2010 Hope for the Warriors Tournament

Before the competition began, the Elite anglers showed their Warrior partners how to cast and work their lures. Here, Gary Klein tells Sean DeBevoise the trick to a baitcaster is all in the thumb.

Cliff Pace rigs a rod for the day of fishing as his partner, Frank Armenta, looks on.

The national anthem held special meaning at The Waters as anglers and their partners got ready for the Hope For The Warriors fishing tournament.

Just after 8:00 a.m., the boat began making their way across the lake to a likely fishing hole.

Tommy Biffle quickly caught a 6-pounder and he and Ryan Anderson began jawing at Greg Hackney, who was fishing close by.

Teams were allowed to keep their biggest bass to weigh at the end of the day.

The morning started quickly for Greg Hackney, as he slings a small fish into his boat.

The fish was released as quickly as it was caught by Hackney, knowing only big fish would cut it today.

Hope For The Warriors paired up an Elite Series angler and wounded soldier for a day of fishing on The Waters, a trophy bass lake near Montgomery.

Aaron Martens catches a small bass as his partners, Bob Cauthon watches.

The Waters had plentiful cover beneath the surface that Martens and Cauthon were making long casts to early on Tuesday morning.

The rustic setting of The Waters was on display from the lake as anglers fish along the shoreline.

Russ Lane, John Lightsey and his son make casts along a dock as they search for the biggest bass in the pond.

Kevin VanDam helps Jacque Keeslar free his lure from the many snags on the bottom of the lake.

VanDam told his partner that he is not one for just sitting around, and he proved it by idling frequently in the first hour of the tournament.

Edwin Evers hooks into a small bass as Timothy Murray makes a long cast off the back deck.

Sean DeBevoise had a lot of success with a crankbait while fishing with Gary Klein.

Kevin VanDam swings aboard a small fish as a local camera crew films the action.

Tim Murray hooks up with a monster bass that thrashes next to the boat as Edwin Evers scrambles to help him land it.

Evers leans out as the bass makes another run next to the motor.

With two hands, Evers has the fish in the boat for his partner Tim Murray.

Plentiful smiles were on display as Tim Murray holds up his biggest fish of the day so far.

Murray and Evers congratulate each other after putting a giant largemouth in the boat.

VanDam is careful removing the hooks from Jacque Keeslar’s fish.

Aaron Martens plays a fish alongside the boat as it makes another futile effort to shake free.

Martens leans down to belly-land the chunky largemouth, one of many four-pound fish he and his partner Bob Cauthon caught throughout the day.

Aaron Martens shows of a nice largemouth that was part of a giant school stacked up on a flat the Elite anglers were fishing.

The fishing action was furious at the end of the day as Martens brings a smaller fish to the boat.

fish turns out to be a catfish that ate a lipless crankbait Cauthon was throwing.

A fish makes an acrobatic jump as Edwin Evers and Tim Murray scramble to move about the boat.

VanDam holds out his rod to steer a bigger fish around the front of his trolling motor.

As Kevin VanDam bends down to grab the bass, it makes one last desperate jump next to the boat.

With the day winding to a close, VanDam holds up a chunky bass caught while fishing at The Waters.

KVD checks to see if this fish will be big enough to take back to the dock for the weigh-in.

On his final cast of the day, Derek Remitz caught another big fish and tries to decide which one to cull.

Russ Lane gets rods ready for his partner John Lightsey before their day of fishing at The Waters begins.

Elite anglers and their partners mill around the dock prior to “blast-off” practicing their casting and talking about plans for the day of fishing.

Part of the day involved teaching fishing skills, including picking out backlashes suffered during casting practice.

Martens demonstrates how to use a casting reel for his partner Bob Cauthon.

Evers dumps a small bass back into the lake, still searching for the one big fish that will put them on top.

Sean DeBevoise proudly holds up the biggest bass of his life, which he caught while fishing with Gary Klein Tuesday.

DeBevoise hands the fish back to Klein, so he could place it in the livewell to take to weigh-in.

DeBevoise makes a long cast with a crankbait, as he and Klein fish underwater log jams at The Waters’ trophy bass lake.

Derek Remitz and Jon Lujan work a brushpile off the bank, but the morning began slowly for the pair.