The Tampa Bay Chapter of Heroes on the Water held its first event this past Saturday at beautiful Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg Florida. Our honored guest for the day was Don Floyd and his wife Donna. Don retired from the US Army in 1999. He saw one of our flyers at the VA and decided to give us a call. I’m sure glad he did. While this fishing was not all that great, I do believe our guests had a great time out on the water.

It had been raining on and off all day. My hands were exceedingly pruney, my hat was soaked all the way through and I was yet to feel a fish on the end of my line. Other tournament anglers started heading in and many of them asked about my luck. Every one of them had either a perplexed look or thought I was joking when I told them I hadn't hooked a single one. I was running out of time so I decided to make one more pass by my favorite spot in the inlet as the rain got heavier. I was trolling a MirrOLure when it got crushed...

H.O.W (Heroes On the Water) was formed in 2007 and has served about 130 veterans, and is an arm of the Kayak Anglers Society of America. The program went national in June 2009, with events in Georgia, Virginia and Washington State.  H.O.W was developed to help physically and mentally wounded soldiers escape the stress of their combat experience and give them a chance to get away from the rigors of rehabilitation.