By Chris Erwin
The first Military Appreciation Tournament had its ups and downs, as many of the original military contestants we unable to attend due to their military duties. However, this didn’t keep the tournament from going off without a hitch.
The weather is always a factor when it comes to fishing, and it couldn’t have been a more pleasant day. The skies were blue and wind was not much of a factor. The Ohio River is never an easy place to catch bass, and I knew the days catch would be thin. That proved to be the case. While all the boats caught some fish, only three boats would come to the scales with fish large enough to weigh-in.
I wanted to give you the names of the new veterans who fished since many of them changed. They were Ralph Brickey, Rachael Hutchins, Larry Harrr, John Kinney, George Smith, George Miller, and Mitch Sherman.
As I stood with Melvin Lawhorn, the tournament director, we got a call that the boats were crossing the bridge and would soon be pulling into the KDMC helipad where the weight-in was going to take place. As they made it there I passed between the boats and quizzed the boaters to see who had fish to weigh-in. That’s when I was told that almost everyone caught fish, however, most would not make the size limit.
To begin the official weigh-in, the Boyd County ROTC Color Guard stood fast and held the flag as we listened to an cappella version of the National Anthem sang by Julie and Michael Reeves.
One boat after another pulled up to the scales but only three boats were holding fish to weigh-in. The first boat was the team of Rusty Hatfield and George Smith. They had one fish that weighed a little over a pound. The second boat holding fish was the team of Russell Dillow and George Miller. They too had only have one fish. However, it would end up taking second place with a few more ounces than the first team.
The last boat to come to the scales was the team of Chris Barker and Master Sargent Mitchell Sherman. They had three fish and a smallmouth bass that ended up being the fish of the tournament. The smallmouth would weigh in about 1 ½ lbs. All three fish together weighed 3.32 lbs. and would be the winning sack of fish.
Some of the sponsors that helped make this tournament a success were: Borders Sporting Goods, Rockdale Boat Mart, Boyd County Ford, Summit RV, Kentucky Angling News Magazine and Malone’s Marina. Both the sponsors and the volunteers that made this tournament possible wanted to show how much they appreciated the service that these men and woman have provided this country.
It’s been said that freedom isn’t free; it has been paid for by the blood of men and women like the ones that were riding in the boats. While this may be a small token of how much we care about them, it is a step toward showing them how much our community supports their bravery and service.
I hope that next year we can make it bigger and better. I hope you will help us when the time comes next year to ask for your support. Until next time, keep tight line and take a kid fishing.
Chris Erwin is the founder and publisher of Kentucky Angling News an on-line magazine available at www.kentuckyangling.com/magazine Chris can be reached by email chris@ashlandbeacon.com
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