POTTSBORO, Texas- On Monday Nov. 11, the Striper Express Guide Service hosted its annual Veteran’s Day fishing tournament on Lake Texoma.
Bill Carey has been organizing the event for over 20 years for both veterans and active military.
“We started right after 9/11 and it’s a great opportunity for us to pay back these boys for their service,” Carey said. “Today we’ve got 60 people in there. It’s a wonderful thing.”
As far as the weather was concerned, the conditions were almost perfect on Monday morning.
“We always have such a great time coming out,” Air Force veteran Bill Scarbrough said. “Sometimes it’s been so cold, sometimes it’s been beautifully hot. Today was a beautiful day out there on the lake.”
Some say the better the weather, the worse the fishing, but most said they did fairly well as far as the bites were concerned.
“The fishing is always great,” Scarbrough said. “Some days it is a little slow getting started and like a light switch they turn on … you know, we have no control over that, but I tell you what – the bite is normally always good.”
While the prizes are nice, these veterans say this tournament is about more than the competition.
“(Carey) gets a bigger and bigger crowd each year because his service to us is second to none, and our respect to him is second to none,” Scarbrough said. “Every one of us have served, given our all. Now people like Bill Carey is giving his all back to us.”
For Carey, his connection to service is a personal one.
“Thanksgiving Day 1968 – I put four brothers on a bus that were going to the Army, all four of them made it back,” Carey said. “I learned a lot about the war and their service, and we’re just proud, you know, we’re Americans.”
He said they will be right back at Lake Texoma next year for another day of service.