My research, using the ever-reliable internet, indicates that modern day fly fishing was the invention of Charles Cotton, an English poet and aristocrat, sometime in the late 1600’s. He was also a friend of Izaak Walton, the author of The Complete Angler. I cannot believe that Mr. Cotton envisioned how fly fishing would grow over the past centuries. And, more particularly, how over the last fifty years the role fly fishing would take on in the world of non-profits.
In reading past issues of FLY FISHERMAN magazine, I found articles about six non- profits, a seventh I have first-hand knowledge of, and one movie devoted to helping others through fly fishing. The movie, Mending the Line, while fiction, did a great job showing how fly fishing can guide someone needing help in adjusting back into society after experiencing the horrors of a war. Of the seven non-profits, I have volunteered with four. The four I have volunteered with and have first-hand knowledge of and what they do are: Project Healing Waters, Warrior & Quite Waters, Casting for Recovery, and Adaptive Sports Association of Durango.
My first venture in helping others where fly fishing is used in the non-profit world was Project Healing Waters. This organization works with any veteran that finds him or her self adrift and in need of something to help them find their way. The veterans I have worked with have included a Vietnam veteran who was the sole survivor of a fire fight to a twenty-one-year-old man, who served in the Gulf War. I discovered that fly fishing helped these men and women find some peace by just standing in a river and hearing nothing but moving water. I read a quote from a participant of PHW that said, “Fly fishing saved my life.” Fly fishing is making a difference in the lives of these brave men, women, and families. Warriors & Quite Waters mission states “it is a nonprofit organization that empowers post-911 combat veterans and their loved ones to thrive and live purpose-driven lives through peak experiences in nature, meaningful relationships, and a sense of community.” One of the main ways they do this is through fly fishing.
Casting For Recovery was set up to help women dealing with breast cancer. Their mission statement says, “To Cast is to Hope.” The ladies I have worked with received great satisfaction in finding a sport they could do, and enjoy, even while going through a treatment I will never have to deal with. Each cast gives them the hope of accomplishing something other than getting through another chemo treatment.
Adaptive Sports Association works with people having every kind of disability known to man. They use every sport you can think of to give their participants a great day. Fly fishing is used from time-to-time and handed me one of the most humbling experiences of the volunteer work I do. We had carried a lady who had her leg amputated, at the hip, to a chair in the river. She sat there catching trout, using the casts she had learned earlier in the day. As the day ended, she let it be known she was going nowhere. She had found something she could do, regardless of her situation.
My reading also found three youth programs, Project MayFly, Minority Youth, and Fish for Change. While I have no first-hand knowledge of the programs, I believe what they give to their participants is no different than the programs I have experience with. I also found a volunteer program, Redside Foundation, that helps fly fishing guides deal with the seemingly insurmountable problems of everyday life. I have to ask, what is it about fly fishing that all these programs find beneficial? To answer that I want to quote Ross Purnell, editor and publisher of FLY FISHERMAN magazine. “Fishing has always been the one certain escape from the grim reality of life. It’s a time and a place where you leave your fears and your worries on the shore, step into the river, and let the sound of rushing water wash your brain into a clean slate.”
This brings me back to the title of this month’s column. This year at Thanksgiving, I am going to give thanks for fly fishing and everything it does to help people. I invite you to do the same.