All great fishing seasons start with setting goals. On January 18, our Project Healing Waters volunteers got together and laid out our ambitious goals for the year, from fly tying more complicated patterns, to rod building, to more outings. With the ability to meet in person, without too many restrictions, we are all looking to build on the successes of last year.
In addition to the volunteers meeting in January, we also tried to get out on the water with the veterans to start the year with a bang. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperative and winter temperatures quickly put an end to that idea. We will continue to look for breaks in the weather to get out on the water but, for now, we are focusing on indoor activities such as fly tying and rod building.
During our monthly meeting at the American Legion, Dave W. covered our goals for the new year with the veterans and we got right to work. Colin led tying the first fly of the new year, the sculpin pattern — an excellent all year round option. Larry and Billy spoke to the group about opportunities with the Brotherhood of the Jungle Cock and we rounded the evening out with Don Fine walking through the new approach to rod building this year. The goal is to have more frequent meetings for those veterans that want to build their own rod, as well as the ability to take the rod building equipment home so that they can finish their rod early and start using it in late winter/early spring.
Finally, with every year comes change. Jim Lowell, a founding member of the Project Healing Waters Frederick Volunteers and the heart and soul of our chapter is stepping down. Jim has been at the forefront of the program from day one and driving much of its success. He has done everything from managing all of the equipment to running SalesForce to helping veterans increase their fly fishing knowledge and improving their casting strokes. Jim can teach anyone to cast, his patience and perseverance has led to many greatly improved cast strokes and more enjoyable time on the water. We wish him the very best moving forward and thank him from the bottom of our hearts for everything he has done for all of us. If you have any questions or would like to participate in any of our upcoming fly tying sessions at Fort Detrick, please reach out to me at any time at andrewfrutiger@yahoo.com or go to our Facebook page at Project Healing Waters — Frederick Chapter.
By Andrew Frutiger
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