Larry Muse and Ron Presley Honored by Patriot Catfishing
by Ron Presley,
It is the best of both worlds when you are honored for doing something that you love.
As a registered 503(c) nonprofit, Patriot Catfishing, INC. continues to honor American heroes who have served and sacrificed for our nation. Providing disabled veterans an expense-free catfishing adventure is their way of “paying back.”
They provide fishing trips all year long to individual veteran anglers and their families. Participating heroes are teamed up with a volunteer guide to go catfishing. Also during the year the organization hosts group events with multiple veterans joining in on the fun and camaraderie. The 2023 fall event was scheduled for October 14, 2023.
I was pleased to receive an invitation to attend and hang out with the group. My grandson, Robert made the trip from Florida to Alabama with me. We fished on Wayne Reed’s boat with veteran, Natalie Sayles. (See an accompanying story about Natalie by clicking here.)
All the stars aligned and we had a tough but productive day of fishing. We were drift fishing with planer boards near Wheeler Dam. The first two drifts produced one fish each. The third drift produced a third small fish and then in the latter half of the third drift, we hooked a trophy blue that weighed more than 60 pounds. We continued to catch some smaller fish and also boated a blue that weighed nearly 30 pounds to finish off the day.
Things certainly went well for the captain, the veteran, and the two observers. You could say we had the lucky boat. Later that evening at the awards dinner, Wayne Reed as the captain/guide, and Natalie Sayles as the veteran guest received the first place prize in the “Braggin’ Rights” competition. Natalie also earned the Veteran Big Fish Award.
Patriot Catfishing INC. also used the occasion to recognize well-known catfish angler Larry Muse for his contributions to the catfish community. Larry is a member of the ACA Catfish Hall of Fame and a long-time catfish angler. He is known for his willingness to share his knowledge of catfishing with other anglers so they can experience the joy of catfishing too.
Larry was presented with a custom-made shadow box created and donated by Josh Roth of River’s Edge Reproductions and a custom reel from Jarrett Tempus of River Rats Reel Repair.
“We honor Mr. Larry Muse for all of his hard work in getting the Catfishing Community to where it is today,” said a Patriot Catfishing representative. “Mr. Larry is a Mississippi catfishing legend. He is going through a tough time right now as he has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He is fighting and hoping to come back stronger than ever. Please keep Mr. Larry in your thoughts and prayers.”
As if the day of fishing and seeing my good friend honored was not enough, your humble author was recognized at the final night’s dinner too. I also received a custom-made shadow box provided by River’s Edge Reproductions. It is a beautiful creation containing an American Flag that flew over Afghanistan in an attack helicopter on a Special Operations combat mission. It also includes some photos of personal catfish memories.
“We honored Mr. Ron Presley for all of his work in the Catfish Community,” said a Patriot Catfishing representative. “He has been a supporter of our cause since the beginning by using his platform, CatfishNow, and his notoriety to get the word out about our organization. He does this not only for us but for so many in the catfishing community. Thank you so much for all that you do!”
It is an honor to support this great organization and I asked you to do the same. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kevin and Roger Breedlove and the Patriot Catfishing Crew for the recognition. It will hang in a place of honor in the Presley home.
If you know of a disabled veteran who would enjoy being out on the water and catching big fish tell them about Patriot Catfishing. To learn more about them or to donate to their cause of honoring American warriors who served and sacrificed, visit their website at www.patriotcatfishing.com.
