2015 Kick Off

As we kick off the 2015 kayak fishing season we would like to welcome all Warriors, from all branches of the military, returning or new to Heroes On the Water. Our gratitude for your service and sacrifices is the sum total of why our organization exists and thrives.

From us here at the HOW Oregon chapter apologies to you all for being a little quiet over the off season. Every winter brings us back around to the same challenge. How can we make the next kayak fishing season bigger and better for our participants and volunteers? We have been hard at work making some major upgrades to the program over the winter and planning some fantastic events for the year.

Before we launch into those details we would very much like to acknowledge those who make everything possible for us and those we serve.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to our generous individual donors, along with our hard working volunteers for believing in the benefits of kayak fishing and sustaining our growth so that we may continue to serve more Warriors and their families.

Much love and appreciation to our partners in the business community. From the gear manufacturers to the local kayak shops, their continued support is vital to our mission of Reconnecting Veterans.

Special thanks is directed to Next Adventure Paddle Sports Center as they helped us purchase 8 beautiful brand new Wilderness Systems kayaks that are definitely going to help us smash some smiles per hour records.

Having a quality paddle won't by itself make a great day, but having a cruddy paddle can sure quickly put a damper on a good one. Luckily that is something we don't have to fret over any longer as The Kayak Shed in Hood River again showed their dedication to HOW by helping us purchase some awesome Werner paddles for the fleet.

Our good friends at Scotty Fishing Products got wind of our expanding fleet and were wonderful in providing PowerLock rod holders, Track Adapters, and extension arms for all our new kayaks. Everyone that comes out with us will have their rod right where they want it, and to us that's a big deal.

Now for the big news, we are kicking off this year at one of our favorite spots the Gilbert River on Saturday April 25th and will be fishing for sturgeon. Check your emails for the Eventbrite invite for this event coming out soon.

We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones during a fantastic season of kayak fishing events in 2015.

Last but not least, for all the support and the platform to promote and  organize our outings our gratitude goes out to the NWKA community. Without support from NWKA volunteers we just couldn't do it. Thanks to Allen and the mods.

My Big Boy of the year on the Gilbert 2 summers ago!  I had 1/2 of an anchovie on a 7/0 hook. 30lb tuff line, 30lb florocarbon leader.  Pardon my French as I was suprised a his girth.  I put him at about 7-8 ft. long.