This past weekend I had a chance to fish with a group who have been getting ready for seven or eight years, always on Memorial Day Weekend.
One of the members of the group is Carlos Hathcock, III. He's the son of Carlos Hathcock, the Marine credited with nearly 100 kills in Viet Nam as a sniper. In fact the present day Marine Corps snipers school is based on much of Hathcock's experience.
Local anglers Bill McElroy, John Maniaci, and Ken Neeley make up the Michigan contingent. Hathcock is joined by Scott Hammer, both from Virginia.
Why hold a fishing outing on Memorial Weekend? "It just works out for everyone.l We all have time off from work then," McElroy said.
Standing in McElroy's garage last week with the rain coming down in buckets and the temperature resembling deer hunting weather, I talked with Hathcock and what it was like being a career Marine and whether his famous name was a problem.
"It was never a problem but once people recognized it, I felt I had to be at least better than everyone else. In a way it put a lot of responsibility on me," he said. "But I was proud and honored to carry on the Hathcock name," he added.
My chance to fish with the group will have to wait until next year. Our daughter, new grandson and son-in-law fly in today from the U.K. There was just too much to do on the home front to duck out for a fishing trip.
We had a blast Roger,....the weather was a little twisted though!! We went from BPS 100 MPH Rainsuits on Friday and Saturday,..to sweating in shorts and t-shirts on Sunday thru Tuesday!! But,..the fish didn't care,..they kept biting and we kept catching!! Will send you pix's as soon as we get camera's downloaded and organized! Thanks for the blog post,..next year you have to join us for a day,...you'll have a GREAT time!!
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