Fishing and hunting have allowed me to meet some true heroes. Back several years ago, my family used to support a small, wounded warrior-style group out of Madison, Georgia that was run by Col. Mike Steele. Now for those of you who might not know, Col. Steele was the man who led the troops on the ground that night in Mogadishu. Yeah, that night. Blackhawk Down. Col. Steele was also on the 1980 Georgia Bulldogsnational championship team. He’s an awesome guy who I loved hunting with and being around.

Last spring, I was asked one dayto take a wounded veteran fishing. My buddy, Jon Parish, just told me to show up and that our friendAlex McLendonwould put a guy I would enjoy on my boat to go striper fishing. Well, of course I told him I would, and I also arranged a couple of other boats for some other veterans. The guythat got on my boat will remain nameless, because frankly I didn’t ask him if I could use his info, and as a U.S. Army 5^th group sniper, I am just not interested in making him upset. I only have one rule on these types of trips: You can talk about anything you want with me. I’ll listen and provide a shoulder if needed. If you want to talk football or about your best friend who is dying, I’ll be there. They all know this when they get into my boat or my truck.

On this day, we were discussing deer hunting, and of course, I had to ask a sniper what was the longest shot he ever made on a deer. His answer was surprising. He said he’d only hunted in east Tennessee and had only shot one at the most 125 yards. He then asked me, at which point I said 350 in Nebraska. We just sat there trolling for about five minutes and all of a sudden, he slapped me on the arm and laughing said, “I shot a dude once at 650.” I humbly admitted he won that competition… Afterall, the doe wasn’t shooting back.

Flip Pallot is another of my heroes. For those who know, he needs no introduction. For those who don’t, he created modern shallow saltwater fishing. He, Chris Morejohn and Hal Chittum started Hells Bay Boatworks in the 1990s, which brought us the entire genre of flats skiffs that can float in chicken spit. Flip is a man I’ve been honored to talk to one several occasions and in every one of them I learned so much and walked away believing he was the greatest outdoorsman to ever grace a flats skiff or airboat. Flip embodies the spirit of us all and what is great about life outside.

If you are an old Georgia turkey hunter you might remember the name Roscoe Rheems. Ol’ Roscoe was a celebrity to all of us in the ‘80s. He was one of the original turkey hunters in this state and could call a deaf turkey right across a highway. He was that good. But he understood turkeys better than most. He would tell stories about killing birds by hiding under tarps in the middle of a clean cut cutover or by hiding in a big oak tree. To me, one of the highlights of the old NWTF convention held up at Unicoi State Park was seeing Roscoe and him and my grandaddy swapping turkey stories.

These are just a few people who fit the bill of heroin my own personal opinion. I’ve known many. Both my grandfathers, for instance, were Pacific Theatre veterans. This is just a small hat tip to those who mean so much to me and that have impacted my life and stood up for us.

Tight lines and following seas y’all.

 

—Outdoors columnist James Pressley can be reached at jameskpressley@gmail.com .