JACK WOLLITZ Merry Christmas to area anglers

Oh my, look at the calendar. Time to start my Christmas shopping.
This is the season for extending best wishes. So between my frantic dashes through the crowded aisles and nerve-wracking traffic, I'd like to share my Christmas greetings with readers.
May the holiday season be especially joyous for all of my fishing friends. You know who you are. You are the best friends in the world - along with my golf pals. You make me a better fisherman, you make me laugh and, best of all, you make me proud to be part of the sport we all enjoy.
Special opportunity
Merry Christmas to readers of this column. It is a very special opportunity to be permitted to entertain you each Sunday, and I consider it an honor. I've heard from many of you over the years and cherish every single comment. Please do stay in touch.
Seasons greetings to all those who share the water with us. We appreciate your patience and consideration as you drive around our fishing spots and your understanding when we fish near your boat docks.
And for those who are less tolerant of anglers in their midst, I have another greeting for you. But that's for another column someday.
Thanks, as well, to those who offered tips about news that should be shared with readers. I've learned about new techniques, productive waters and even about the Mississippi River's teenager-sized leaping carp.
Best wishes to the hundreds of companies who provide such a great array of products for anglers. Every year the rods, reels, lines and lures get better and better.
Our boats are safer and more comfortable. Our outboards are faster, cleaner and more economical. And our electronics are more sophisticated than those used in early NASA space exploration.
Ranger greeting
Happy holidays to those who toil in service to Ohioans as state park rangers, game wardens and watercraft officers. We need your assistance and don't say thanks as often as we should.
We also owe holiday greetings to those who remain watchful about pollution and other threats to our great sport. Anglers everywhere are grateful -- but don't often say so-- that Lake Erie and the Ohio River are again good fisheries and that our streams and lakes continue to benefit from environmental clean-up efforts.
And of course, Merry Christmas to Barb, my wife. She always knows when a day on the water is just what I need to keep things in perspective. Every angler should have a lady who understands our passion for fishing like Barb does.
Happy holidays to all.
jwwollitz@aol.com