photos by Sgt. 1st Class Scott Meinhardt/Special to Paraglide Ryan Powers, one of the crewmembers on the Reel Jim, checks the trolling lines while waiting for a fish to strike during the Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. Saturday.

When Soldiers are tasked by their first sergeants for a ‘weekend of fun,’ it can mean almost anything from directing traffic to setting up tents. Two Soldiers from 503rd Maintenance Company were told earlier this week that they were selected to go to Wrightsville Beach, N.C. Saturday to ride along during the Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament.

The Soldiers met one of the crew in the hotel lobby at 4:30 a.m., not sure what their day would entail. One was sure that he would be doing more than just relaxing on the boat.
“When you receive a tasking, very rarely is there no work involved,” said Spc. Michael Coffey, a multi-launch rocket system repairer, from Inez, Ky. “I was happy to find out that we were just going on a fishing trip, not a part of a detail. I’ve only been fishing on lakes and rivers, never the open ocean, so I’ve been looking forward to this.”

Pfc. Mike Choi, a supply specialist from Las Vegas, was also looking forward to the new experience.

Unfortunately, the weather conspired to take some of the enjoyment out of the day. The wind was at 15 to 20 knots and the waves were four to six-feet high, pushing around the 55-foot “Reel Jim,” captained by Jim Hobbs. The Soldiers and other passengers spent the majority of the day in the cabin, a little queasy from the rocking of the boat, while the five-man crew worked hard to try to reel in a blue marlin to claim the title as the tournament winner.

Unfortunately, the weather conspired against not only the passengers, but the crew as well.
The high winds broke the protective cover surrounding the bridge, forcing Russell Phillips and the other crewmembers who helmed the boat to wear goggles and rain gear.

The high seas made fishing difficult, as the giant, trolling lures designed to attract blue marlin, sailfish and other big game fish only got two strikes.

As a dolphin swam by, seemingly taunting the boat, Hobbs said that there wasn’t even a chance of accidentally catching one.

“Dolphins are too smart to strike at one of our lures,” he said. “We’re after stupid fish.”
The tournament fishers were hoping to reel in a dolphin, though. Their quest wasn’t for the bottle-nosed mammal, but the dolphin fish, also known as mahi mahi.

The strikes didn’t bite hard enough to give the fishermen a chance to reel anything in, stupid or smart.

While the Reel Jim didn’t win any of the categories in the weekend’s tournament, they still provided the Soldiers with a day they said they would never forget.

“I wish we could have seen them reel in a big one, but it was still fun,” said Coffey.
“I would do it again if I had the chance,” said Choi. “It was fun.”

Hobbs, who splits his time between fishing in tournaments, maintaining the boat and attending college classes, said he was glad to get the chance to share his love of fishing with others. His dad, Fred Hobbs, was the one who offered the chance for Soldiers to ride along.

“I was speaking with Tommy Bolton (the under secretary of the Army) at a committee meeting discussing Base Realignment and Closure and he mentioned that people always wanted something of Soldiers, but very rarely offered to give something in return,” said Fred Hobbs. “I thought that this would be something fun to share with them.”

Because of the Hobbs Family’s generosity over the two days of the tournament, five Fort Bragg Soldiers got the opportunity experience deep-sea fishing.

Coffey said that even though he would jump at the chance to do it again, he will never look at a boat the same way again.

“I thought it wouldn’t bother me. Riding in a C-130 before a jump doesn’t even compare with the feeling of being on that boat for 12 hours, rocking over the waves,” he said.