Changing lives, one fish at a time.

Our 2022 Event Dates:
Cape Cod - June 3rd and 4th

Long Island - June 17th and 18th

What Our Events Look Like

The weekend kicks off Friday evening with a Captains Meeting and a Warrior Meet and Greet. All participants are treated to a meal and the fishing pairings are made for the next day.

All Warriors are treated to the weekend in a local hotel and wake up bright and early on Saturday ready to catch the first fish of the day. The Captains and mates all meet at a central dock located near the mouth of the river/harbor and all boats are loaded. After onload the boats make their way out to the designated area for playing of the National Anthem over the boats VHF radios. This is possibly the most incredible portion of the event as the entire fleet of boats idle around one another while some rules and safety items are reiterated and the playing of the national anthem begins. Personally, it is at this point in the morning where the jitters are nearly behind us, everyone (hopefully) has shown up and all the boats have been boarded. Taking a look around really makes you appreciate all that has gone into the weekend and how excited everyone truly is. Following the playing of the National Anthem a shotgun start of the boats takes off and the day is officially underway...time to catch some fish!

All of our events are composed of 100% volunteer crew. All vessels have a minimum of one Captain and mate. Each boat takes out one veteran from the Wounded Warrior Project and a guest of their choice who joins them for the weekend.

Following a day on the water, the Warriors and guests are taken back to their hotel to wash up prior to a reception dinner. The reception is where we recap the day. We congratulate the warrior-captain pairs who caught the first fish and the largest of each species as well as thank all of our sponsors, captains, mates and most importantly our veterans. It is also at the reception where we have a plethora of raffle and silent auction items to help raise funds to pay for all the event costs.

With an incredible weekend behind them and possibly a few fish stories to take home, the Warrior are taken back to their hotel and finally get a chance to rest...perhaps dreaming of that big one that got away.

Each event is truly special to us, throughout the weekend there are always some happenings that make us sit back and verify why we donate the 100’s possibly 1000’s of hours we do to make this what it has become. None of the current event coordinators have served, but to us this is the least we could do to honor those who have afforded us our freedom.

The entire event is at no cost to the Warrior and the guest that they chose to bring with them. The Captains and mates donate their operating costs (fuel, bait, ice, rods, reel, tackle, etc.) and time for the day. All hotel, venue, catering, shirt, etc. costs are covered by our Organization with some help from the Wounded Warrior Project. All in kind donations are utilized in either our Captains bags, raffle or silent auction and funds generated go right back to the event. Financial contributions are also utilized in the same manner. We are a 100% volunteer crew and all funds go directly to the event.

Thank you for your interest in our event, if you would like to get involved please check out the “Get Involved” section of our website. We look forward to sharing a tide with you!

How It All Began

A term you may often hear us use is “Its all about the Veterans.” Operation Reel Heroes is truly that...for us, each event is an opportunity to show a deserving group of people an amazing day doing what we all love to do...fish!

In 2014 Arthur Johnson began this mission. Arthur and his family travel down from the Berkshires to the Cape each summer weekend to enjoy their boating heaven. Fishing, boating and bonfires with friends are just part of the summer routine. Sitting around a beach campfire and enjoying the evening with his family and friends after a long day on the water would likely have been enough for most, but for those who know Arthur, nothing is about his own satisfaction. Why not share this with those who have afforded us these freedoms? This idea, which sprung sitting around one of these summer bonfires, quickly moved from just an idea into action. The plan evolved from taking a few local veterans out for a day on the water to a full on weekend event involving many more veterans. The idea bounced from friend to friend and before long a list of captains jumping at the chance to donate their day was in short order. Following some winter prep work and soliciting the idea to local businesses eager to get involved, the groundwork was formed for an incredible inaugural event. With help from the Wounded Warrior Project, locally established businesses, local law enforcement, marinas, bait shops and people of all walks of life Operation Reel Heroes was officially born.

Following the inaugural event on Bass River in 2015 the traction for growth was evident. Every captain had a blast and was honored to participate. As the saying goes, good things don’t stay quiet for long. In our case, this would initiate a growth rate greater than we could have imagined. Moving from 15 boats in year one to over 25 in our second year was a great leap for us. Following another successful event in in 2016 the story continued to find new ears and 2017 proved even larger. Close to 45 boats getting well deserving veterans out on the water with little issue had us hook line and sinker...this event was not going anywhere.

Fast forward through years of amazing Cape Cod events and the idea has grown further. The Long Island event took off in 2019 and we are proud to offer a second amazing event in a completely different location mirroring what Cape Cod offers. Similarly to the success of the Cape Cod event, the Long Island event has also quickly gained traction and grown exponentially despite the global pandemic.

The chance to take folks as deserving as veterans out on the water is an honor which we do not take lightly. Our captains and sponsors also could not agree more. The support of local businesses and our crew of volunteer captains and mates is the best around and they all play an integral role in making Operation Reel Heroes as successful as it has become.

For some, fishing may be a waste of time. To us and those who have joined us, it has become something that has the power to leave footprints on the hearts of grown men. We are proud to organize each event and are even more humbled when we see the smiles on so many faces, hear of the new friends made, and most importantly of the lives that have been brought to brighter places through participating in our events. For that, we are ever grateful and honored to play a part in it.

OPERATION REEL HEROES

Changing lives, one fish at a time.

What Our Events Look Like

How It All Began

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Changing lives, one fish at a time.

What Our Events Look Like

How It All Began

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