2012 Sodus Bay Healing Waters Salmon Slam - August 4th

[SoSaarie]

The big day is finally here and looks like we've been blessed with a beautiful day

Now lets go get these guys on some drag screaming slobs!!!

[crumcake1223]

does this mean i get to leave now????

[TOP SECRET]

Let's do this!!!

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[camomanbg]

Ok, I was gonna sit here at the laynch for a few more minutes but everyone's up and the bass boats are launching already. See ya soon!!!

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[Landshark]

Go get em.boys!

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[TOP SECRET]

Let's go fishin!

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[TOP SECRET]

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[FISHIN AGAIN?]

Keep em comin Nick.

[Fishtails]

Nick...I checked the tracking info and The Big Weenie prize pack is out for delivery It should be there today when the mail man shows up...USPS delivery...

[TOP SECRET]

Thank you everyone who helped make this event a success. Ill have more after a bit of ac and rest, but here's the scoreboard!

[ Post made via Android ]

[Reel Outlaw]

Great job Nick and Theresa thanks for the great opportunity and experience hope to do it all over again next year

[ Post made via Android ]

[ray koziatek]

Well here i sit all broken hearted tried to fish but only farted!

Many if not all uf us knew not what to expect as daybreak came upon us today..Maybe in the back of my mind I expected to see Military ambulances,pull in the parking lot with men wraped in fresh bloody bandages,hobblin to our event on crutches.....And maybe that what was we were looking at but 5 to 50 years later..No our HEROS did bear the evedence of fresh wounds ,but of wounds of a Hero who has seen and experenced things many of us Captians have only seen in the movies...

What we did see come to us was a group of friends connected by the miseries of war. Who were offered the chance by the Generious efforts Of "Bobs Boy" to experience the joy we so often take for granted of fishing Lake Ontario..

First and formost I must say "Bobs Boy" is not a person but a team...And after seeing Nick walk in circles with the coffee pot,extension cords and a can of coffee trying to figure out how it works it was clear thier was another driving force in making this event work. Threasa (The Team Leader) was organizing sign in,running back and forth to the boat unloading boxes,from their car,gettin the cooks lined up handing out rules,supplied me with some Tums , telling arriving sponcers where to place goods ,ect,ect....yes after much fustration Nick was well on his way of making his first pot of coffee..

Then Our Heros started to arrive , with some leaving at 4am to reach their start of another day in their life ,none complained ,and it was clear to us the visable healed over burns, artifical limbs , were some of the phycical wounds we saw but the ones we couldnt see were of no lesser importance ,as war effects many within as well as on the outside...

We welcomed them all with open arms and from what i saw our "OPEN HEARTS" yes WE were part of the much healing still needed and appreciated

by OUR MEN..

Well over night Ma(mother nature) reversed the fan and the NE wind WAS A south blow by morning,along with a pressure change and a full moon ,Catching was very poor to say the least with almost 1/2 of the field not bringing one fish to the dock..with my heart (and pride) heavy with the lack of fish in our boat For My Assigned HERO, His words were well "Thats Fishing"..Maybe i was the one being healed, as the words from a man who had both legs removed by a land mine, sorta made my feeling of not getting a fish seem so very trivial.

I digress!!

Overall the event was a great sucess for all , with new friends ,great food great prizes and support by so many wonderfull sponcers and hard workin people ...

But somehow i think their were really TWO that started the ball rolling.

Nick and Threasa , I hope you are relaxin ,and basking in the satisfaction you not only change the lifes of Our HEROS with your hard work. but you just opened a bunch of eyes and hearts ,Of those who particapated..

GOD BLESS YOU!!!!and

God Bless America and all those who have sacrificed so much for Us......

Ray K.

PS Nick when the coffee is gone unplug the coffee maker...

[Fishtails]

I so wish I could have been there to help out and be a part of such a good cause. Way to go Nick, Theresa and everyone else who helped out. I bet the vets had a blast!

