# The DAV Fishing event needs your help.



## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

You may, or may not, already know this, but there is an upcoming fishing event scheduled for the 2nd of August to take some of our Disabled Veterans out on Strawberry Reservoir (Soldier Creek side) for a half day of fishing and then a BBQ lunch afterward. This event depends in large measure on the willingness of our members to volunteer their time and their boat to the cause. Yes, it's a fairly long way to drive for one day for most of us who live on the Front, but the joy you will see in your veterans face will MORE than make up for that inconvenience.


With only one month to go, the cause is a little short on boats with only 19 signed up so far. Won't you please consider helping us with this event by volunteering YOUR boat for the day? Since this event is being run through that other website, you'll have to go there to sign up. I hope to see you there.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

I volunteered 2 years ago. I had the boat in the water at 5:45 and I sat in the marina waiting for a vet until 9:30. They ran out of vets so they sent a volunteer with the Knights of Columbus down to go fishing with us.

We caught 8 that morning, including 6 kokanee. Out of 70+ boats, we were #2 or 3 for the morning and the boats that beat us had a 3+ hour head start.

More than 80% of the boats came back with nothing.

They need to do this event 2 weeks ago, not in August after the water has warmed up, and they need to coordinate it better so boats aren't sitting in the marina for 3 hours waiting for no one.


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

Dodger,

I am truly sorry that you had an unpleasant experience 2 years ago. It is indeed unfortunate. I was also there in 2012 and got my Vet at the start and we had a good time and actually caught some trout. I was not there last year due to other commitments but was told that it went off without any major difficulties. The Knights of Columbus picked the event up in 2012 I believe and they had some minor coordination problems as you experienced. However, this is their 3rd year doing it now and hopefully they are getting the rough edges smoothed out.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

I wasn't able to participate last year because my son was born that day.

I think my problem is that I wanted to help. I went to the expense of helping, and they wouldn't let me do it.

I had a 1985 Sea Ray back then. It wasn't a pretty boat and I honestly think they didn't send anyone with us because we had a junky boat. Right or wrong, I watched every nice boat get called up and have a vet put on. It seemed like the boats went up in the order of "niceness." 

Adam Eakle drove by us and asked how the fishing was. He saw our number in the window that showed we were participating. We held up our kokanee and he asked our "vet" to hold them for the show. Then he found out that our "vet" wasn't a vet and just one of the volunteers. So he went off to find someone else with fish.

I applaud what they are doing up there. Like I said, I wanted to help. I wanted to say "thanks" in one of the ways I could. I just didn't get the chance to do it.

And, if they are serious about catching fish, they should do their event in June, not in August.


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Dodger said:


> I wasn't able to participate last year because my son was born that day.
> 
> I think my problem is that I wanted to help. I went to the expense of helping, and they wouldn't let me do it.
> 
> ...


I have had similar feedback from others who attended, they got the impression it was more of a dog and pony show for public recognition than actually helping the veterans. As a DAV member myself I will likely sign up to help when I buy a bigger boat next year(16-18ft), but if I feel underutilized or unimportant there will not be a second time.


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## bugchuker (Dec 3, 2007)

Last year was better than the previous year, we caught nearly 30 fish. The Vets we fished with were good guys. I can't say the same for 2012, the guy that we drew brought his wife, they were more interested in the free stuff and food than the fishing.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

bugchuker said:


> Last year was better than the previous year, we caught nearly 30 fish. The Vets we fished with were good guys. I can't say the same for 2012, the guy that we drew brought his wife, they were more interested in the free stuff and food than the fishing.


Just out of curiosity, what kind of boat do you have?


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## bugchuker (Dec 3, 2007)

21' Sylvan
*


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

Dodger said:


> And, if they are serious about catching fish, they should do their event in June, not in August.


There is a ton of planning and coordination that goes on for an event of this magnitude. There are way more considerations for when to hold it other than when is the best time of year to catch fish there. There are also several bodies of water that are closer to SLC that could be a better choice of venue, but unfortunately the group doing the planning and coordinating has a budget of $0 for putting it together and the Utah State Parks management doesn't think the event worthy enough to waive entry and pavilion reservation fees to hold the event at any of their facilities. There are also other competing events during the summer just as worthy that would preclude some of our volunteers from helping us. And lets not forget trying to work around some holidays such as Father's Day, the 4th, and the 24th.

Could it be better fishing at some other time of the year? Yes! But given the circumstances facing us, this time of year is a good compromise for holding this event and the support we get from AL&L while using their managed facility is outstanding.

:O--O:


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

bugchuker said:


> I can't say the same for 2012, the guy that we drew brought his wife, they were more interested in the free stuff and food than the fishing.


That is indeed unfortunate. But that sort of abuse is certainly the exception and NOT the rule. For the most part, these Vets are very deserving of any and all courtesies we can give them and I will continue to make this a happy day for some Vets for as long as I'm able.


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## bugchuker (Dec 3, 2007)

I applaud the efforts of all involved. Coordinating the the VA is a nightmare, I heard the vets that are going this year signed up last year and were put on a waiting list.


