Today several hundred Alaska-based service men and women are not thinking about deployment or war. They’re thinking about halibut and fishing, taking part in the annual Combat Fishing Tournament in Seward. So we thought it appropriate to look back at them and the history of this great event. This story first appeared in Alaska Magazine in 2013.
By Lee Leschper
Wild places have always been a place of refuge and recovery for soldiers returning for war.
The quiet, beauty and wonder of nature have an immeasurable power to heal battle weary spirits
Nowhere and time is not more true than today in Alaska. As U.S. forces continue more than a decade in continuous combat, with Alaskan and Alaska-based soldiers, sailors and airmen carrying an especially heavy share of the fighting. Alaskan-based troops make up a substantial share of those fighting in Afghanistan, because of the unique combat roles required match the training and skills of the troops here.
Alaskans have found many ways to repay that service outdoors.
One is the Combat Fishing Tournament in Seward. The brainchild of two old friends, the day-long celebration each May gets 300 active duty service men and woman out on the waters of Resurrection Bay.
The tournament is the brainchild of a Seward fishing captain and an Anchorage businessman.
Captain Bob Candopoulos has been a legend in the Alaska and Seward charter fleet for decades.
His Saltwater Safaris, based in Seward, is one of the most successful and well-respected charter outfits in Alaska. He’s also been a pioneer in new fisheries, like the huge and voracious salmon sharks. Keith Manternach, owner of Specialty Truck and Auto in Anchorage, was the other half of and remains a key part of the tournament.
“We talked about doing something for several years, a way to take some of these young guys out, split the cost….have fun, everybody happy
He and Manternach agree the Combat Fishing Tournament was born not in Alaska, but in Reno, Nevada.
“We were down in Reno at a Safari Club International convention, and went out to dinner with a bunch of hunting guides,” Candopoulos said. “We saw some people who were being rude to some uniformed Marines. It incited us, you might say, and there wound up being a bit of a brawl in that bar!
“When we got back, Keith and I said it would be nice to do something for these guys, so we decided to do a fishing tournament.”
The friends held their first event seven years ago in Seward, using just the two Saltwater Safari boats.
“The first year we had two boats and about 65 guys, over two days,” Bob said. “It was kind of a dry run to learn.
“The following season we opened up to the whole charter fleet and teamed up with the Armed Services YMCA to help with banquets and the auction.”
While the event is one day of fishing, it’s a year-around logistic and fund-raising enterprise, with Manternach the chief fundraiser.
“Even better than the fishing is the banquet after the fishing is done,” Keith said. “We load them at 1 a.m. at JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Eagle River) and Fairbanks and Kodiak, and head down to Seward. They’re at Seward by 5 a.m.
“They’re used to riding in military transports, so they’re a bit overwhelmed to see the big motor coaches we have for them, provided by Premier. They have coffee on the ride, coffee and donuts there, are on the boats by 6.”
The tournament starts with a “shotgun start,” all the boats gathering together in the center of Resurrection Bay, waiting for the signal to start fishing.
Anglers fish until mid-afternoon, with often a two hour run out to and back from the fishing grounds. Boats are back at the dock by 430 p.m. At the dock, it’s a huge show of fish being weighed and filleted, team photos taken and stories swapped. Friendly competition is always there, as is a genuine youthful joy for time away from war and duty.
The competition is not about biggest fish alone. Every fisherman gets to pick one fish from their two-fish limit to weigh in and enter. While there are prices for the largest fish, there are also prizes for random sizes of fish and mystery fish, so almost every angler has a chance to win a prize.
“There are enough door prizes that everybody leaves with something,” Keith said. “And there are some incredible door prizes. And it’s not about just catching the biggest fish. They might not even catch a fish at all and still win the second largest prize.”
There are far more soldiers who want to fish than the 300 slots open.
“We focus on getting guys who have not been before, and they have to either have been deployed or scheduled to be deployed,” Manternach said. “Almost all of them are E1s to E5s. We decided to take guys who would never go on their own. “
Halibut fishing, never a bargain trip, is not economically possible for young troops.
“I would say, 60 percent of them have never been on that style boat,” Keith said.
The nature of Alaska troops is that the youngest and lowest ranking are seeing the toughest assignments on deployments, he said.
“That is the unfortunate think of being an E1. It’s the nature of the beast…when it’s real dangerous….they’re going to send the lower ranking guys. That is part of going over there as part of a junior enlisted guy.”
Even on a day of play, they never forget their comrades, he added.
“Often the guys who come down, and win some nice door prizes, are going to take them back to one of guys that not able to go on this trip.