[chowder]

Outstanding effort! Hats off to Nick and Theresa and all those who attended to all the many details and most of all to the guests of honor who were just a great bunch of guys to talk and fish with. Nice job Capt Coup & thanks for the invite,I'll crew for you any time! -Andy

[bout time]

I want to again thank Nick and Theresa for all their efforts. It was great to see many of you help out and make this something truley remarkable. I would also like to say how great it was to meet everyone. Many of us have never met and only knew each other by our boat name or screen name. To see everyone come together and participate in this was a win itself and truly opened the eyes of many. Great job to everyone who made this day possible

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[W.W.IV.]

Great job Nick and theresa, you may have had trouble making coffee but it hit the spot when you got it done. you and the bride did a great job and if you do it again I'll be in line to help. . Mike WWIV.

[crumcake1223]

im not really not sure what to say... thank you all for the great day of meeting new people, fishing with outstanding people,great food, and just a great time had by all. its funny ,ed our vet, said to me today " you guys must have been planning this out for hat a year???" you should have looked at his face when i told him that it has only been about 2 months from the time nick put it out there about fishing with vets until today. blown away is all i can say. his mind and mine. after seeing the day turn out with or with out fish and so many bright faces!!!!

there where a few vet faces that i knew from gathering before and after talking to them at the the close of the day i was told that some of them really found peace out there, something that some have not had in years, hooking up was just a bonus!!!

nick and Theresa what a day!!!! show me where to sign up for next year and tell me where i can help. i need me about 30 different salmon slam tee's and spoons, 1 each for the next 30 years. we got what a year to make the next one just as good , heck better. either way this was the first and no matter what anyone does you cant replace it. and you cant replace the way the members of team dipsy ranger today.

a few words to everyone from our vet ed from 1st cav and now recently retired veterans administration doctor....you guys really know how to put a smile on a man face even after seeing what war can show you. the time i spent today here has helped me heal wounds not shown by scars. please keep my up to date with next year and how i may help make this happen!!!!!!!

these words are all the thanks that i could receive without crying.

in closeing for all that where involved with helping put this on a huge pat on the back to all of you, lets keep this going

[Finders Keepers]

I fully agree - a wonderful/great event all around, and seeing all the smiles on our guests' faces was awesome!! Kudos to Nick and Teresa - job well done! Count us in for next year!!

[Mortigan]

I hope I can assist next season.

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Great job! Kudos to all who helped make that a memorable day for our vets.

[Tackle Buster]

Great event, Great day of fishing and hopefully an annual event. It takes a lot to put these events together, Thanks to everbody involved. Nothing better than the big smiles from someone hanging on to a screaming king bigger than anything they have ever caught. As mentioned the catching was just a bonus. Both of our vets one army and one navy said (you can really find the peace out here) as they watched the rods. Of course they were aboard the Tackle Buster so there were some interesting moments!!!!!

Well Done evryone!!!!!!!!!

[worm_waster]

This was an absolutely awesome event. I cannot think of anyway that it could have been better. Fishing is just that, and there is no guarantee the will cooperate. This day was about so much more than salmon.

I would like to share our story about the Salmon Slam.

About a month ago, Skip Hughes our PHW lead, let me know about the slam. He primarily flyfishes now and has done every fly fishing event since we started. Knowing that I would rather boat fish than any other thing, he asked if I would go. I thought it would be neat, and if lucky I could "stow away" on someones boat as an observer or mate.

We ran into a couple of bumps along they way. First, we had transportation issues. Since the event was over 100 miles away, we were unable to use a bus provided by the VA. Second, we had two vets cancel in the last 4 days leading up to the event. Our VA representative stated that he wouldn't blame me if we cancelled since there was only one. I sure didn't want to tell the last guy that we weren't going, so we continued to search for someone who could go on short notice. With three days left, we were able to find another.

At Midnight, I picked up the two remaining participants at their respective homes in downtown Erie and jumped on the Thruway and headed NE. I had met Joe before, but had never met Chuck and only talked to him a few times on the phone. Joe told stories, some serious, some hilarious. Chuck was quiet in the back seat, with the exception of some occasional snoring.

After a quick stop at Tim Horton's somewhere between North of Rochester, we finished the last leg of the trip and arrived at Arnie's at around 4:30. Precisely on schedule, I flipped the seat back and figured I would relax for a bit. There is something inside of every fisherman, that requires him to look out at new, unfamiliar water even if it is dark. The three of us were no different, and we walked out on the dock and gazed at the water in the reflection of the lights around the bay, near and far.

