As we celebrate the new year 2025, there is a huge mix of emotions as I reflect on the past year.
This was another milestone year, season number fifteen, for Slam Dunk Fishing Charters. When I started this venture, I really had no idea what it would end up turning into. I certainly never imagined the level of success we have had. I owe this all to everyone who has helped along the way. To our customers, first and foremost, thank you for choosing Slam Dunk Charters year after year and keeping us busy on the water. To my friends and family, thank you for your help, encouragement, and support through all of the past 15 years. And to my crew: Brian, Mark, Justin, Wayne, Colton, and all those who have stepped up to help out at many times throughout the years, thank you!
It’s been a great ride thus far! With the success of the business, and the incredible fishery we have, every single one of the past 15 years has been amazing!
While I’m celebrating the milestone for the business, I am at the same time overwhelmed with grief and sadness after the sudden loss of my deckhand, “ace-in-the-hole”, and dear friend, Chris Klar.
Chris was there for most of the past 15 years and certainly had a huge hand in the success of the business, as well as the success we had on the water.
We made a great team from the very first time Chris stepped on the boat to fish with me. One thing that made us click, he was competitive, just like myself. We both had that same mindset of always competing, and mostly it was competing against ourselves and against what we did yesterday. Chris was never content simply meeting one goal, even if we caught our limit yesterday, he was thinking of how to learn,
improve, and make today even better.
More than just a great fisherman, Chris was a friend who always had your back, worked hard, and made every day an adventure. He was the popsicle supplier for my kids, leaving them in the freezer for them when they came to visit fish camp. They adored Chris, not just for the treats, but his kindness, his laugh, and how he made them feel special.
Whether it was fishing, or his role as Public Works Director for his town, or his own personal lawn and snow business, Chris wanted to be the best in everything he did. But, he wasn’t doing it for himself or his own notoriety. He was doing it for the folks we took fishing, the people of his town, and for his loved ones.
I can’t imagine what next fishing season will be without Chris. The boat will feel empty without him and his larger-than-life laugh. We will think of him every time we wet a line, or watch the sunrise over the water, and with so many memories and stories we will share while on the boat. Thank you for the memories and friendship Chris Klar, Mr. Plow, Big Sexy, forever “On Fish”.
-Captain Steve