Wounded warriors enjoy a day on the water
<p>Micah Clark of Camp Patriot, left, fishing guide Ron Ridgway and Will Sampson.</p>
<p>Restricted area below Libby Dam.</p>
<p>Randall Vallee, left, Dave Blackburn and Joe Wright fishing below Libby Dam Saturday, Oct. 17.</p>
<p>Ron Ridgway, left, and Will Sampson fishing below Libby Dam Saturday, Oct. 17.</p>
<p>Dave Blackburn, left, and Joe Wright fishing below Libby Dam Saturday, Oct. 17.</p>
Dave Blackburn keeps a special place in his heart for America’s veterans, especially those wounded in the line of duty. Five years ago he came up with an idea to show his gratitude for disabled soldiers; he wanted to give them a special day of fishing in a restricted area above the Libby Dam.
Red tape and regulations hampered the initial effort, but Blackburn kept at it, working with local non-profit Camp Patriot and Josh Baltz, the recreation director at Libby Dam. They worked through the red tape and obtained special permission for a small group of disabled veterans to go fishing in the restricted area. The trip finally came together Saturday, Oct. 17.
“These guys weren’t a special interest, they’re guys who were hit in the line of defending our freedom,” Blackburn said. “This is a way we can show these guys that we thank them and that we care.”
Blackburn, along with Micah Clark of Camp Patriot, and three disabled veterans boarded two of Blackburn’s boats and went out on the Kootenai River for a day of fishing. While they didn’t land any of the 20-pound rainbows Blackburn hoped for, he said the veterans had a good time fishing and the catch, even though released, was plentiful.
“We probably caught about 20 fish,” Blackburn said. “We also hooked some big ones we didn’t manage to get up on the boat.”
Blackburn said they hooked one fish they fought with for about 20 minutes, going back and forth, but that finally managed to escape before they could get an estimate of his size.
“We saw his tail a few times as he came back and forth,” he said. “But he managed to get away. We were using unbarbed hooks because we were doing catch and release.”