Nearshore Adventures

By Tssully and Jim Felgenauer

Todd and Sheryl Sullivan writing as Tssully share their adventures while fishing in the Huron - Erie corridor of the Great Lakes. Novice and experienced fishermen alike will both enjoy their successes and failures and the learning experience that comes along with it, while fishing for multiple species. Whether you enjoy fishing in a lake or river environment, the reader can pick up some new techniques by following them along on their journey.

Read on as you learn how Todd and Sheryl's fishing adventures have enhanced their relationship as a couple, ultimately leading them along a path to start a charter fishing boat business catering to other couples.

After becoming lifetime members of St. Clair - Detroit River Sturgeon for Tomorrow, they spend most of the second half of the fishing season pursuing the majestic Lake Sturgeon, while taking other anglers out with them to introduce them to this species. The last chapter, written by Jim Felgeneaur, details his experiences from a lad to the formation of St. Clair - Detroit River Sturgeon for Tomorrow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tssully
• Release date: Feb 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9780998338088

Tssully

Tssully is Todd and Sheryl Sullivan, freelance writers and avid fishermen in the Huron - Erie corridor of the Great Lakes. They are lifetime members of  St. Clair - Detroit River Sturgeon for Tomorrow, and share their passion for this species with other fishermen. They make some of their own fishing tackle which can be found in their on-line store. Nearshore Adventures is their story about their fishing adventures that is ultimately leading them to the creation of a charter boat business catering to other couples. They live in Dearborn Heights, Michigan with their menagerie of pets.

Book preview

Book Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/Tssully1/app/191387770912394

Tssully Publishing

22874 North Brookside Dr

Dearborn Heights MI 48125Email [e-mail]

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to the loving memory of Donald J. Schmidt, who started his daughter, Sheryl, on an adventure of her lifetime.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the following people for their help and support throughout this project.

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To Dennis Furman, thank you for parking your boat in front of our house, and knowing that it would never leave. Without you, we would have never started along this path.

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To Jim Felgenauer, thank you for your friendship and support through these past few years, and for your contribution of the chapter on the Lake Sturgeon.

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To Don McChristian Jr., thank you for your friendship and support, especially for your help on opening night.

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To Mike Thomas, thank you for helping us with your expertise in editing for factual content, especially while in retirement when you should not have to be doing this anymore.

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To Meghan Sullivan Neumeier, thank you for your work editing another book by yet another would be Sullivan author.

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To Terry and Kathy Sullivan, thank you for putting Sheryl and I up, and putting up with us for a week, while formatting this mess I call a manuscript.

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To Samantha Sullivan, thank you for allowing us to use your picture of the sunset, for the cover for this book. Picture was taken the night of the 2015 North Channel Sturgeon Classic.

Contents

Introduction: The Unexpected Journey 

1. The Unlikely Beginning2. Enthusiasm and Expectation

3. Learning the Hard Way

4. The Merit of Paying Attention

5. New Ideas Bring New Opportunities

6. Another Year Begins

7. The Spawning of Yet Another Idea

8. The Future of Tssully

9. An Unlikely Story by Jim Felgenauer

Glossary

Appendix

Introduction The Unexpected Journey

Many couples plan years ahead for their retirement. They have successfully raised their families and have had successful, rewarding careers. They may have plans for downsizing their homes, moving to a retirement community by the ocean, or traveling the country in an RV. Whatever they have planned, they have had numerous years to prepare for their goal. Some couples get forced into retirement by the downsizing of their employer or for health reasons. These couples have had less time to prepare for this period in their life and have a difficult time making the adjustment into retirement. And then there are a few couples, who due to all the various twists and turns that life throws at them, have no preparation in place. And just like the light bulb illuminating their thoughts, a few lucky couples just kind of fall into a plan at the eleventh hour. Sheryl and I fall into that last category.

As my career as a truck driver progressed through the years, the age that I planned on retiring kept getting pushed farther back. Much like many other couples, many personal reasons created this situation, such as multiple divorces and a failed business, which took their toll on my own financial situation. Other contributing factors outside of some couples’ control would be the age that Social Security would pay the full retirement amount. That, and the struggling Union Pension Fund, recently reducing my future pension benefits by almost half, as well as having a mortgage until I am the age of Medusa, have pushed back my retirement until the age of seventy.

Sheryl and I came up with something of a unique view on what our pre-retirement will look like for the coming years while we wait for that magic number to cross the calender, and we can finally get to do all the things that we enjoy most in our lives full-time. We have only one tool in our arsenal to preview our future retirement life, and that is a four-day work week. This gives us lovely three day weekends, and with some proper planning on the use of vacation time, and personal days, we can enjoy many four- and five-day weekends throughout the year while doing the things that we would be doing if we were already retired.

Taking a cue from my brother and sister-in-law, Terry and Kathy Sullivan, and their books written about their “journey” in their pursuit of knowledge about wine, this is the story of our own journey, as we pursue our goal of a charter fishing boat business to help our somewhat distant retirement years. We sincerely hope that the reader will find our story both informative and enjoyable as you follow us along our journey. Unlike a story that has a definitive beginning, middle, and end, this story of our journey is not yet complete, but it leaves the reader with a sense of how this journey will continue.

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Chapter 1: The Unlikely Beginning

As a couple, Sheryl and I have not been together for very long, although we have known each other for thirty plus years. We were both married to other people for most of our lives. Sheryl’s father, whom I never got the chance to meet, was an avid outdoorsman and taught Sheryl and her two brothers about fishing, hunting and camping. Sheryl has taught her four daughters, who are now teaching their young children how to fish. Her father’s legacy is now four generations deep. For my part, I was always an athlete. I played hockey for many years and still, to this day, can skate circles around all the young folk at any ice rink. For ten years, I was also a category four bicycle racer, specializing in century events around Michigan. Much training and dedication are needed, as well as a high pain tolerance to be able to be competitive in that world. As far as fishing goes, well, I kept bigger fish in an aquarium than I had ever caught on the few fishing trips that I went on when I was a kid.

As fate would have it, one day I got a call from Sheryl, who was having trouble with housing, and I suggested that she and her soon-to-be-ex move in with me, as I was also having family trouble and could use her help with my soon-to-be-ex family. As they say, timing is everything, and this event could not have been better timed for the both of us. The readers might be somewhat amused to know that her ex, Mark, is still friends with both of us and