Returning veterans were all smiles as they heaved their precious catch – mostly rainbow trout and salmon – to the cheers of flag-waving onlookers, before the fishermen and their families returned to the building Manistee Iron Works for lunch and a wrap-up.

This welcome was long overdue for many veterans, according to event organizer and U.S. Air Force veteran John Stocki.

“The best part is having vets here who have never experienced that welcome back home,” Stocki said. “We also have quite a few Vietnamese veterans and rookies who were never greeted like this when they came home.”

After being canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, the long-running fishing tournament has returned bigger than ever, with more veterans and volunteers than ever, Stocki said.

“Give it back to the vets – that’s what it’s all about,” Stocki said. “…being away for a few years, we had a lot more people wanting to come out and support and volunteer, which is nice to see that happening.”

Meals for approximately 600 veterans and their family members were prepared for the pre-launch breakfast, nearly filling the new tournament site. This was the first year that Manistee Iron Works served as the central onshore location for the event, and Stocki says it could become a permanent venue for the tournament.

“It’s nice to be indoors and not have to worry about the weather, putting up awnings in the wind,” Stocki said. “Hopefully we can continue to be here.”

Stocki said the success of the tournament this year all but guarantees a return in 2023, but the biggest change he would like to see next year is with the weather.

“I wish the weather had been a little nicer. We had bigger turnouts for the flags, but the wind was blowing at 30 miles an hour,” Stocki said.

The tournament began in 2009 when Bob Guenhardt, an Army veteran and former ogema of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, organized a group of volunteers to show his appreciation to veterans. For 10 years veterans met every May, before the coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of the event in 2020 and 2021.

Guenhardt said he never expected Tight Lines for Troops to become as popular as it has.

“I was just (going to) take some veterans fishing…I had a charter boat at the time,” Guenhardt had said in a previous interview. “I’ve told a few friends about it and they’ve been like, ‘It sounds like something we’d like to do.’ … We finished the first year much better than we thought it was going to be and it just snowballed from there.

For more information about Tight Lines for Troops or to find out how to get involved, visit tightlinesfortroops.com.