In this episode we Wadeoutthere with Kelly McAlister from Saratoga, Wyoming. Kelly was born and raised in Wyoming and learned to row as a child on…
Podcast
Veterans, Healing and Community with Will Cannon from The Iron Freedom Foundation. Podcast Ep 94 – Part 2 of 2
When Will talks about the importance of including the spouse in a veteran’s fly fishing journey, it hits home for me in a way I didn't expect.
Podcast
Veterans, Healing and Community with Will Cannon from The Iron Freedom Foundation. Podcast Ep 93 – Part 1 of 2
Will picked up a fly rod when he was eight years old and fished his home waters in Texas until he turned 17 and joined the Army as a scout. After leaving the profession of arms, he found himself struggling with PTSD and battling cancer. At his lowest point he returned to fly fishing and found relief. Determined to share the powerful healing he experienced through fly fishing with other struggling veterans, Will started the non-profit organization, The Iron Freedom Foundation (IFF).
Dry fly fishing in Pennsylvania with the Mono Rig was one of the most lasting memories of my fly fishing journey. Casting blue winged olives in the silent, snowy, solitude of a beautiful river I’d never stepped foot in before was remarkable. I had never fished dries in the snow, let alone on the Mono Rig. Both proved to be deeply rewarding.
Beyond. How do we end up beyond that place in our fly fishing journey where most would consider reasonable. Fly fishing takes all of us on different adventures and after different fish, but sometimes we hang up on something like Mike Ward did with Permit. Sometimes, something keeps our attention and we keep digging.
Cameron is a veteran who is making a difference in the lives of other veterans in a profoundly meaningful way. His films tell the stories of how our soldiers are being healed through fly fishing. They are beautiful pieces of videography and storytelling but they also represent what is possible for people that are running out of hope. Families that need help. His work with the Iron Freedom Foundation is saving lives. I believe it.
It’s not the most famous rivers or biggest fish that fill up my mind and make me smile when I think back on all the places I have gone and people I have met while fly fishing. It is all the things I wasn’t counting on, but was hoping for. We go to where the fish are, cast out, and never know what we will find.
We've all been there. Sometimes it's hard to remember our beginnings in fly fishing. We can forget the things we take for granted. When I began fly fishing I was "dry or die" out of ignorance, not preference. The mechanics of fly line, leader, and tippet were foreign. Tactics were nowhere in my crosscheck. I wish I had learned so many things, so much faster. The importance of a natural drift. Getting my flies down while nymphing. When to switch flies, or just switch water. And so many other tools I have picked up and am still gathering. About the only thing I had going for me was reading water (thanks Pop). But that's part of the journey isn't it? Filling the toolbox. Still, being in that place, and seeking progress, made a kind word of advice from another angler that much more special.