Wollitz: Sunrises are always a blessing

Twenty-three thousand four hundred ninety-six days and I still find something to love about fishing every time I do it.

That’s a lot of days. But the 23,496 sunrises during my lifetime haven’t dulled the sheer appreciation I feel for the new opportunity the next one will present.

Sunrises are always a blessing. But the days when I’m on the water with fishing rod in hand as the sun burns over the trees top them all.

I’ve been on the water with rod in hand as dusk turned to darkness and the sensation within is that a good thing is coming to an end. At sunset, most days, I’m content.

At dawn, however, my outlook is full of hope, confidence and excitement.

Sunday at the lake, I shared the BassCat with Cody Luknis. Like another recent tournament trip during which Jeff Grope was riding shotgun, I was in the boat with a brother of kindred spirit.

Luknis and Grope are among the growing corps of competitive collegiate anglers. They are Youngstown State University Penguins, representing their school as proudly on the water as the football players and other YSU athletes represent on their fields of play. They and fellow Penguin fishers Jared Latone and Jonathan Creed joined Youngstown-based Mohawk Valley Bass Club recently to broaden their bass tournament experience.

The young anglers bring a fresh brand of enthusiasm to local tournament angling. Cody’s positive outlook was evident the moment he stepped aboard the boat. In black Sharpie ink on the back of his hand were three bold letters: PMA. Positive Mental Attitude.

Let me pause to say that even after 23,496 sunrises, it’s still pretty easy to burst with PMA as I shove off the dock. The challenge is to stay positive as the day grinds on.

Sunday was not a grind. On the contrary, I was more than pleased with the fish I hooked on buzzbaits, spinnerbaits and Texas-rigged plastics throughout the eight hours.

Fishing was great, but so was the opportunity to learn more about my friend. Cody is a tall man who moves about the boat with the grace of a fellow who’s spent time on a basketball court. He skipped baits expertly into the hideyholes where big bass are known to lurk and displayed the skills of a tournament angler with more experience than might be expected based on the few years he’s got under his belt.

One cool thing about sharing the boat with a friend is you get to learn more than your eyes might see.

We talked throughout our eight hours on the lake and I discovered he’s a graduate of Austintown Fitch now pursuing a degree in nursing at YSU. He’s also enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and will serve as a flight nurse. In the meantime, he’s employed by Second Harvest Food Bank.

Cody is from a fishing family and his stories about outings with parents, grandparents, uncles and siblings made the impact of their influence clearly evident.

It hit me again as I drove home after my day with Cody that there is much about our world that is good. As long as we have eager young people with positive mental attitudes, we are going to be OK.

After 23,496 sunrises, I might be excused if sometime soon I wonder why I have bothered to get out bed that morning.

But I’ll get positive quickly when I think of that tall young man wearing the big red Y on the front of his shirt while helping to feed the hungry people of the Mahoning Valley and pursuing his dream of serving as a flight nurse.

Funny the inspiration that a simple PMA scrawled on the back of a hand might create.

jack.wollitz@innismaggiore.com