Wounded Soldiers Fishing.

reelfishin · Post by **reelfishin** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:54 am

My son and his wife have been trying for about a year to get a group of soldiers to go fishing with us. They never could get through the red tape or get anyone interested.
They got envolved with the Wounded Soldiers program and they had four soldiers sign up right away. We took them out saturday. The only catch is that they have to get to the marina and home. Either the military has to provide it or they themselves provide it.
We set up for cobia and also took along some flounder bottom rigs for fishing. My son figured while we were waiting on the cobia they could fish for the smaller fish. My son and I monitored the big poles while the soldiers fished. All day long they caught the smaller fish. The soldiers did not mind at all, they laughed and had a great time. There were only a couple times we were not bring in fish and they were short.
What do we get? The knowledge of fishing from these fisherman and the joy of taking them out fishing. That is priceless.

Shannon on left and my son on right Rusty

reelfishin · Post by **reelfishin** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:06 am

Two of the soldiers did not leave their poles all day long. They were diehard fisherman. You could see the concentration they had and they loved it. I was amazed at their dedication.

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:07 am

That's fantastic!
I just spoke with a friend last week who works at Walter Reed Hospital in Silver Spring, MD who is helping me in scheduling a wounded Vets fishing trip this fall. Hope I can pull it off....

They will have transportation via the services dept and volunteers. I can't think of a better way to thank those who truly want to get out and fish who otherwise can't.

Great job and thanks for sharing your weekend with them...and us!

reelfishin · Post by **reelfishin** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 8:40 pm

Stripermann2 I hope you can get it set up. It really was a wonderful day for us and them. We had a lot of laughs and that is what it was all about.
We thought we would be baiting the hooks and cutting the bait etc. It wasn't long before they were doing their own thing and loving it. At times they were pulling them in two at a time.
One fisherman would lose the fish when he tried to pull it aboard now and then. I called it the fish hook release. I told him I think his hook had a release on it. It finally broke and we replaced it.
It really is worth the time to do it and we hope to do it alot more.

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:37 pm

Good for you! Vets deserve it. Any time I can help a Vet, I will ...

LSP · Post by **LSP** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:41 pm

Look's like those gentlemen had a ball! Very thoughtful of you and your family.

David Kane · Post by **David Kane** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 8:02 am

What a great way to thank a vet for the sacrifice he has made!

reelfishin · Post by **reelfishin** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:41 pm

Thanks All, It really is our pleasure to take them out.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 9:05 pm

Thats great !

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 7:32 am

Two thumbs up. What a great thing to do for our vets.

randyp · Post by **randyp** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 1:39 pm

What a great way to pay back what they've done for us. Congrats on your effort. Looks like a really good time!

Coralkong · Post by **Coralkong** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:31 pm

Nicely done.

Good on you for pulling it off!

If you do it again sometime, thank them for me!

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 5:07 am

what a fantastic thing to do for what they have done for us. what a great idea. i think that boaters all over the place should do something like this. i'm often amazed at the kindness that some people display towards our men and women in/out of uniform. when i am at work, i try to do what i can, especially if there is a first class seat open and a man or woman in uniform steps onboard the aircraft. right up front they go, gear and all, no questions asked. if not, in the coach cabin, whatever they want, again, no questions asked. the other day out of philly to chicago, one of our chairmans preferred passengers gave up his first class seat to a marine in dress blues. the entire first class cabin erupted in an ovation. the poor guy just said he was doing his duty, but the buisness men and woman in the front cabin still lined up to shake his hand and thank him. it was a great flight and i could not believe, that at 27 (it was his birthday) he has done 5 tours already. this ''youngster'' has seen more than anyone his age should ever have to see. i was the cabin service director so it was my cabin and he often just came up to the galley and wanted to talk. i often think all they want is someone to just listen. i was only too happy to do it.
aaron