“They take good care of each other.”
I fished with a group of young servicemen and women in the 2012 tournament.
Ours was a group as special and unique as any in the service today. It was a mix of specialties and branches of service. The seven men and one woman all had one thing in common—all had been deployed at least once, and all had seen hard duty.
But they were also all eager anglers, with the usual jokes about who’d catch the biggest fish and who would get seasick first. Secretly all of us hoped it’d be the other guy over the rail.
But woven within the fishing talk, the quiet nonchalant way they tell their stories reflect their confidence and the challenges of what they seem, while doing their duty in a most business-like fashion.
A tall Air Guard Para Jumper was donning his foul weather gear when one of the other soldiers noticed it was a unique camouflage pattern.
“New pattern?” somebody asked.
“Yep, they issue all this to us,” he replied. “It works really good, blends right in on the ground.
“Almost blends in too good,” he added after a moment. “When we jumped into a helicopter rescue (in Afghanistan), the guys overhead firing cover couldn’t see us. We had to pop smoke so they knew where to shoot.”
We were talking about the changing war, and civilian perceptions about the relatively safety of Iraq today, except when on patrols.
“Well, I was back at the base when I got blowed up,” a stocky NCO said softly. “Round came into the compound and right through the wall.”
A striking Hispanic woman NCO, who had been in charge of a team of mechanics, translated the importance of every job and of teamwork in combat.
“When we’re out and a truck breaks down, it’s my job to get it moving again,” she said, adding that keeping vehicles working is a way she and her team protect their fellow soldiers.
“When the shooting starts, everybody else grabs a rifle and I grab my tool box. If I need to be shooting, there will be rifles.”
Alaska is a preferred assignment for most troops. The chance to hunt and fish and experience all things outdoors here are as attractive as the dedication, physical hardships and sacrifices of active duty.
Yet the cost, logistics and often confusion of how to successfully hunt and fish here can make it impossible for them to take advantage of their time here.
Most of these participants have never halibut fished before, Manternach said. On our boat, a couple of the troopers had made the 9-hour drive from Fairbanks, eager to catch their first halibut.
Another NCO, who obviously had some halibut experience, admitted he was on the trip to do some scouting.
“One of my buddies and I are coming back next week. We pooled our time and money and are renting a couple of boats ourselves, so we can bring a bunch of our young guys fishing, who couldn’t make this trip.”
The fishing was fun, although challenging as early season halibut can be. Some of our anglers caught their two halibut, others caught none. Neither did I, although I did boat a personal best octopus easily four feet across!
There were no giant fish this day. Our best might have topped 30 pounds. Big fish for the day was about 120 pounds. It was clear for most of these anglers that mattered not at all. Back at the dock, hanging our fish and poising for a group picture, one of the young mean again said “Thanks for making this possible,” extending a handshake.
I was surprised how often one or another of the young troopers would stop to say Thank You. Everyone connected with the event comments on the amazing gratitude they hear from all the servicemen.
I was curious if the founders felt the same way. The charter fishing business in Alaska is a brutally tough, seldom profitable, always challenging business. Why would every charter captain in Seward take a day off to take soldiers and airmen fishing?
“It’s nice to give them a break,” Bob said with pride. “These guys and gals are away from home all the time. They do not make much money. For them to come back and have a small community like Seward to roll out the red carpet means a lot.”
Standing on the dock in Seward, at the end of last year’s tournament, he remembered one in particular.
“There was a young soldier fishing with us one year,” he said softly. “He had a burn mask on his face. His face had been burned badly in combat.
“He pulled me aside and asked: ‘Captain, I hope you don’t mind that I need to wear this mask today.’”
There’s still a catch in the hard-nosed captain’s voice as he continues.
“He didn’t want to offend anybody or scare anybody on the boat, seeing his face. My God, he has done all this for us, and he was worried about how we feel!
“I was in tears over that one,” he said unapologetically.
“There was another group, of Army Rangers, a Special Forces team,” Bob said.
“It was after the banquet. I was actually leaving, loading up my truck and these half dozen soldiers came up with this flag in their hand, to give to me.
“That flag had flown over their camp (in Afghanistan). They came under attack by the Taliban. They were under gunned, and seven of their friends were killed. “
The flag was the Rangers way of showing him how much the chance to fish together had meant.
“That flag is my most cherished possession. They deserve everything we can do.”
For more information on supporting the tournament, call the Alaska Armed Forces YMCA at (907) 552-9622. Or online www.asymcaofalaska.com.
