By Luke Estel – Tournament Team Blogger

 

Now that ICAST is over I would like to share a story with you about something that is so much more important that any new product that was unveiled this year at the ICAST show.

It is the one thing we have in this country.

Freedom.

I was recently invited to participate in a special tournament revolving arounds our countries military. The group is called Murphysboro Veterans Support Group. For the past seven years they have put on a charity tournament for any active, disabled, or retired military veteran. We get exclusive access into a private lake stocked full of fish.

This year there were over ten military personnel that showed up to fish the event. We had several volunteers waiting on the banks to fry the fish up that we caught for a cook out and a small awards ceremony following the tournament.

I was lucky enough to draw out with an extraordinary military veteran. His name is Isidoro “E.C.” Castiillo. His father met his mother in Panama while stationed there. They moved back to the states where he and his brother became United States citizens. After his father returned from Desert Storm in 1992, E.C. decided he needed to give back to his country. He served 24 years in the Army, two deployments to Afghanistan, four deployments to Korea and Haiti.  He received a Purple Heart and the Medal of Valor. He retired from the service and now spends time with his children.

As the “guides” we are supposed to cater to their needs. If one person wants to crappie fish, then we find someone who crappie fishes. E.C. wanted to bass fish and that is what we did. The rules are simple. There is an award for biggest fish and one for smallest fish. Only the military personnel are allowed to weigh their fish in.

The lake is full of fish and full of bass. We located seral brush piles in one small pocket and proceeded to put on a clinic. And let me tell you, E.C. can catch them! We pitched green pumpkin Strike King Rage Bugs and Rage craws to every piece of cover we could find. We would catch up to ten bass off each piece of cover. It was like catching crappie off a brush pile. By the end of the day we had caught more than 75 bass. E.C. weighed his biggest bass which weighed 3 pounds, 10 ounces. He won the biggest fish award.

After the tournament we all enjoyed a wonderful fish fry with several give a ways that were donated to all the military acting or veterans that fished.

As I left the lake I realized how lucky I was. I get to fish whenever I want. These guys sacrificed more than most will ever comprehend just so we can enjoy our lives. So thank a veteran next time you see him or her. They are why we still have our freedom in this country.