Fishing in Iraq

National Guard troops enjoy opener half a world away

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published 10:16 a.m., May 16, 2007

Many Minnesota National Guard members from this area serving in Iraq have good memories of the spring fishing opener. Among them are Zach Eifert of Fergus Falls and Doug Aas of Pelican Rapids.

Just for fun, some Guardsmen in Iraq held a simultaneous fishing opener coinciding with the Minnesota Fishing Opener on Saturday, May 12, at Camp Adder, Iraq.

“We hope your fishing was better than ours,” Public Affairs and photographer Capt. Mark Lappegaard joked. "There's no fishing limit here in Iraq and our only rule is no explosives."

Kathy Eifert, mother of Zach Eifert, said it’s great that the Guardsmen in Iraq had some fun and organized the simultaneous fishing opener.

“My husband Mark and I know that Zach, had he been in Minnesota, would have been out shortly after midnight on Saturday,” Kathy said. “He probably would have been at Schmidt Bridge along the Otter Tail River northeast of town.”

Over the years Zach Eifert also has enjoyed fishing at Wall, Otter Tail, West Battle and Rush lakes.

Lois Aas, when contacted at Viking Elementary School where she works in Pelican Rapids, said her son Doug has enjoyed fishing now and then at Lake Lida near Maplewood State Park. His father is David Aas.

“I agree with Kathy that the simultaneous fishing opener was probably fun and a good morale boost for those serving in Iraq,” Lois Aas said.

One man serving in Iraq, John McCann of Eden Valley, works for the Minnesota DNR and was instrumental is organizing the simultaneous fishing opener. He joked that he received what he terms “a care package” of fishing equipment from Pure Fishing of Spirit Lake, Iowa.

“John did a lot of work in making this happen,” Public Affairs Capt. Mark Lappegaard said.

Master Sgt. Rich Eggert of Moorhead had fun preparing to catch what he referred to as "the elusive Mesopotamia Silver, aka carp." He said his record fish is a “2.5-pound bass-looking thing.”

Maj. Jay Ferguson of Hermantown is proud to be one of the regular fisherman at Lake Wisconsin — now stationed in Iraq. “My dear wife spent hours at Gander Mountain picking out my fishing equipment and sending it over to me,” he said.

Avid outdoorsman Maj. John Ostercamp of Dayton won the $5 First Fish bet during the simultaneous fishing opener in Iraq. Since gambling is against the Army's General Order #1 in Iraq, he was unable to profit from the fish.

He held a tiny fish and joked that it was "just a little smaller than the 40-pound halibut I got in Alaska."

Twenty months ago, upon returning from his Alaska fishing trip, Ostercamp discovered he was deploying to Iraq. May 12 was the first time he had fished since his trip to Alaska.

“It was all in fun,” said, “and the guys who participated really had a good time.”

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