The Pittsburgh chapter of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing celebrated Armed Forces Day with us at Lake Gosling on May 28.

Project Healing Waters offers fishing experience from the Belvoir Eagle by Lally Laksburgs

On Saturday, May 4, lady anglers from the National Capital region gathered for a day trip designed just for female Project Healing Waters participants. The event was organized by PHWFF Board member and National Capital Region Volunteer of the Year for 2012, Kiki Galvin.

The National Capital Region recently took an excursion to Panama City, Florida. Participant Eugene Dufrene from the Biloxi,MS program joined them on this trip and shares his experiences. A special thanks to Ellen Killough for coordinating this event and volunteers Curtis Boatman and Mark Pierce.

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing participants from Saint Louis and Kansas City recently enjoyed two days of fishing and fun.

Here is how this whole deal got started. Yeti Coolers, Simms, Headhunters Fly Shop, and Craig Trout Camp put together a month long Facebook Photo Contest last year. Submit your ‘Best Fish Picture’ for a chance to win A Yeti Cooler, a boatload of Simms gear including the world’s best American Made waders etc, a couple nights @ Craig Trout Camp and a guided trip from Headhunters Fly Shop on the Missouri River. A ton of submissions were filed through and voted on…Kevin Hospodar of Hatches Magazine was the winner.

On April 26, volunteer members of both Northern Virginia TU (NVATU) and the Turkey Mountain Flyfishing Club, located at Mt. Vernon Farm in Sperrville, VA, guided 10 disabled veterans in catching large rainbows. The veterans traveled from across the country to attend the Project Healing Waters 2-Fly Tournament and were given an extra day on Virginia's trout streams thanks to these volunteers.

Lyons,NJ -- It is one of those early spring mornings when the sun wrestles with the wind to see which will carry the day. The water temperature of the South Branch of the Raritan River is a nippy 38 degrees — which explains why the trout aren’t biting. Yet that doesn’t matter to the six guys on an outing from their temporary home at the Veterans Administration medical facility at Lyons. After all, they’re fishing. They find themselves hip-deep in the Raritan, courtesy of Project Healing Waters, a volunteer group of fly fishing enthusiasts who bring their passion to disabled or hospitalized vets.

The Pittsburgh PHWFF group (Pittsburgh H. John Heinz III (Aspinwall)) would like to extend a sincere “Thank You!” to a local Pittsburgh PHWFF supporter for his dedicated efforts in raising contributions for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. JOE KAYAFAS, a Pittsburgh area resident, recently organized a fund raiser for PHWFF.

The Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing program at the Martinsburg, WV VAMC is growing.