STAFFORD, Va. (May 8) – The last thing the wife of GEICO angler Teddy Carr said before he left to participate in the Reel American Heroes Foundation fishing tournament last weekend was to make sure he was paired with a United States Marine.
After all, she pointed out, their son John is a Marine on active duty.
"I told her, 'Honey, I don't have any say in who I get paired with,'" Carr said. "Well, lo and behold, by the grace of God, I got paired with not one, but two Marines."
Fishing with Carr in the special tournament on the Potomac River were U.S. Marines Jake Ohl and Zack Morris.
"One of the first things I did when we reached our first fishing destination was give Mrs. Carr a call and let her know there were two Marines on board, and she was ecstatic," Carr said. "Also in that conversation was we let her know that at 8:30 a.m., we already had our five-fish limit."
The Reel American Heroes Foundation pairs volunteer anglers with wounded soldiers, active-duty military and veterans at a fishing tournament. The Foundation also provides the military members and the family with free fishing equipment to use in the tournament, which they are allowed to keep afterward.
"Normally, it's a low-key event," Carr said. "But given the fact I had two Marines in the GEICO boat and that my son's a Marine, then add in that I'm ultra-competitive, and the fun got shoved to the side. We said, 'Let's go win this thing.'"
After hitting their limit early, Carr and his Marine anglers began to cull fish, trying to pick up bigger keepers and increase the overall fish weight. Carr made one 20-mile run to a spot where he was successful in a recent Lake Anna/Potomac River Bass Series event, but there was a lot of pressure on that area. So he made another run 25 miles south, where Morris landed a four-pounder.
The Marines ended up with five fish weighing 13 pounds, good enough for a top 10 result.
"The main thing was they wanted to beat their CO and their 'gunny' and they did," Carr said. "They texted me at church and let me know they had accomplished their mission."
Carr accomplished his, too -- being able to give back.
"It was an unbelievable time," Carr said. "It was a great experience to get out with these guys. Any time we get a chance to hang out with Marines or any other military personnel, it's always special. The guys did a great job, they were great people, and they had some great stories. Just an all-around positive time on the water."