Shortly after 5am, I noticed that the marina was coming to life. Not your typical fishing crowd, but a mix of fishermen as well as a few ladies walking their dogs. As it got lighter, I noticed that the tents were set up and wandered over to see if I could help set up. There I met Nick and Theresa. There was coffee ready. Nick did not mention all the trouble he went through to make it.

Soon, more and more captains and participants began to arrive. Since there were a couple of father/son duos on the same boat, there was room on a boat called 'Bout Time' captained by Mike Jr and Sr. I eagerly boarded the boat and we headed out of the Bay.

Soon (The water here on Lake E. is ALOT shallower than Lake O) we were setting up in about 100fow. Soon we caught a nice steelhead about 6.5#. I have caught lots of them in Lake E. but after some trying have never caught a fish with a flasher so this was if first for me. A bit later, a diver started screaming and I grabbed it from the holder and held on. The line soon went slack as the fish either bit through or broke the leader at the hook. Soon the rigger rod went up and a large fish was on the line. With a bit of skill and more luck, I was able to get the fish to the back of the boat for netting with minimal trouble, a 17.7 king.

A couple of hours later, we headed in. Both Mikes commented on how the bite was slow. I fished for about 4 hours and caught the largest fish of my 30+ year avid fishing career.

At the dock, I found that Joe caught a king tied for 2nd and Chuck caught a King that nearly decaitated itself in the motor. Both had ear to ear grins. Soon we headed home for Erie. Both Joe and Chuck were surpisingly peppy for older fellas who had been up for this long. They both recounted the stories of how the fish pulled and pulled, and how much fun they had with the whole event.

Thank you soooo much to everyone involved in this event.

Right now we (The Erie Chapter PHW) is working on a stream steelhead outing this November. I can only pray will turn out as good as this event.

Thanks.

Brian

[reelintense]

Hard not to say some of the same things that have already been said above. What I can tell you is that our Vietnam Vet, George, was an extremely humble man, with a heart of gold and in the end....more appreciative than i could understand. It is I (and i am sure many of us that have not served) that are so appreciative of the cost these men and women have paid, for us to have the freedoms to fish whenever we want! The fishing was not the best, and many of us realized that. Personally we went 2 for 4, but George landed both of his fish and the smile he had on the 16lb king of his, was "priceless". I was proud to have been part of this. I was glad we could take their minds off of other things for a little while. I was glad to meet so many of you that I also only knew by your handles. And lastly....Absolutely THANK YOU to Nick and Theresa Allers and all the volunteers that made this possible. I can hardly wait for next year!

Jason Herbst and Heather Lowe

[SoSaarie]

A lot of great posts here and well deserved thanks. Just wanted to share a quick tid bit on our most awesome experience. Our veteran, Gary, a Vietnam vet who had caught plenty of river run salmon but never had the opportunity to tackle one out on the open lake, looks at me and says - "I can't believe there's guys like you all that would do stuff like this for guys like us..... especially after the "welcome" that we got after returning home. You will never really know just how much we really appreciate all of this.... " I kinda think that sums it up

After a few hours of trolling, I felt sort of bad that we were 'only' able to go 3 for 5 with just one salmon, we worked our fanny's off for those few bites. But Gary caught his first ever salmon and (2) steelhead on open waters. On top of that, we enjoyed a lot of great conversation and stories and even a couple cold ones Gary seemed pleased as punch and told us he wouldn't have cared if we didn't catch anything, this meant more to him than any "catching". Puts things into perspective......

To Nick and Theresa (and everybody else involved) - absolutely fantastic job putting this all together, especially in such a short amount of time. Thanks for including us and we're looking forward to next year.

[ray koziatek]

Mike ,I owe you one or two...trips maybe At the oak much closer for ya.besides ya left yer goddie bag on my boat,and im eating the candy fast..give ma a call if yer interested,lets play the weather a little better,if ya know someone who can share the driving their welcome too..

Ray K 607 769 7947...