Wounded Warrior / Military Appreciation Day @ NCWRC Pechmann Ctr 4-11-12

We had another great Wounded Warrior / Military Appreciation Day on 4-11-12 at the NCWRC John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center when we opened the doors to honor those who make the freedoms we all enjoy possible. This fish for fun event occurs the 2nd Wednesday of each month and is open to anyone associated with the military to include, active, reserves, retirees, DOD civilians, VA card holders and their immediate family members. Show up and we will put a fish pole in your hands.



What a great way to reconnect with your kids after multiple deployments to the war zone - or as they say "down range" (For our civilian readers that means you're on the wrong end or wrong side of a live pistol or rifle range)



Big brother does not need any help with this nice catfish.



First time with a fly rod and it looks like she is into a nice fish! (This gal had lots of beginners luck as you will see further down in our blog)



Wow! First fish and she is spoiled. - But it gets better (Keep reading)



Another first fish on a fly rod. When this young fellow saw the lady with her big fish he quickly abandoned the bream pond and was soon yelling "Get the net, I've got a monster"



A group of disabled vets drove up from Wilmington to join us and were soon enjoying good action.



Small fish of the day but it sure brings a big smile.



Ok, admit it fellows. You would have fallen for any line cast by this lady. BTW she was an excellent fly caster. She and her Wounded Warrior husband hail from Oregon and will be returning there as soon as he recovers from his latest round of multiple surgeries. We wish them well.



Another father / son get together. This youngster is the brother of the one with the sunglasses and camouflage hat shown earlier. They had some friendly brotherly competition and ended up tied. Last we heard they were jiving each other about who caught the largest fish.



Wow, where did this huge brown trout come from? If you lived near a river full of trout like this you would be in fly fishing heaven.



Remember the young lady with the huge catfish as her first fish on a fly rod? Well she is proof that lightning strikes the same spot twice because this is her first ever trout, and on a fly rod no less! Turns out this huge brown has toured the state in the NCWRC Mobile Aquarium but became too big and aggressive to let loose with the other aquarium fish - in other words he was eating his traveling companions. They quietly released him in one of the ponds and today "Big Brown's" aggressive behavior became his downfall.



Lots of ladies out today.



This young fellow and his dad have been out several times before. He lets dad know when the 2nd Wednesday of each month rolls around.

We had a nice crowd today, 25 by my count, but our dream is to have so many that we have to call more volunteers. Our next one will be Wednesday, May 9, 2012. We specialize in fly fishing but have over 200 spin casting outfits for those who want to dunk a worm or try some "stink bait" on the catfish. Family members are welcome. If the kids are in school we don't mind if you arrive a little late with them fresh from the school bus. Hours for these events are from 1:00 - 5:00 pm, but if the weather is nice and the fish are biting we can be talked into staying a little later

Looks like a great day with great people. Just have to say WOW!! about the brown trout.