Trolling for the Troops
Trolling for the Troops Press Release
News Release: 5th Annual Trolling for the Troops (T4T) Event, June 4-5th 2015.
Camp Ripley, the sprawling 53,000 acre military and civilian training camp, near Little Falls, Minnesota, operated by the Minnesota National Guard, hosted 40 professional fishing guides,40 disabled veterans and 40 active duty military personnel for a day of fishing area lakes and the Mississippi River.
Among the June 4th Thursday evening speakers before a dinner crowd of upwards of 130 people was Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr., the developer of the battery-powered M-POW-R Reel® and owner of MPOWR Fishing LLC, a company devoted to producing adaptive fishing reels and accessories for disabled anglers. Dr. Kehr introduced the new M-POW-R Harness, a versatile tool that allows the M-POW-R Reel® to be used on virtually any spinning rod, ice rod or fly rod.
Figure 1: Dan Sura (left) listens as Dr Roland Kehr addresses Trolling for the Troops dinner crowd
Also addressing the crowd was pro angler Scott Bonnema, who, along with his wife Nancy, donated six complete M-POW-R Reel® and Rod combo packages to the Disabled American Veterans of Minnesota (DAV-MN) organization. Four disabled veterans were able to use these combos during their day on the water on Friday June 5th. One of the disabled veterans, fishing with the M-POW-R Reel® and Rod combo, was Dave Munsigner of Osage, Minnesota.
Figure 2: COL Scott St Sauver (left), Scott Bonnema and Dr. Roland Kehr showing one of the donated M-POW-R Reel and Rod Combos
Dave was teamed with Jim Lindner executive director of Lindner Media Productions located in Baxter, Minnesota and Staff Sgt. Dave Angell of the Minnesota National Guard. Dave, who suffered a stroke some years prior, used his M-POW-R Reel® and Rod to boat seven Smallmouth Bass. His guide, Jim Lindner, was effusive in his praise of the M-POW-R Reel’s capabilities in handling these fish as well as Dave’s ability to land these fish with this rod and reel combo designed for disabled anglers.
Steve Kohls, Brainerd Dispatch photographer, accompanied the trio during their daylong quest to boat Smallmouth Bass. In his article, carried by the Brainerd Dispatch, Steve stated that once Lindner got them onto fish, they lost count of how many fish they caught and released.
Figure 3: Jim Lindner executive director of Lindner Media Productions (left), Staff Sgt. Dave Angell and Dave Munsinger beginning their pursuit of Smallmouth Bass (Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls)