Sixth Annual Vets on the Lake Fishing Event
Superior, WI- Boat motors ran early on Saturday for the 6th annual Vets on the Lake fishing event.
The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans, The Douglas County Veterans Service Office, and the Western Lake Superior Trolling Association host this event. A total of 120 veterans, 60 from Minnesota and 60 from Wisconsin went out on Lake Superior for a day of fishing.
Boats took off from the Barkers Island Marina at 6:30 a.m. to hit the big lake. When anglers returned to the marina the fish fry celebration began, frying up the fresh fish that the veterans caught.
“This is our way of showing our appreciation for their service. We started this to step out into our community and get involved and not just focus solely on fishing. Fishing is what we do here today. But that’s not the whole story,” Jim VanLandschoot, president of Western Lake Superior Trolling Association.
Over the years, this event has grown in size. Starting with 10 boats and a handful of veterans.
Organizer Paul Pedersen, the house stability program manager for the Minnesota Assistance Council for veterans, spoke about how volunteers for this event help make it possible.
“We got over fifty boats that volunteer their time today. There is only a handful that are charters the rest are all people that love to fish and just want to help our veterans,” said Pedersen
One of the volunteers from last year returned for a second year. They felt that an event like this was a great opportunity to give back to veterans.
“I was a first mate with a friend last year and I just really like the whole idea of the event and it’s pretty cool to give back to these veterans and share the love of fishing with them,” said Ryan Pauna.
All of the hard work that is put in by volunteers doesn’t go unrecognized. One veteran who attended this event spoke about what this event means to them and how grateful they are for the volunteers.
“I look forward to this event every year. This is one thing that I look forward to every year, and this is absolutely phenomenal. For me, I fish maybe once or twice a year at home. But for this, I make sure this is one thing every year that I do,” said Tony Vabalaitis. “For someone to take that time out of their life and do something for us veterans. It means quite a bit.”
The Vets on the Lake event happens on the fourth Saturday in July. Sign-ups for this event open on May 1 through The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans for Minnesota veterans or the Douglas County Veterans Service Office for Wisconsin veterans.
