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We hope you will take a few minutes, sit back, relax, and share with us the following video of what Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. is all about.
NOTICE:
Our Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. chapter currently meets at:
Walla Walla Vet Center
1104 West Popular Street
contact
509-526-8387
-or-
Dave Stemmer - Group leader
509-525-6676
Walla Walla Vet Center
1104 West Popular Street
contact
509-526-8387
-or-
Dave Stemmer - Group leader
509-525-6676
Our group meets most Thursdays at 5:00 pm
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May 4, 1940 — Feb. 1, 2016 Rest in Peace dear friend |
"Bringing wounded vets fly-fishing to heal their mind and soul."
You can learn more about PROJECT HEALING WATERS (PHW) by following this link to the home of this national organization. http://www.projecthealingwaters.org/
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| Dave Stemmer |
Our Walla Walla chapter is a part of the Northwest Region
Northwest - AK, ID, OR, WA - Chuck Tye, Regional Coordinator northwest@projecthealingwaters.org
The Walla Walla Chapter of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. is FULLY FUNDED by the national organization for all PHW-fly fishing activities participated in by any and all US veterans of our area. This group have regular fly tying sessions, annually they build their own fly rods, and several times a year they initiate their own fly fishing trip and have occasion to join other chapters from across Washington and Oregon for fishing tournaments - all lodging, travel and food is paid for - at the expense / courtesy of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc.
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With the loss of Jerry our meeting location moved from the VA Hospital. We still have our connections there, and following is an overview of where we started, and the things we continue to do today. Will you join us?
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This evening (4/24/2014) we had our first Thursday evening session with the Vets at Walla Walla Veterans' Hospital and those Walla² Fly Fishers interested in helping area veterans work past their military service wounds via fly fishing.Along with our club coordinator Jerry, we have a local Walla Walla VA Hospital coordinator - Derek Reser - Recreation Director, and he may be reached at richard.reser2@va.gov
To date our activities have been fly tying lesson at the VA Hospital, but the organization also funds and co-ordinates fly fishing excursions, for all those that participate in the Project.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, this writer shall share these pictures of a couple of our fly tying session. Our weekly Thursday sessions begin at 5:00 pm and last until 6:00 - 6:30 pm, sometimes later if we are having too much fun ~ camaraderie to stop tying on schedule.
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| Jerry passing out tying materials |
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| Now, how does all of this go together? |
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| Herb, showing the finer points of tying this fly |
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| Herb Clark is our #1 tying instructor - he is good, and know the waters / flies of the Walla² valley. |
Updated - 28 August 2014 - as we move along on the quest to catch fish on the fly.
During the heat of summer we got a break in the weather and went outdoors to practice casting fly line and yarn flies.
One of our founding club members and Master Casting Instructor - Skip Pritchard often come to our aid, when we ask for his expertise.
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| Skip showing Dave some of the finer points of casting |
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| Herb and Jerry getting in some casting practice / warming up - hitting the target ring with a yarn fly. |
Derek is really learning to get into the swing of casting
Good job Derek
Good job Derek
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| Derek, is getting better at shooting the fly line, and hitting the ring target with his single haul casting. |
In Walla Walla, we have a lot of room in our Project Healing Waters fly fishing classes, and if you are a vet, would like to learn to catch a fish on the fly; please feel FREE to join us.
Our VA Hospital Contact is Derek Reser - Recreation Director, and he may be reached at richard.reser2@va.gov
The club members which have helped with our PROJECT HEALING WATERS activities are: Jerry Newell, Herb Clark, Dave Stemmer, Skip Pritchard, Diane Biggs, and Dale McKain. This is an open group, FREE to all veterans, even though a Code of Conduct form must be signed, and any and all club members are invited to participate. Please coordinate your comings and goings with Jerry as you will be compensated for your time and mileage spent.
Update - Time to go fishing - as we move along on the quest to catch fish on the fly.
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| The River Just Knows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p1z2eOk9xw |
In August Dave and Brandon went to work on the Walla Walla and Tucannon rivers.
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| Brandon with a few bass |
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| Caught Dave playing with trout |
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| One of Brandon's bass |
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| One of Dave's trout |
In September the Project Healing Waters - Northwest Region sponsored a 2-Fly Fishing Tournament on the Yakima River.
This was a full weekend event starting with the gathering of veterans on Friday afternoon - fishing all day Saturday - having a farewell breakfast together on Sunday.
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| Richard staying busy |
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| Derek at work |
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| The River Just Knows Drift boats, pontoon boats, fishing rafts, all joined the action for the day |
Jerry reported to the club... there was 120 people in
attendance for that function of which 66 were veterans. This function
came together on Friday evening at an area KOA campground and lasted
through Sunday morning breakfast. Jerry reported that he was very
impressed with the organization of the tournament and the food was
great. There were fishing crews for 23 boats with veterans fly fishing
the river. Our Walla Walla group had two boats and 4 vets participating.
In October the Walla² Fly Fishers and Project Healing Waters veterans made a full day's run for the Deschutes River to test some steelhead flies tied earlier.
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| Brandon and Tom fishing at the Outhouse Hole |
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| Erik with his Deschutes River catch |
The November 2014 issue of Walla Walla Lifestyles did a feature article on our Walla Walla program for Project Healing Water Fly Fishing.
We hope you will have the opportunity to find a copy and read our story.
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Jerry tells us that they also motored down to the Wenaha River, coming off Wildcat grade (a rather wild experience in itself) and hiked upriver out of Troy, OR where they hooked into quite a few wild steelhead and Dolly Varden "Bull trout".
Are you veteran? would you like to share or learn fly fishing experiences with fellow vets of our Walla Walla ~ NE Oregon area? Please contact our Walla² Fly Fishers' chapter of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc via email - wallawalla.flyfishing@gmail.com - and let's go fishing.
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| video -- Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc -- video |
Respectively submitted,
Dale McKain
Club Secretary
Tight lines and good fishing.
Tight lines and good fishing.
Walla² Fly Fishers
Dave Stemmer –
PresidentTom Craig
– Vice President
Doug Coe – Treasurer
Dale McKain – Secretary ~ Blogmaster
Dave Stemmer - PROJECT HEALING WATERS Coordinator
Jerry Newell -RIP- PROJECT HEALING WATERS Coordinator
Doug Coe – Treasurer
Dale McKain – Secretary ~ Blogmaster
Dave Stemmer - PROJECT HEALING WATERS Coordinator
Jerry Newell -RIP- PROJECT HEALING WATERS Coordinator
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