PROFESSIONAL ANGLERS ASSOCIATION
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Terry Butcher Gives Time to the Military

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

By Terry Battisti for the PAA

A lot of people in the United States take for granted our freedoms. The fact we can do what we please – within the law of course – when we please is a concept that most assume is shared worldwide. That is so not the case.

We have our founding fathers to thank for setting these freedoms in place – for it was their foresight that has allowed us as citizens of the United States to become what we are today along with helping make this country what it is. But, aside from our founding fathers, we have many others to thank for protecting our freedoms. Those folks we need to be indebted to belong to the military.

Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan and then the second Gulf War, many professional anglers have given their time to help organizations like Wounded Warriors take soldiers out on the lake for day. It allows the soldiers to forget about their time in the field and the anglers learn just what these folks did to help preserve our freedoms. All come away from these events having a better respect for each other and, also, many new friendships are forged.

Much was the same a couple weeks ago at Grand Lake, Oklahoma for Terry Butcher. The only difference was the folks he was fishing with were still active duty.

First Impressions

Butcher found out about the event when BassCat boats owner Rick Pierce called him early in April.

“Rick called and asked if I had the time to take out some military guys in July and I said, ‘heck yes.’ I didn’t know what to expect but it sounded like a good event to be a part of.

“As I rolled up to the resort they all were staying at I noticed there was a bunch of guys playing (horse) shoes,” he said. “I met the coordinator of the event and we went over to meet some of the guys at the pit.

“I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into with a bunch of 20- to 30-year old guys in the military. They were all buff, you could tell they worked out a lot and it was obvious they liked to have a good time. I’m not one for partying but right off the bat they were cool and made me feel like one of the guys.

“I’ve played a little bit of shoes in my time (ed note: Butcher is an ex bronco and bull rider and grew up with a set of shoes in his hands) and there was a team popping off that they were undefeated. They offered me and the organizer a challenge and I told them, ‘there time was coming.’ We backed that up with their first defeat and won a couple more times before the team that had originally challenged us wanted a rematch. It was a tight match but in the end we ended up beating them again. By then, they had made me feel a part of the group.”

Teacher and Comrade

Not only did Butcher not know what to expect with regards to the guys in general but he was told beforehand that none of them had much fishing experience at all. “I knew it would be interesting taking them on the boat and teaching them to fish,” he said. “So right off the bat I took them on a 76-mph run in the Cougar FTD/250 ProXS and showed them what a fast boat was like. Once we got to our first spot I gave them a spinning rod and tied on a 3/16-ounce Booyah Big Show shakey head. It didn’t take them long to learn to cast and they were able to feel the bait on the bottom. They caught fish all weekend long, which was a major bonus. “The other cool part was showing them how to use my Lowrance electronics,” he said. “I showed them how to find fish on the graph and then catch them. They thought it was like catching fish in a barrel.”

Respect

When I got home I told my wife about the experience,” Butcher said. “It was an experience I’ll never forget as long as I live. We swapped stories – I talked about my job as a professional angler and they told me things about their job. They are a great bunch of guys; very respectful and polite. Above all they’re fighting for us and our freedom and we all have to respect them for that and what they give up when they go overseas. I’ll cherish that weekend as long as I live and will jump at the chance to do it again.

Terry Butcher is sponsored by: BassCat Boats, Wohali Outdoors, Mercury Marine, YUM, BOOYAH Bait Co., Costa Del Mar, Triple C Inc., Power Pole, and Ardent Reels.