Fishing on Minnesota’s lakes and rivers gives veterans a chance to bond with comrades and to heal.
Camp Ripley, home to the Minnesota National Guard, has long hosted deer and turkey hunts for disabled veterans. In 2011, the National Guard and several organizations banded together to create a new program to get veterans outdoors: Trolling for the Troops.
Taking advantage of Camp Ripley’s location on the Mississippi River and nearby Lake Mille Lacs, Trolling for the Troops pairs professional anglers with active duty soldiers and veterans. Fishermen use state-of-the-art equipment to catch bass, walleye, and pike.
The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and Disabled Veterans of America worked with the St. Cloud VA Hospital and the National Guard to organize the event and select the participants. Organizers and participants alike comment on the therapeutic value of fishing.
Veterans of the 27th Infantry Regiment have discovered this, too. Wolfhounds (the regiment’s nickname) have been meeting at biannual reunions since 2000. All the men served together during the Vietnam War. In the late 2000s, member Robert “Bob” Mollenhauer of Owatonna had the idea to host a fishing trip in northern Minnesota.
Bob’s son, Matt Mollenhauer, was a manager at Cabela’s. He convinced the company to donate supplies like bait, tackle, and even boats for the trip. (Cabela’s has also supported Trolling for the Troops, too.) At a camp on Bass Lake northwest of Grand Rapids, the Wolfhounds fished, ate, and shared stories. “There’s something about the North Woods,” says Matt, that encourages healing.
