Rest In Peace Wild Bill [Ny]

[Glenn]

It's with great sadness that I have to announce we've lost another terrific and influential member of the bass fishing community. Wild Bill passed away of massive and fatal heart attack, while doing what he loved most, fishing!

Wild Bill was known for orchestrating a number of local get togethers in New York state. But he was also known for raising money consistently for charities, the most notable of which were for Cancer and Veterans of the wars....in addition to that, he was also always involved with various "Teaching Children to Fish" activities out on Long Island.

We, and the people's lives he had touched are now left with a gigantic empty hole.

Even if you never met him, you can watch a show with Wild Bill here: http://www.lunkervil...wildbill.html�� And you can see just how great of a guy he was.

May he rest in peace.

[00 mod]

Wow...

RIP Wild Bill

Jeff

[J Francho]

Thank you Glenn for posting this. I'm heartbroken over the loss of both a great friend and a great man to anyone that wanted to know about fishing. I was with Bill on Wednesday, and I am proud to tell you he was full of life. His enthusiasm for fishing and friendship is unmatched. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

If anyone from Long Island needs info about calling hours, PM me and I'll give you the details.

Rest in peace my friend.

[deep]

Rest in peace, wild Bill.

That lunkerville episode is one of my favorites.

[grampa1114]

There is going to be a rather large hole left where this man stood.....R.I.P. Sincere condolences to the family.

Grampa 1114

[Redlinerobert]

That's terrible news. RIP Wild Bill.

[Sfritr]

Godspeed my friend........ Prayers to your family

[Bankbeater]

RIP, Wild Bill.

[Mike D from Lunkerville]

There was nobody better than Bill... nobody. He was the most giving, trustworthy teddy bear of a man I've ever known. Impossibly good. I came to know him very well as he was the #1 poster at NYBASS.com, moderator at lunkerville.com and a good friend. We actually did another episode of Lunkerville together a couple years back that was never released because he had motor problems and we only caught 2 fish. But I'm going to edit that show along with other Wild Bill clips I have and put together a memorial show to be broadcast on WFN this fall. He deserves it because he was that important not only to me and to Lunkerville; but to the sport.

I attended his wake and it was standing room only. Just an enormous outpouring of love for this good man. I got to meet his family and spoke at length with his brother Fred. Here's a letter Fred wrote to all Bill's fishing friends:

Hello to all of Wild Bill's friends;

I am Bill's younger brother Fred, and I would l like to thank you all for your kind words and wishes about my brother. He spoke to me often about many of you, and I want to thank you all for being such good friends for him while he was still with us.

I was fishing with Bill just before he died and when he failed to return to camp, I went out in my boat and found him, and ultimately brought him home. Before help arrived to free Bill's boat from a shoreline tangle, I spent the longest 30 minutes of my life holding his head in the darkess and telling him how much he meant to me, his family, his many friends, and the people who did not know him yet benifited from his philantropic efforts. Telling Mary of Bill's passing is the hardest thing that I have ever done. His entire family is in shock due to his untimely passing.

Besides wanting to let you know how important you all were to him as fellow fishermen and friends, I want to ask each of you to pause for a minute and forget about the little things that may annoy you and focus on what's really important in life ... love. It can be your spouse, your faimly, your friends, or something as basic as life itself. I loved my big brother and my only regret in what transpired this week was that I did not get to tell him I loved him one last time.

I'm sorry to take up some much space on a non-fishing topic, so I'll close with a follow-up fishing story:

When I found Bill he was holding the trolling motor rope in his right hand, and a rod in his left hand. The next day, while storing Bill's boat and tackle until we can get a minute to figure what to do with it all, I grabbed that rod and figured Billy would not mind it I took it out for one more shot. After sunset and the stars were out, I motored past Green Island and dropped the trolling motor. We cast some surface plugs for about an hour with out a boil. I was physically tired and emotionally exhausted and said "let's call it a night". My freind said "take one more cast and see what happens". Two short jerks later the water exploded and the lake gave up a three-plus smallmouth. I saw that as a gift from Bill.

If any of you would like to share a thought or story about Bill with me, especially the folks who fished his get-together the day he died, please drop me a line at

frenchy.one@hotmail.com

I bid you peace. Your brother in fishing,

Fred Holzapfel

You can watch the first episode I made with Bill here:

http://www.lunkervil...06wildbill.html

Rest in Peace Bill. You will be missed by many but your good spirit will continue in everyone you touched.

[Mike D from Lunkerville]

For Bill's friends who don't get WFN and don't want to wait until the episode airs on NBC Sports this winter, here's a link to Bill's memorial Lunkerville episode that premieres this Friday.

[Nitrofreak]

I only knew him through words, and the posting from this web site, we shared a few remarks and a few snip-it's, if you will, at one another, Bill seemed like one of those truley great individuals that enjoyed life as we all should enjoy it, his friendly sarcastic remarks, his knowlage of fishing passed on to me and others will be forever usefull and passed on to my children and grandchildren.

I fished last month for the first time in a long time, one of his comments entered into my brain of a remark he once made that made no sence to me at the time, a friend had given me a lure, a jig to be exact, one that he said never worked for him, When I approached a lay down with that jig tied on, Bill's comment came to mind, and I used it, smile!! he said when you toss that jig, it's a gift, gifts from other fishermen are good fortune and the smile is knowing it will work for you.

You know, looking back at that statement, when I picked up that rod and pitched that jig, I did have a smile on my face, not for reasons of thinking it will work but just thinking of his comment and how funny it would be if it all worked out, well it did, a nice little 4 lb bass took the bait on the fall and ran with it, I was not smiling at that point, I was laughing, laughing at how crazy that no sence comment worked out, and how everything in that comment made perfect sence, confidence is what you were teaching, but the real lesson was not to forget how much fun fishing really is.

Bill you were correct, good fortune does come from the free gifts that others are willing to share, your gifts to others have been a blessing, no matter how small they were, I for one will never forget to smile whenever I get the chance to fish from that day forward, unfortunately I did not get the chance to tell you this story in person or through words, but your lesson's will live on in my family circle as I am sure they will live on with others.

Rest in peace Wild Bill, and to your family, my thoughts and prayers are with you all.