - an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behaviour. Seems pretty straight forward - if you've been doing something year after year it should go without saying that you will continue to do that same thing unless something 'breaks' tradition. There have been a couple of nearly broken traditions this past year for the Nightcrawler Team and quite frankly it's bulldonk!

The first is a biggie - the Steak & Wake (see the Steak & Wake page). This is our yearly tradition of getting together as a team on the weekend closest to Al Reimer's passing and celebrating his life by whooping it up over the course of said weekend and eating a celebratory meal that is suited for Kate Middleton - and she can join us anytime! This past February was the 5th anniversary of his passing and sadly this year's turnout was abysmal. Only four team members made it out to Jonny McDougall’s cabin this year (he's half of Team Fruit Loop by the way, see the photo section and you'll spot them in no time) and the members that didn't make it really didn't have very good excuses for missing it. It may be a dying tradition but there will be us few diehards that will keep it and Al's memory alive. Bet you guys feel like crap now don't ya??!!

The other tradition isn't so much of a team tradition as it is a personal one. Each year that we are lucky enough to win a seasonal camping site at Nutimik Lake one of my long-time buds and teammate Pauly Dufault has come with me on the opening camping weekend (which is also opening fishing season) to help set up camp and wet a line. We've been heading somewhere on Opening Day of fishing literally for decades and we may have missed one or two under extenuating circumstances. Sadly, it appears this tradition is also waning with Pauly making hasty plans of heading to Falcon Lake for opening season with his girlfriend and four sons. At least I know he'll be taking them all fishing that weekend!

This is all in good fun of course, and mainly to guilt the parties involved - not to the point where they feel awful for not keeping tradition, but hopefully to the point where they say to themselves 'yeah, I probably should have made that trip' which in turn will get them to come again next year!

At times like these I often find myself lost for words, but I shall attempt to put forth an effort to sing my own praises at winning yet another NOTY Championship.

It has been six long years since the last time I tasted such sweet victory. It was back at George Lake in 2003 when last the "cream rose to the top" and so it was again this year at Shoal when the personification of excellence was rewareded yet again. It was an exciting tournament with some okay competition, but, realistically, in terms of the outcome, was there ever any doubt?

At this time I would like to thank...ME!! As well as my boat, my X-Rap lure, my slip bobber, my pink jig with my Power Bait worm on it, my Shimano rod and reel combo and my trolling motor for always getting me where I needed to go. I'd also like to say thank-you to all the worms that gave their lives at the ends of my hooks. And speaking of worms, thanks to Pauly and Brently for bringing their cameras to take pictures of me with my winning fish. I thought it best not to take pictures of me with my own camera - that would be cocky.

I would just like to finish off with this last little bit: It is a shame that not everyone felt the need to bask in my greatness during the trophy presentation. for those that left early and missed the crowning of 'the one above all others', your actions speak as to why none of you have ever had your names engraved on such a prestigious award. You know who you are!

In closing, thank you to Browny for the improvements to "MY" trophy. Nice job, but you could have saved yourself a lot of time by just engraving my name on it over and over again for the years to come!

Remember kids, it's important to always....

"Look Good For Fish!"

yours,

The Champ (aka Junior)