× Sweepstakes truck wide shot
×

NEWS & STORIES

Announcements & Press
All
Announcements
Dispatches from Atz Kilcher
In The News
PHW Spotlight
Press Releases
Stories from the field
By Location
All
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Georgia-South Carolina
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Kentucky-Ohio
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mid-South
Midwest
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
National Capital
Nebraska
Nevada
New England
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
New York-New Jersey
North Dakota
North-Carolina
Northern New York
Northwest
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Regional
Rocky Mountain Northeast
Rocky Mountain Northwest
Rocky Mountain South
South Carolina
South Central
South Dakota
Southern New York
Southwest
Tennessee
Tennessee-Valley
Texas
The Heartland
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
By Event
All
2018 2-Fly
Broadmoor Invitational
Freedom Ranch for Heroes
Healing Saturday
Hike to Heal Veterans
HoF NOVA
Holy Waters
Mossy Creek Invitational
Phil Johnson Exceptional Leadership Award

On October 10, the Rapid City program of PHWFF headed out to Center Lake, in Custer, South Dakota, in search of some tiger trout.

Tiger trout are a cross between a brown trout and a brook trout, and since they are sterile, they dedicate all of their energy to feeding.

According to the Rapid City Journal , the state record tiger trout was caught out of Center Lake in 2015, weighing in at 3.225 pounds, crushing the previous record of 1.2 pounds caught in April 2012.

Despite their life cycle only concentrating on food, they are not an easy trout to catch.

The weather couldn’t have been better, sunny and about 60 degrees, and none of the dreaded “W” word. Participants used a stimulator, with a dropper underneath which is normal for the lake.

“These fishing outings are where the participants get the chance to take the knowledge they have gained from the volunteers and put it in action,” Rapid City Program Lead Joshua Osterbur said. “They get a chance to see what the flies they tie do in the water versus the trout.”

The amount of focus the participants use while they are fishing is outstanding. They learn quickly and take it all in. At the same time, for a few hours, they get to enjoy themselves outside and forget about the everyday hardships they have.

PHWFF RApid city program lead joshua osterbur

Only a couple of tiger trout were caught, but the participants enjoyed catching some splakes and brook trout.

Splakes are a cross between a male brook trout and a female lake trout.

The splakes are stocked in Center Lake by South Dakota’s Game, Fish, and Parks and are a blast to catch.

Osterbur would like to thank every single participant and volunteer involved with the Rapid City program.

“Without them, experiences like this would not be possible.”

To learn more about the Rapid City Program, please visit www.projecthealingwaters.org

Latest News