# Heroes on the Water



## jkdolan (Mar 3, 2006)

Great day on the water. We had 8 active duty serviceman from Brook Army Medical Center come fish for newly stocked rainbow trout at Blanco State Park. They are all recovering from injuries sustained overseas. Everyone caught fish!!! Major Cody Roberson from ArmyBassAngler.com and the KASA Director of the Heroes on the Water program brought the guys down about 10AM and we fished until 2:30. Cabela's donated some ultralight rods and tackle. Most guys used Trout Powerbait very successfully. I don't know the total number, but I think several vets caught over 10. We took them up to the Town Square in Blanco for lunch because Blanco's monthly Market Days was today on the Square. The local American Legion Post fed them Hamburgers, Sausage, and Hotdogs. It was a day full of relaxation, fishing, and hanging out with a bunch of good people. Colleen, (HOTkayaks) from Heart of Texas Kayaks brought some yaks and helped set up and fished with us. She also volunteered help us with the guys at Darnall hospital at Ft Hood. http://www.crdamc.amedd.army.mil/woundedw/

My thoughts: Brad Newman, (Skinnyfeet), Kendal Larson( Blesker), and I started KASA to promote and develop the kayak fishing world. We are all veterans and our first order of business was to do something with yaks and the Military. Heroes on the Water is the result and our first project. When I do something like this, I sometimes wonder if it is the right thing to do and if it really helps. Today I found out that the answer to both questions is a resounding YES!! It sounds pretty hokey and cliché I know ( and I'm not prone to embellishment). Spend a day on the water doing something we love with a group of people like this, and it will all be very clear what kayak fishing means to them and how much we are helping. These guys live a fairly controlled life and deal with things daily we can not imagine. They get to get away from it and see the serenity and peacefulness on the water that we all know. Kayaks are perfect for these guys.










Waiting yaks. 









Early pic when they were all together and a little foggy 









Most of the rainbows were this size. They just stocked them yesterday. 









Cody getting interviewed by the TPWD staff. They came out to document and publicize the event.









All the guys.








Shameless plug time!!!

After seeing this program myself, I am convinced we are doing some real good for some very deserving people. Please check our website out at KayakAnglersSA.com. and look at the Heroes on the Water program. We have been paying for these trips out of our own pockets and are running out of money. We want to continue and expand the program to 5 major hospitals across the US including Walter Reed. Any donations at all will help. Please consider a donation to help our Military Heroes.


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## Fish_Fear_Us (Nov 28, 2007)

As a serving active Brigade Commander and having recently deployed to Iraq and returned to Fort Hood; I want to say Thank You to all of you for taking care of our guys. Getting ready to go down range again this summer, but when I redeploy again I'd love to fish with you guys and support this great program. Thanks again!


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## jkdolan (Mar 3, 2006)

Get ahold of us at the website at KayakAnglersSA.org or me directly at [email protected]. We'd love to have any help and fish with you. We are going to start the program at Darnall and can use any help that a "heavyweight" can give us. As you know, it's VERY hard to get permission to get premission to work with these guys. Cody is a Major and is redeploying in Feb or March. Really a blow to us because he was our POPC at BAMC. Let us know when you get back. We are also going to take 100 yaks over to fish in Saddam's lakes and catch barramundi. We will train some guys, hold a tourney or two, and leave the yaks for MWR. That will be very exciting. No, that will be AWESOME if it happens. We're calling it Operation DesKaF.

Thanks for your interest.


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## haparks (Apr 12, 2006)

that first picture says it all


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