by Ben Walker

Created on: October 13, 2009

What's the thrill of catch-and-release? What's so fun about catching slimy, wet and smelly fish? Some people never find out during their time on Earth, the people I feel so bad for. They never get out into the country, the open air. They never experience being as close to nature as man feels when he steps foot in the rushing, gurgling stream. They never feel the way we were meant to, the way our ancestors did, many years back.

Of course, those who've fly-fished before, know what I'm talking about, for those who haven't, I'll try to explain the best I can. There are many pleasure benefits from fly fishing, including fun, sport, competition and the thrill of catching the "big one." But fly fishing's benefits are not just limited to pleasure!

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Inc. is a business dedicated to the rehabilitation of war veterans through fly fishing. First introduced at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center to disabled active duty personnel, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing is now offering its services to medical centers across the nation.

So what does fly fishing do? Casting a fly rod and tying flies helps people to rebuild their fine motor skills and improve balance while doing so in a calm, outdoor setting. This way, patients are calm, enabling a faster, more enjoyable rehabilitation than that in a hospital.

Fly tying is an art all of itself. Nowhere else can you have fun researching the hatch of the river, and materials used to get the effect desired. Fly-tying has been an art for centuries, and it used to be that only highly-skilled professionals knew how, and had the equipment to do so. Now, with modern-day advances in technology, fly-tying has been brought to the home. With books, classes and seminars concerning fly-tying, someone can simply walk into the hobby. Also, you can make some spare money off of your flies, or if you know how, you can even put them to good use and use them yourself!

So, what is the attraction of fly fishing? Many say it is the sport, competition and rush you get when you finally catch the one. Others say it is the relaxing nature and setting fly fishing naturally takes place in. Even others say it's tying flies and seeing the flies put to the test, the world may never know what draws people into fly fishing. But one thing is for certain, once you're in, you're in for life.

References:

http://www.maryland.va.gov

Learn more about this author, Ben Walker.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.