At Project Healing Waters, Building Rods Also Builds Friendships

The Project Healing Waters rod building contest brings together participants who are building their first rod with others who have rod building experience. Here, Steve Licata (left) works on his guide windings with help from Ken Hicks, a first-place winner in last year’s contest.

The rod blanks all come out of the box looking the same, but when the fly rods are completed, no two are alike. That’s part of the fascination of the National Fly Rod Building Contest sponsored each year by Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. Even more fascinating is that the rods are the creative efforts of Project Healing Waters participants – disabled Veterans and wounded active military personnel – many of whose rods tell a story of their service.

There are three categories in the rod-building competition:

1.       For participants who are 30% disabled or injured, according to Veterans Administration medical ratings.

2.       For participants who are disabled or injured, but without the impairment limits of Category 1.

3.       For participants who are using a rod kit other than the one supplied by the contest sponsor, Hook & Hackle.

Contest winners were announced May 5, and although our Greater Kansas City Program did not have any winners this year, the competition was the largest ever for this event, with nearly 100 programs and more than 800 participants. Results are available at http://www.projecthealingwaters.org/announcements/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2017-national-fly-rod-building-competition/.

“What truly amazed me this year was the high number of outstanding rods which placed very close to the top and were only a point or two from placing among the top 3,” says Ron Weiss of Hook & Hackle, host of the competition. “I could see from the quality of rods submitted, that not only did the veterans show better skills, but the quality of the instructors must have improved as well. In particular with this year’s competition, we saw a lot of skilled weaving that was simply outstanding. One rod, Rick Warrington’s from Fort Belvoir, showed some painting skills, which was a first for the contest. Over all, the rods showed amazing talent, workmanship and patience. Congratulations to all winners and participants!”

Our Greater Kansas City Program had two winners in last year’s competition. Ken Hicks finished first in Category 2, and Dan Kellogg placed third in that category.

A couple of things stand out in our rod-building sessions, illustrating two of the ways that the project of building a fly rod helps Veterans in their effort to overcome Post Traumatic Stress and other wounds of war. The first is collaboration – some of the participants have never built a rod before, so they draw on the experience of those who have, and the participants with rod-building expertise are more than willing to share their knowledge. Together they can focus on their efforts, relaxed in a roomful of others. Also striking is the intricacy of the rod designs the Veterans create – from customized reel seats to interwoven windings, the craftsmanship is a tribute to their creativity and fine motor skills.

Dan Kellogg displays the partridge feather inlay on his entry. Dan placed third in last year’s contest.

One Vet incorporated the colors of the U.S. Navy Seabees, where he served 20 years, into his design, with the symbolism of each color laser-etched into the rod’s cork handle. Others hand-crafted reel seats from exotic woods. Still others inlaid their rod handles with tiny flies or decorative feathers.

The first few steps in the rod-building process are fairly standard. Each blank has a “spine” along which the fibers of the blank align, and the pieces of the blank have to be aligned along that spine so the rod has a smooth, continuous action. The blank is then marked with the correct position of each line guide.

Then, let the customizing begin! The rod handle – either standard cork or a hand-made wooden handle carved or turned to suit the builder – is fitted onto the butt section. The guides are then attached and wrapped with thread in a color pattern that can range from elegantly simple to beautifully complex. The completed rod is coated with lacquer and turned on a machine for 24 hours to prevent drips or runs.

Contestants put their creative skills to work on their projects. David L’Heureux chose an elaborate interwoven pattern for his rod.

Competition begins in January, and completed rods – hundreds of them from across the country – are sent to Hook & Hackle, the contest sponsor, in late April for judging. Our program began having weekly rod-building sessions from the time our kits arrived in mid-January, continuing through March until all of our participants had completed their rods. The camaraderie extended beyond the formal sessions, with some participants gathering at the homes of others with a metal shop or woodworking tools. The contest winners will be announced in mid-May.

At the end of the contest, all of the participants will have a hand-made rod, one with which they can cast the flies they tie themselves during other sessions. And as those two facets of the program interlock, so too do the friendships built there.

Many participants incorporate service-related themes to their projects, such as the colors of their campaign ribbons or medals. Eric Mitchell, who spent 20 years with the U.S. Navy Seabees, used those colors in his rod design, along with a tiny bumblebee fly inlay (see inset).