Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 501 is my conversation with Allan McCoy, the founder of Hook, Line & Heroes, a nonprofit that takes veterans struggling with PTSD out fishing. Allan grew up with a D-Day veteran father and recognized the symptoms of combat trauma long before they had a name everyone used. We talk about how he built the organization, why his team personally calls every veteran alumnus every month, and why getting a veteran on the water can change everything.
Allan McCoy is the founder of Hook, Line & Heroes, a nonprofit organization that takes military veterans dealing with PTSD out fishing. He grew up in South Florida fishing the Keys, is the son of a D-Day veteran, and runs veteran fishing trips out of Charleston, South Carolina. He also operates Cosmic Pelican Charters and works with local guide services to expand the reach of his veteran program.
Hook, Line & Heroes is a veteran-focused nonprofit founded by Allan McCoy that takes service members dealing with PTSD out on fishing trips, both inshore and offshore. The organization provides each veteran with a fishing tackle pack, including a spinning rod and reel, so they can keep fishing on their own afterward, and it stays in contact with every veteran long after the trip ends.
Allan's team — himself or his board members — personally calls every veteran alumnus every single month to make sure they are okay, to check on their health, to ask if they need anything, and to encourage them to keep fishing. The monthly phone call is a deliberate part of the mission, built around staying connected so no veteran feels forgotten after the trip is over.
Allan's father was a D-Day veteran who went in on the second wave, and Allan grew up in a household shaped by what was then called shell shock. Looking back decades later as he worked with PTSD veterans, he recognized the classic symptoms — seclusion, avoiding social interaction, a flash temper — that had simply been normal life growing up. That personal background, paired with a strong faith, became the calling behind Hook, Line & Heroes.
Allan runs trips out of Charleston, South Carolina, both inshore for species like redfish and offshore toward the Gulf Stream, where his groups have caught kingfish, African pompano, vermillion snapper, triggerfish, and cobia. He works with guide services including offshore and inshore charters in the Charleston area and runs his own Cosmic Pelican Charters to help fund and expand the veteran trips.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 501 with Allan McCoy is available to watch on YouTube, with the video version embedded at the top of this page.
The veteran community matters to me, and so does the simple idea that being on the water can heal something in a person that a clinic cannot reach. Allan built an entire organization around that idea, and he did it from a deeply personal place — his own father carried combat trauma home from D-Day. I wanted him to tell me how Hook, Line & Heroes actually works, not just the mission statement, but the monthly phone calls and the tackle packs and the day-to-day of getting a struggling veteran back into the world.
Allan grew up in a house shaped by what they called shell shock, with a father who went in on the second wave at D-Day. He describes recognizing, decades later, that the seclusion and the flash temper he grew up around were textbook PTSD. That recognition, paired with his faith, became the calling behind the organization. He tells that part with real weight. Watch the YouTube player above to hear it.
Most charities run an event and move on. Allan's team calls every single veteran alumnus every month — to check on their health, ask what they need, and make sure they keep fishing. He explains why that ongoing contact, not the trip itself, is the part that actually saves people. It is the detail that separates his organization from a one-day feel-good outing. Watch on YouTube for the full explanation.
Allan walks through a real day — a recent offshore trip out of Charleston with three battle buddies from the same unit, flat seas, a Gulf Stream run, kingfish and an African pompano in the box. He describes the camaraderie of veterans back together on the water. The specifics make it real. Watch the player above to ride along.
▶ Watch the full conversation on YouTube
Each veteran leaves with a fishing tackle pack — a spinning rod and reel and the basics. Allan explains that the gear is not a parting gift, it is a tool to keep the veteran fishing on their own, because the goal is a lasting habit, not a single memory. Hear why that matters in the episode.
Allan is candid about the money side — running his own Cosmic Pelican Charters and working with local guides to stretch every dollar toward more veteran trips. He talks about the practical grind of keeping a nonprofit on the water. Watch the YouTube player above for that part of the conversation.
The day after talking to Allan, the thing I kept coming back to was the monthly phone call. It would be easy to run a trip, post the photos, and feel good. Allan built something harder than that — a promise to keep showing up for every veteran, every month.
What Allan understands is that the water gives people a reason to look forward to something, and that for a veteran fighting through dark days, a reason can be everything. That is a mission worth getting behind.
▶ Watch the full conversation on YouTube
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Allan McCoy is the founder of Hook, Line & Heroes, a nonprofit that takes military veterans dealing with PTSD out fishing inshore and offshore. The son of a D-Day veteran and a lifelong angler who grew up fishing the Florida Keys, he runs veteran trips out of Charleston, South Carolina, provides each veteran with a tackle pack, and personally calls every alumnus every month. He also operates Cosmic Pelican Charters to help fund and expand the program.
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