From the St Petersburg Times 12C Dec 3 2000. This just proves what a bad guy Rich McBride is: Stop by the Dogfish Tackle Company any weekday after school and you'll find dozens of kids just hanging around talking about fishing.
"People joke that we ought to make this place a joint tackle shop-day camp," proprietor Bob Martin said."Most of my employees grew up here in the store or across the street fishing on the Redington Long Pier."
These "pier rats" spent every free moment, when they weren't doing homework or chores, at the water'sedge engaging in America's most-popular participation sport.
"It kept me out of trouble," 23-year old Dave Bayes said."I spent so much time out there during the summer,I should have had my mail delivered right out to the pier."
Bayes, an accomplished tournament angler, and his comrades...were lucky to have a mentor like Martin.
"Every kid you start fishing is a future customer,"the tackle store owner said.
But profit is the last thing on this former art teacher's mind. Thursday afternoon, Martin packed a box of six new spinning outfits and shipped them to a groupof inner-city kids he hopes to get hooked on fishing.
"Anything to help," he said.
Bob Martin has not met Wilma Green or the children she looks after. Neither has Rich McBride. But that didn't stop McBride, the president of Sea View, from writing a $1,000 check to help Green's marine education program.
"If she wants to introduce kids to fishing, you can count us in," said McBride, an avid billfisherman.
Green doesn't have much time to do much fishing anymore. She's too busy trying to get the Agape Marine Education Center started.......
The rods donated by Dogfish Tackle will get six kids started...
by: Terry Tomalin
Boy, a scanner would have been nice. I've probably violated some kind of copyright law by reprinting this without permission. Hope Rich contributes to my defense fund. LOL SH
