Hooked On Heroes is reeling in their lines

Horrific scenes from Steinhatchee emerged after Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated the entire coast of Florida. -Courtesy Photo

— "...all these people along the coast lost their homes, they are the majority of boaters that volunteered their time and their boats for these events,” said Ron Cadle. “They’re going to take care of their home and family before they worry about going fishing, as they should.” —

By Tami Stevenson

Hurricanes Helene and Milton have devastated the Gulf coast of Florida and the impacts will be felt for years as businesses and homeowners strive to put their lives and businesses back together, some will never recover. Unfortunately, this is the case for Hooked On Heroes.

It was a dream of Vietnam Veteran Ron Cadle to help other veterans that, after returning home from their service to our country, suffer with PTSD and other issues.

He wanted to let them know someone cared about them, and offer them something that would be “…like a good therapy.”
“And fishing is one of the best therapy’s you can have,” said Ron Cadle.

His dream came true in 2015 when he, along with his wife, Carolyn, became the founders of the popular Hooked On Heroes non-profit 501c3 organization that took veterans fishing, totally free of charge.

Veterans and volunteers enjoyed visiting after a good day of fishing in the gulf at the October 5, 2019 Hooked on Heroes fishing trip. -SVT Archived Photo by Tami Stevenson

“Originally when I started, I didn’t think it was going to grow like it did. The first time out, we only took 50 veterans fishing,” Ron Cadle said. “I thought it would just die off from there, but it just kept growing.”

He said during the beginning years, after taking the veterans fishing on one particular trip, when they came back in, “…this big gentleman came up to me and said, ‘Can I give you a hug?’”

“Sure, I got no problem with that.”

The veteran said, “You know you saved my life.”

“He told me he was going to commit suicide,” Ron Cadle added. The veteran told him that he had heard about Hooked On Heroes, came to an event and now said he has been coming to the events and had something to live for.

Carolyn Cadle added, “That was about the time when the veterans began telling other veterans about the fun they had and it kept growing from there.”

They not only took them fishing, they provided their fishing poles, bait and licensing and fed them breakfast and lunch, all at no charge to the veterans.

Great catch from 2019! Mark Pervas-Army, Gene Arnold-Army and crew. -Photo: Carolyn Cadle

The Cadle’s would begin planning about four to five months before each event. They normally held two a year. They would also call boat captains along the coast in and near Steinhatchee to see if they would volunteer their time and boat to take veterans fishing. Hooked On Heroes reimbursed the captains for their gas, everything else was volunteer. All the people that worked at the events volunteered their time. The Cadle’s said everyone was a volunteer. All the profits went to the veterans.

Another major volunteer and donor was Suwannee County Sheriff Sam St. John. He, along with many of his deputies that volunteered their time, would provide chicken and rice dinners for the events, totally free of charge. He was sad to hear the news about them dissolving the organization.

St. John said during an interview, “It was always a blessing for us to be able to give back to them that gave so much for us. I’ve always admired the veterans.” He added, “We owe them so much because America wouldn’t be America without the veterans and with all they sacrificed.”

He said during the events, he would pay for all the ingredients for the dinners and then his volunteers would cook for them all. Even for the fundraisers they held between events - all the profits would go to Hooked On Heroes.

Part of Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee. -Courtesy Photo

Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee hosted many events for them over the years. It was not totally destroyed by the hurricanes, but received a lot of damage.

“I love Sea Hag Marina, they have been good to us for many years and we appreciate them,” he said. But as time went on and the veterans that attended kept growing in number, their last few events were held at Steinhatchee Marina at Deadman Bay because they had more room. They were not totally destroyed, but also received a lot of damage.

“Another reason why we decided to end Hooked On Heroes is because all these people along the coast lost their homes, they are the majority of boaters that volunteered their time and their boats for these events,” said Ron Cadle. “They’re going to take care of their home and family before they worry about going fishing, as they should.”

The Cadle’s said based on everything that has happened and the entire area being devastated, they decided, with Ron’s health not as good as it should be either, to dissolve the organization.

As they finished their ninth year and were about to enter their tenth year, Hooked On Heroes has taken more than 3,000 veterans fishing.

Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee hosting another Hooked On Heroes event where they had 187 veterans in 63 boats. The veterans, captains and crews enjoyed a free meal after a day of fishing on the gulf. -SVT Archived Photo by Tami Stevenson

Their last fishing event had 197 veterans that attended. The most veterans they had at one event was over 220. The oldest veteran they ever took fishing through Hooked On Heroes was 100 years old. He was a WWII Veteran. Although, they had some that were 96 and 98 years old too, through the years.

“We’ve had veterans calling us from all over the United States, wanting to go fishing.” Carolyn said. “I had one from the other day that called from California, after the hurricanes came through.”

She asked him if he realized how far away they were and he said he had a general idea. Then she asked how he heard about them.

“He said through the VA mental health in California.” She said she had no idea how the California VA found out about them.

“The only place we’ve ever advertised is in the Suwannee Valley Times and a little on the radio,” Ron Cadle said. Although other news sources had covered some of their events through the years.

They said they have had calls from Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and many other states. The callers may not have realized that the only requirement for the veterans is they had to find their own way to and from the event. Once they were there, everything was paid for.

The beloved Roy’s Restaurant in Steinhatchee was totally demolished. -Courtesy Photo

Sadly, Roy’s Restaurant in Steinhatchee, where they would take their volunteers after the events, was totally demolished.

Good Times Motel and Marina, where they stayed during the events, “They have to totally rebuild,” Ron Cadle said. “Maddie’s Market in Steinhatchee, where we got our gas and sandwiches from, has to be totally bulldozed down and rebuilt.”

They always got the donuts for the event at Johnson’s Bakery in Perry. Thankfully, they are up and running again.

“There’s so much devastation there,” Carolyn Cadle said.

They still plan on continuing their Fishing For Heroes Fishing Tournament, where they can use that money to help veterans. It’s a one-day event where people sign up to go fish and raise money for veterans. It is separate from Hooked On Heroes. They are hoping to hold their next tournament on Mother’s Day in 2025 but, they said, it depends on how Steinhatchee is doing.

The Cadles said they really haven’t made any major decisions as to what they want to do moving forward.

“Off and on we’ll still be working with the veterans,” Carolyn said. They help at the Jenkins Veterans’ Domiciliary in Lake City, cooking and things like that.

Hooked On Heroes Founders Ron & Carolyn Cadle.
-SVT Archived Photo-Jan. 2020

“We’re just going to keep doing different things until we find what we want to do.” Ron said.

“It was such a privilege and an honor to do this. We could not have accomplished it without all of the boaters and volunteers, all the support from so many businesses and donors. There were so many individuals that supported us. A special thank you goes to them and my board of directors that stood beside us to accomplish all that we did,” Ron Cadle said. “GOD BLESS YOU ALL.”