Hey all,
About 10 days back I received an email from a young kid named Adam Bartusek. That email struck a cord with me for reasons I think many of us can identify with.
There’s likely several reasons why Adam’s email caught my attention… his email reminded me of the period in my own life when fishing turned from something I “did” into a life-long journey as an angler that to this day is a constant evolution.
I do know without question that as I read his letter I was immediately reminded of days spent pounding the banks of a southern MN trout stream with my brother, that first leaky boat that was my pride and joy… and the people that influenced me as an angler and helped me shape my outlook on life.
I could go on further but I think Adam’s letter brings us right to the meat of the potato…
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“Dear In Depth Outdoors,
Let me begin by introducing ourselves, Sam Sobieck( junior 17) and Adam Bartusek (Senior 18), students of New Prague High School in Minnesota, and we are Team Bassek fishing.
This year we have been invited and plan on fishing in the High School Fishing World Finals down on Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas, this July. This is the biggest Bass Tournament in the World at the High School Level. This is a televised event that will last a week. Disappointingly, Bass fishing is not a sport at New Prague High School so all expenses come from our pockets. A tournament this big in Arkansas is an amazing opportunity, but a large expense endeavor.
The reason we are contacting you is because we would like to know if you would be interested in contributing/ donating anything, to our dream of fishing in this High School World Championship. Any help would be appreciated.
If you are interested in our plans after High School we will both be attending The University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. We plan on and look forward to fishing on their College FLW Team.
Overall, thank you for taking the time to read our proposal and hope you consider a donation to our dream. If you do decide to donate we will be eternally grateful for your generosity and promotion of youth fishing in the United States.”
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In follow up emails Adam was incredibly polite and obviously has a growing passion for the sport of fishing. I couldn’t help but feel he was on a good path and I wanted to lend a hand by committing to sending him a nice donation.
Now my donation didn’t come without a string or two as I wanted something in return. What I wanted was for Adam to send me updates on his fishing and progress in the tournament while he was on the road. He quickly agreed and offered to make public updates here on IDO.
So that brings things full circle and should explain why I’m taking the time to share this with everyone here on IDO. I’m excited to see this young kid with a good head on his shoulders take in his this first big tournament experience knowing he’s going to share his progress with updates from the event. And that’s something that I thought other members here might enjoy as well.
My donation certainly doesn’t cover all their out of pocket expenses, not even close, and I know these young guys would head south feeling like a million bucks if they knew they had many of our members here on IDO rooting for them and following their updates.
Will they win? Will they finish strong? I don’t think that matters one bit. I know all I expect is for their team to fish hard and play fair and drop me a nugget or two so I feel connected with them while they’re at the event. That to me is more than a fair trade.
Anyone else interested in lending a hand? I’ve asked Adam to jump in and tell us more about the event, his plans and the help he needs as well as how he plans to update IDO during his time on the road.
Here’s some additional info on the event I found online >>>
High School Fishing World Finals
I don’t want to post Adam’s home address so I’ll let him handle that part if someone wants to lend a hand.
Adam, what say you? You pumped for this deal or what?! I still chuckle at the thought of “fishing” being a sanctioned school event and part of the curriculum in some areas … lord knows my fishing time in high school kept me out of class more often than I’d care to admit. Anyway, best of luck to you and Sam. You should see my donation in the mail in a day or two. 
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