A Humanitarian Day on the Water

It began when Joe's daughter, Amy, reached out to our Program and asked if there was a way we could help her father experience fly fishing. Joe, an Army Veteran, has faced a serious health battle this year, and fly fishing had been at the very top of his bucket list. When I learned what this opportunity meant to Joe and his family, I knew it was about much more than simply taking someone fishing — it was a chance to give them a day on the water they could hold onto for years to come.

I worked with Amy to bring the family in from Houston — Joe, his wife Rachael, daughters Amy and Joey, Joey's husband Tony, and their two-year-old son, James — for an outing at Rainbow Falls Mountain Trout. Since none of them had ever held a fly rod, I asked fellow mentor Jim Mann to join me: Jim worked directly with Joe while I introduced the rest of the family to the water.

The forecast called for cold and rain, and by 8:45 a.m. it was drizzling, with two resident bald eagles watching from the trees overhead. Conditions like that might send most families home — not this one. They were there for Joe, and determined to make the most of the day. Jim patiently worked with Joe, and before long Joe was into fish: a Tiger Trout, a Palomino, and a Rainbow.

What I'll remember most isn't the fish Joe caught — it was the smile on his face, surrounded by his wife, daughters, son-in-law, and grandson, with the whole family sharing in every catch. Everyone stayed until about noon despite the cold and rain. The real success of the day wasn't measured in trout: it was giving Joe the chance to live out something he'd dreamed about, and giving his family the chance to live it with him. At the end, Joe and his family thanked us again and again — but honestly, Jim and I felt we got as much out of that morning as we gave.

Days like this remind me that the heart of Project Healing Waters is something deeper than casting, tying flies, or reading water. Sometimes the most meaningful thing we can give a Veteran isn't something you can measure or put in a report — it's simply the opportunity to make one more great memory with the people they love. For Joe and his family, I believe we did that, and I'm deeply grateful Jim and I got to be part of it.

— Dan Albrecht, Fly-Fishing Mentor