Ryan Collins
Each and every week here on My Fishing Cape Cod, I receive "success stories" from our members.
Reading these stories always makes me happy, and it helps to inspire me to continue pushing MFCC forward, and to continue growing our community.
In this post I would like to highlight one our most recent success stories, from Marc Bikowsky, who joined My Fishing Cape Cod as a member less than one month ago.
If you are reading this post and aren't feeling so great about how things are going for you, then I hope this story helps you find the inspiration to continue pursuing your goals - whether they be fishing related or not. ??
More...
My First Striped Bass After
30 Years Of Trying
Our latest success story comes from Marc Bikowsky, who joined My Fishing Cape Cod as a member less than one month ago.
Here is the story, told by Marc himself (and edited for brevity)...
Ryan, I just want to thank you for this amazing website you put together. I am from upstate NY and I grew up with not the best, or easiest childhood.
When I was 17 I overheard a person talking about going to Cape Cod for the summer. I didn’t know what they meant by Cape Cod, but I had to figure out where and what Cape Cod was because it sounded awesome.
Anyway, to make a long story longer, I have always grown up with this love for the ocean, but it was a love for something I had never gotten to see.
When I graduated high school I decided to take a gap year and explore this "Cape Cod" which I had heard of. I ended up getting a job with Hy-line cruises and living on Nantucket.
The Cape was everything I had dreamed of and more. I only ended up living on Cape for two years, but in those two years I started to fish from the surf and worked as a deckhand on a tuna boat on my days off.
Fast forward "a few years" and I am currently 48 years old. I have two children ages 18 and 20, and we have made it a tradition to stay one or two weeks every July on the Cape.
Now comes you. I’ve fished the surf for the past 30 years, and I’ve spent hundreds of hours casting and retrieving (without catching a striper).
As of July 6th of this year, I told my wife I am done fishing. So I sat down and opened my computer to help pass the time, when I somehow ran across My Fishing Cape Cod.
I immediately subscribed and spent all night reading and watching everything, including A Simple Way To Catch Stripers During July On Cape Cod.
I took in as much of what you were saying as possible. I went out the very next night, and caught my first-ever striper on my second cast of the night!
IT'S UNREAL how much just a little knowledge can help, when it comes from someone who knows what they are doing. For 30 years I’ve been too proud (or too arrogant) to ask a local, or ask anyone really, for some pointers. How ridiculous was that!
Anyway, I could go on forever about how much I love what you are doing. It’s amazing what little I had to change to start catching fish. For years I went out and bought the best reels and rods money could buy and it did me nothing.
Spending all that money on equipment wasn’t the difference maker! The difference maker was My Fishing Cape Cod and I can’t thank you enough!
I went from never wanting to fish again, to I can’t wait until next year! Actually my wife said we can go back for my birthday in October.
Thank you again Ryan for what you do. It was very important for me to share my story because it took me 30 years for me to find the 10 minutes I needed to read your articles, which resulted in me finally catching a fish.
You do great stuff - keep it up!
In Conclusion
Over the next few weeks I plan to share more "success stories" as told by our members.
In fact, quite a few of these success stories originate from our forum, and from people bumping into other members while out fishing.
I enjoy hearing back from members who I have helped personally, but it's even better when I hear a story like this one which involves members helping members, all on their own.
As always I appreciate all the help and advice, and the friendly tone, that is shared on this website. If you are reading this right now and you helped someone recently via MFCC, then thank you, and keep it up!
Tight lines ?
Awesome story Marc!
I have to echo what Nick said above. I have learned so much from Ryan, the MFCC crew, and other members over the past three seasons.
What’s better I have met and fished with dozens of members that share the same passion and love of the sport and made many new friends because of MFCC.
I even rekindled a friendship with a childhood fishing buddy after responding to a post he wrote in the forum last summer. I didn’t realize who it was until an hour later when I received a DM from him. My jaw dropped. We had spent countless days fishing large mouth as kids until we went our separate ways in high school. Thirty years later, we now meet up several times a month to fish. It’s like we never stopped.
Thanks for all you do Ryan! And thanks to everyone who took the time to help me with the learning curve of saltwater fishing.
Tim from Plymouth
[…] week I took a moment to highlight this recent success story from one of our members who managed this summer to catch his first-ever striper after many years of […]
Excuse me for my censored language, but this member’s write up and story is F’in awesome ! Like I’ve said before, between my best bud coercing me into switching over to salt fishing from freshwater to give it a shot and me finding My Fishing Cape Cod, without this I probably wouldn’t have moved down to south Plymouth to get closer to the fishing grounds I’ve become obsessed with over the last 4 years or so. I owe a ton to Ryan and the My Fishing Cape Cod community & it’s evident that plenty of other MFCC members feel the same way. #tightlines #capecodforlife
Thanks for the awesome comment Nick! It’s great having you onboard MFCC! I am very happy to hear how much you’ve benefited from the community. Gluck if you make it out this weekend in your boat!
Great job Marc. I hope your wife, and kids will join you on the beach .
Great story Marc and way to inspire Ryan..tight lines to both of you!!
Congratulations to Marc on his first Striper!
What a great story, and congratulations on your first striper, Marc. As the saying goes — better late than never!