New Jersey Vets’ First
PHW Fishing Trip — Lyons VA Hospital

3 June 2007

After three months of fly tying and casting on lawns in front of a nursing home building at the Lyons Campus of the VA New Jersey Health Care System, on June 3, 2007, we finally went on a fishing trip. There were 12 fly fishers, four in wheelchairs, and 17volunteers, all from TU chapters in New Jersey.

We went to the state’s Pequest Hatchery about an hour away from the Lyons Veteran Hospital. There is a teaching pond where they stock 4 and 6 pound breeders. The bus arrived with the vets at 10 am. The volunteers had arrived earlier and had stung up the rods and tied on a fly. When the vets got off the bus, there was one guide for each fisherman and several others to net any caught fish.

The vets spread around the pond, and within ten minutes, there was much excitement as several vets caught big fish. It was a cool day, and everyone caught fish. The psychiatrist who accompanied the vets told me the vets had no concentration and would only fish for an hour, but with this much fun, nobody noticed that it was 12:30.

Box lunches for everyone from the hospital were consumed at the hatchery picnic ground. After lunch I made an announcement that if anyone wanted to catch more fish, the pond was still open. All 12 vets went back to the pond to fish. At 2:30 there was a bolt of lighting that ended our day. As soon as the vets got back into their bus, it began to rain, but it certainly did not spoil a great day for fly fishers and volunteers.

Bob Cohen