Troops treated to fishing day
Monica Holland
We all know that a bad day fishing is better than a good day in the office. That’s especially true when the office is in Afghanistan or Iraq.
“There’s plenty of water here; a lot of sand over there,” Army Warrant Officer Albert Dixon said as he worked a jig on the banks of Jordan Lake.
Dixon’s deployment to Afghanistan and love of bass fishing made him eligible for the Warriors on the Water military appreciation event held Friday. Members of four military branches were treated to a day of fishing with some of the sport’s elite as anglers from the Bassmaster and FLW tournament trails were among 180 boaters who volunteered.
Retired veterans and avid fishermen Hal Abshire, Greg Lahr and Bob Cunningham formed the event three years ago to recognize servicemen and women and to show gratitude, particularly to those who had spent time in the war zones.
“We’re trying not to call it a tournament; it’s a military appreciation day,” Abshire said. “We’re thanking them for what they’ve done.”
Events began Wednesday when bass fishing heavyweights Hank Parker of Hank Parker’s Outdoor Magazine, Ranger boats founder Forrest L. Wood and FLW president and CEO Charlie Evans joined boaters and co-anglers for dinner at Sports USA on Fort Bragg.
The fishing day was the culmination of a soldier-angler switcheroo that took professional bass anglers on post to learn first-hand about life in the military. They sat in on weapons training, floated in a wind tunnel and toured Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base before teaching some lucky soldiers how to pitch a jig into thick cover and come away with a pre-spawn largemouth.
“I’m trying to learn everything I can,” Marine Sgt. Terrance Sanders said. Sanders was paired with Powers-Swain fishing team member Gary Malkin, of Fayetteville. Malkin had rigged up a white spinnerbait and jig with a rattletrap for Sanders.
“He’s helping me with precision casting,” Sanders said. “I can’t do it like he does, but I’m learning. I tried, like, 16 times and couldn’t pitch where he was.”
Said Malkin: “That just comes from a lot of practice in the living room.”
The tournament angler had caught glimpses of moving fish, but murky water conditions made sighting difficult. “Winning is nice, but we’re out to take guys like Terrance and just get them on a fish,” Malkin said.
Besides the fishing, Sanders got a kick out of the bass boat when Malkin opened up his 200 horsepower Mercury at the early-morning blast off. “It’s like popping a wheelie doing 100 mph. On water,” Sanders said. “It was an experience. I’ll never forget it.”
Bassmaster pro Lonnie Caywood hauled his boat from Casper, Ga., to fish with Joshua Armes, Air Force 43rd LRS on Pope. “I would have driven all the way across the country for this,” Caywood said.
Angler Anthony Adams, of Raleigh, hosted Army Sgt. 1st Class James Reynolds, of Fort Bragg, on his Triton TR19 vessel. They started the day with reactionary baits in shallows.
Reynolds, who spent seven months in Qatar on the heels of 9/11, grew up fishing between Houston and Galveston in Texas. He found the camaraderie of the day just as nice as the chance to fish.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” Reynolds said. “A lot of these guys are retired military as well. It’s great to be here amongst fellow soldiers and supporters enjoying a day on the lake.”
For Adams, having the soldier on his boat was an honor. “This is just one little thing I can do to give back for what they do every day for us,” Adams said. “There’s no way we could really repay them.”
