Fair Haven Wounded Veteran Fishing Weekend Information

[Morgan-E]

Fair Haven Wounded Veteran Fishing Weekend Information

Fair Haven will once again be hosting veterans who have payed a high price while serving to keep our families and us safe.  This year Larry Knoll , Commander of the Fair Haven American Legion, has taken the helm on organizing the event.  We will have between 18 and 27 guests attending with 11 boats ready to go. 

 

The event begins Friday June 23 at Turtle Cove Restaurant and Resort.  The servicemen and women as well as organizers and captains will meet at Turtle Cove by 5:30PM.  The fire company will meet at Turtle to give the guests an escort through town to the American Legion for a home cooked dinner.  After dinner they will head back to Turtle Cove which has graciously donated some cabins and reduced the rate for the others to get some R&R, sit around a campfire, fish from the docks, etc...

 

On Saturday morning the guests and captains will meet at Turtle Cove at 5:15AM for a quick breakfast, pick up some goody trays, and head off with their assigned captains for a morning on the water.  Once the word is given by those cooking a pig and setting up a picnic at the Fair Haven pavilion, lines will be pulled and the group will head in.  Pictures of the fish with anglers etc... will be taken at Bayside Marina and the guests will head over to the Pavilion for a great feed.  The fish will be cleaned, bagged, and put on ice and then brought over for the guests to take home for some good eats and to relive the memories later.  The event will conclude with parting gifts and "thank you's".

 

If any one is able to make it up and out onto the lake on this day please help put fish on the lines for these guys by sharing any information that you feel may help.  We are all in this together and to see smiles on these guys faces after what they have done for us all is beyond words.  The success of the fishing in the past has been greatly influenced by anglers who have shared critical information who are helping figure out the program for the day.

 

Also please remember to patronize and thank Brian and family of Turtle Cove for the cabin donations and use of the grounds and Bayside Marina for the use of their fish cleaning facility.

Also a big thank you to all involved and who have made monetary donations or donations of time to make this weekend work as well as it has - especially the members of the Fair Haven American Legion and the boat captains who blacked out their calendars for this event.  Some monetary donations have come from fishing organizations such as ELOSTA, fire companies as far away as New Jersey, and many other individuals and organizations.  Also, thank you to those who were going to run their boats to FH, but due to the high water and limited launch capabilities will have to wait until next year - your generosity has not gone unnoticed. 

 

Captains who are able to make it Friday afternoon to Turtle we would like a hand moving one of the pens that has a broken axial to a weed mat to protect the net from plant damage.

[Sk8man]

Another great example of generosity and the thoughtfulness of the fishing community to provide vets with appreciation for their service to our country. A hearty "thanks" to all involved on behalf of fellow vets everywhere.

[Morgan-E]

The Wounded Warrior Weekend was a huge success thanks to all who were involved in making it happen and especially to the honored guests who sacrificed so much so that their fellow countrymen can live better and free lives. Despite rough water the boats were able to get out and there was enough fish caught that ever soldier was able to go home with as much fish as they wanted. Thank you to the captains for toughing it out on a day that many would have turned around at the chute.

Also, a big thank you to the cooks who drove from NJ to make sure the pig roast went off without a hitch, to the Fair Haven American Legion for hosting the Friday night dinner and to Larry Knoll for his passion he brought to the event, to Cindy Borozny who took care of so many things that people would never think needed doing, to all who fund raised and donated to the cause, to Turtle Cove for their cabin donations and use of their restaurant at 4:30AM - 5:30AM, to Bayside Marina for the use of their cleaning station and the so much appreciated letter from the family left at the cleaning table, to Ken Smith and the Ogdensburg FD for their donations, to those who took time out of their day to honor the soldiers as they were escorted through Fair Haven, Joe Grondin for his work as our photographer, all of the local businesses throughout Fair Haven who donated so much to make sure these men and women had a great time, the Fair Haven FD for making sure the guys had the proper escort, to the police officer who not only escorted the men and women through town but also took time to eat with them at the Legion as a friend, organizations such as ELOSTA (Eastern Lake Ontario Salmon and Trout Association) for thier donations, as well as so many others who did things that we are not even aware of.

 

A big thank you as well to those who supported this in the past so that it could become the event that it has.

There were 22 soldiers who were able to attend and 11 boats used in the event. The communication on the water was beyond exceptional to help home in on the fish and what they were interested in. The largest salmon weighed in that day was just shy of 24lbs caught on Lumpy Lunkers with several in the upper teens brought in from several of the boats. The largest trout was a 6 1/2lb Brown taken on Time Flies. The biggest wave was a legit 6+ footer in 30+ mph gusts. *****Time Flies placed in the Atomik Challenge and did so while honoring two young men as their guests on the rods ***** Rich Peaslee made his comeback from a back injury in the rough water in a big way with 5 respectable salmon being brought back tot he dock****Every soldier who went out had a great time and were shown the deserved honor they are due - some from as far back as the Korean War****

We are starting to plan for next year already. There was a lot of feedback that will be used to try to make next year as successful.

Below is a picture of one of the fish racks full with the other being loaded and a picture of the soldiers and some of the folks who were able to make the dinner Friday night.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Fair Haven Fishing Association

 

 

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