Spring Ice Breaker at Rose River Farms
The Project Healing Waters family would like to thank Rose River Farms in Syria, VA for hosting our 2008 Spring Ice Breaker. Rose River Farms is a beautiful spread setup exclusively for fly fishing in the pristine Rose River as it flows in the shadows of the Shenandoah National Park. To say the fishing here is good is a gross understatement. As we set up for the event it took all of our willpower not cast to the enormous trout just a few feet away in the pools by the gazebo. Despite threatening weather reports, the Blue Ridge delivered a stunning day and the fish were very cooperative.
The setup crew arrived a day early and decided to have a "planning meeting" in a nearby canyon where the smaller rods would be thoroughly tested before we handed them to the troops. It was just the responsible thing to do. After a beautiful day fishing plunge pools in the park, we rolled up our sleeves and began the real work. Plans were made and gear was gathered and the next morning Ed Nicholson fueled us up with his homecooked breakfast and we hit the ground running. I have never had "red eye gravy" before and if my doctor has any say in it, I doubt I ever will again.
After moving chairs and tables and stringing up rods the soldiers began streaming in around 10am. There was a streamside presentation acknowledging Eivind Forseth's retirement from the military and the outstanding attendance records of Diane Lopes and Norris Galatas during the bleak and fishless winter months. After everyone was full of donuts and coffee we headed over to the farm pond to get the fishing started. For many of the participants this would be their first fish on a fly rod. The participants paired up with volunteers and although the fish were small the action was steady; bass and bluegills for everyone. Nicholson nearly had to tear the rods out of their hands just to get them to leave the pond and head to the stream for lunch.
Boxed lunches were provided by Mike Cherwek, a new volunteer, and were inhaled while prizes were raffled off. It was inspiring to see that who won the raffle had very little to do with who actually got the prize in the end. Prizes were flying through the air as winners gave their winnings to whoever needed them most. This was the last moment of kindness before everyone showed their true colors during the afternoon trout tournament.
The afternoon trout tournament began by assigning every team a beat along the Rose. The tournament was scored by total fish caught... as counted by the fisherman. Yeah, that should work. Project Healing Waters believes in teaching participants about all aspects of fly fishing and that includes proper fish measurement and counting techniques. Some teams used the Nicholson Formula to compute their totals:
(fish landed) + (fish not landed/1.7) + (missed strikes/2.3) = total fish
Others employed the simpler but more effective Felker Formula:
(total number you think Forseth's team caught) + 2 = total fish
During the awards presentation it was clear that the fishing was very successful. The team that lied the best walked off with a book of fly fishing photos by Cathy and Barry Beck. All kidding aside, It was a great sight to look up and down the river and see rods bending and fish jumping at every pool. As the fisherman called it quits they gathered back at the gazebo and shared their stories about the big ones that got away. The perfect start to a new season for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.
The next event scheduled at Rose River Farms is the May 4th 2-Fly Tournament. This will be a more formal tournament which pairs solidiers and pros in a competitive fundraiser for Project Healing Waters. For more information about the 2-Fly along the Rose River, visit http://www.projecthealingwaters.org.