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## bugchuker (Dec 3, 2007)

I think there is a kids fishing event the same weekend, my uncle has signed up for that so we won't be attending this year. I might volunteer to help with the shore duties.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

dubob said:


> There is a ton of planning and coordination that goes on for an event of this magnitude. There are way more considerations for when to hold it other than when is the best time of year to catch fish there. There are also several bodies of water that are closer to SLC that could be a better choice of venue, but unfortunately the group doing the planning and coordinating has a budget of $0 for putting it together and the Utah State Parks management doesn't think the event worthy enough to waive entry and pavilion reservation fees to hold the event at any of their facilities. There are also other competing events during the summer just as worthy that would preclude some of our volunteers from helping us. And lets not forget trying to work around some holidays such as Father's Day, the 4th, and the 24th.
> 
> Could it be better fishing at some other time of the year? Yes! But given the circumstances facing us, this time of year is a good compromise for holding this event and the support we get from AL&L while using their managed facility is outstanding.
> 
> :O--O:


I'm totally there with you Bob. I understand this takes a lot of coordination and planning. I think it's great that AL&L will host the event and I think Strawberry is a great place to hold an event like this. The lakes closer to SLC would not be as good for fishing, IMO. Strawberry is the best closest option from a fishing perspective.

I understand that there are other things that people have going on throughout the summer. My only point is that if it is supposed to be for the sake of going fishing, it makes sense to do it when the fishing is as good as it can be. If we're trying to provide memories for these guys, they are going to remember it a lot better if it was their best ever day on the water and that means June.

I don't know if Free Fishing Day is an option. But the only other events in June are Father's Day and Flag Day. Those are both good reasons to _take_ a vet fishing, not reasons _not_ to take a vet fishing.

I guess if you're doing a fishing trip, fishing should be the foremost consideration, at least that's how I feel. I get it if that can't happen, but I don't think it helps the event if 80% of people get back to the dock.

I also want to clarify, I am NOT against the DAV fishing day. I want to support it. I've tried to support it and I think everyone who has the capacity to do it SHOULD support it. I just want to see it be as successful as possible. For some that may not mean catching fish. But, for me, that means bringing limits of salmon back to the dock.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

Dodger said:


> I had a 1985 Sea Ray back then. It wasn't a pretty boat and I honestly think they didn't send anyone with us because we had a junky boat. Right or wrong, I watched every nice boat get called up and have a vet put on. It seemed like the boats went up in the order of "niceness."


Bob has informed me that this was not the case. If Bob says this didn't happen then my perception was wrong and I apologize for the insinuation.


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

Hello again folks. I want to pass on some information about the DAV Fishing Event that may just clear up some of the details on just how this event is being run. These comments came from a Director of the Utah Disabled Veterans Fishing Foundation (UDVFF), Mr. Todd Hall.

The UDVFF has learned a lot in the last couple of years and they have gotten much better at handling the vets between the check in station and getting them on a boat. Last year, there was over 20 volunteer staff, on foot, helping to coordinate the vets with boats. This was a tremendous help and provided for a much better success last year controlling the vets from running off in groups. It is very important that you understand how difficult that is as many of the Vets bunch up and demand to go out together. The UDVFF Staff does the best they can as some of the Vets have legitimate needs to be together, such as being with their spouses or they have real anxiety issues, etc.

The UDVFF had considered loading the Vets into the boats in the parking lot but decided against that due to safety concerns with that amount of foot traffic and boat trailers. Another problem contributing to the confusion is that most of the vets don't arrive until nearly 8:00 am even though they have been given a 7:00 am arrival time. The VAMC Staff in SLC doesn't like to leave SLC that early. It takes a good bit of time to get 60 some boats launched, rigs parked, and boat captains back to their boat. With all these challenges it is still something the UDVFF Staff discussed again this year.

Every year the UDVFF Staff holds an after action meeting a couple weeks after the event to review their notes on areas needing improvement the following year. The number one priority every year is to ensure that every boater gets at least one veteran. This is also stressed to the volunteers and veterans at every opportunity. Last year, the Staff began putting vets on boats as soon as they arrived and sending the boats out fishing. They skipped the flag ceremony at the ramp and instead had one at the start of the BBQ in direct response to some of the issues they experienced in 2012. Having over 20 shore volunteers last year really helped a lot in getting the vets to the boats in a timely manner.

The UDVFF wants to stress to one and all that it's great to have hard core fishermen involved in this event. Remember, this is an all volunteer group and they are doing the very best that they can under the given circumstances. The UDVFF Staff tries to improve the experience for everyone each year; Veterans and volunteers alike. This year will be the 4th year that the UDVFF will be running this event and it has grown from around 40 vets to almost a hundred which requires about 60 to 70 boats; so it's a handful.

The UDVFF really appreciates all the support it gets from sponsors and volunteers for this event. They welcome and encourage feedback, both positive and negative, so they can work to continuously improve the experience for everybody. If you have any kudos or complaints, please feel free to pass them along to Mr. Hall. He would very much like to hear from you - good and bad. He can be reached via a PM from that other site. If you can't figure that out, please feel free to contact me here via PM and I'll tell you how to do that.

Thank you for any help you can give on this event. You don't need to have a boat to help.


:O--O:


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## troller (Jun 27, 2013)

I will make it with my Tracker they have me set up with 2 vets. I have 4 seats in my 19ft boat.
I'm going to the FG that week with the scouts 28 to aug 2 but will leave Friday night, may need to sleep in the back seat of my truck Friday night as SC.


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