By Jim Kissane
Assistant Program Lead
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing - Greater Kansas City
Our Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Greater Kansas City Program has just finished one of our busiest Aprils ever, followed by an even busier May. And the summer is shaping up to be pretty active, too. Part of the reason is the onset of good weather – winter finally released its icy grip, allowing us to open doors and windows and go outside without the risk of frostbite. But the best reason is that our program is growing, both nationally and locally.
The results are in from the annual Rod Building Competition and the annual Two-Fly Tournament, and we are beginning the first National Casting Competition. All of these national events translate into activities at the local level, so our participants have had plenty to keep them busy. With that has come an increase in the number of participants that have been taking part, growth that we hope will continue in the months ahead.
Stephen Licata Places Third in Rod Building Competition
We are proud to announce that Stephen Licata of our Greater Kansas City Program placed third in Category 2 of the National Rod Building Competition. He built a 10-foot, 3-weight rod for crappie fishing around Kansas City, and also for trout fishing. This was the second rod he has built for the PHWFF competition – last year, he made a 9-foot, 8-weight rod for steelhead fishing.
Steve couldn’t wait to get his rod on the water. Soon after receiving his rod back from the contest judges, he took it to Fountain Bluff to try it out. “I caught a couple of sunnies,” he says. “It worked well!”
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| Greater Kansas City Program Lead Bob Barnett (left) presents Stephen Licata with a certificate commemorating his third-place finish in the National Project Healing Waters Rod Building Competition. Licata built a 10-foot, 3-weight rod with red, white and blue windings. |
Competition began in January and ended in April, with participants competing in three categories: Category 1 was for participants building their first rods; Category 2 was for those who were building their second or third rods; Category 3 was for advanced competitors building their fourth rod or more.
Rod kits for the competition were purchased from The Hook & Hackle Company (www.hookhack.com) through a generous grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation. Ron Weiss of Hook & Hackle said the craftsmanship of the Veteran rod builders has been getting better and better.
“This year, there was so much outstanding thread weaving that impressed me,” he says. “The Category 1 builders really rocked and the rods as a group were the best I’ve seen in the 10 years we’ve been doing the contest! Congratulations to all the winners and participants who entered their hard work.”
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| The windings on Stephen Licata’s rod are a pattern of red, white and blue. Steve chose a shimmering thread that gave the windings a holographic effect. |
Check out the winning rods at http://www.
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| The finishing touch of Stephen Licata’s winning rod was a POW-MIA medal mounted on the reel seat. Steve’s creation earned third place in national competition with other intermediate rod builders. |
Doc Ballard Hits One Out of the Park
By all accounts Donald “Doc” Ballard of our program hit a home run at the National PHWFF Two-Fly Tournament at Rose River Farm in Syria, VA. Doc represented our program in the competition and also was selected to deliver the keynote address at the event. Mixing metaphors like baseball and fishing is bad practice in writing, but suffice it to say that Ballard “went yard” with his address.
He didn’t do too bad at fishing, either, catching 22 fish in the event. Although that wasn’t enough to earn him a place among the tournament winners, there are no losers at this event. It featured one day of bluegill fishing and two days of trout fishing, with each day divided between time on the river and time spent learning fly tying and fly fishing techniques from some of the best guides and instructors from across the country.
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| After delivering the keynote address at the National PHWFF Two-Fly Tournament in Virginia, Donald “Doc” Ballard entertained Greater Kansas City Program participants with fish stories from his trip. Ballard, Missouri’s only living Medal of Honor recipient, also had a great time fishing, catching 22 fish in the tournament. |
“Ed Nicholson (PHWFF Founder and CEO-Emeritus) taught me how to roll cast,” Doc says. “He said the key is to let the rod do the work.
“I had a great time,” he added. “This is really a labor of love for me.”
Ballard, a recipient of the Medal of Honor, is usually on the giving end of events he participates in. He’s not used to being on the receiving end of a fly fishing trip like this one.
“I’m always a giver,” he says. “I’m always giving, helping people raise money for their non-profits, helping others out. This is the first time I’ve ever taken any time for myself.”
Except for the speech he gave.
“Well,” he laughs, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch!”
Casting Competition Set for May 22
Our Greater Kansas City Program of Project Healing Waters will hold its local competition in the National Fly Casting Competition at 5 p.m. May 22 at Fleming Hall, prior to the Missouri Trout Fishers Association Fish Fry. Many of our participants have been practicing diligently for this, the first national casting competition sponsored by Project Healing Waters.
Local programs have until May 31 to hold their competition, with each program advancing one winner to the Regional competition. Each of the 22 Regions will send one representative to the National Fly Casting Finals at the Fly Fishers International Fly Fishing Fair Aug. 8-11 at Boise, ID. While at the International Fair, participants will have the opportunity to attend the many clinics, programs and demonstrations there.
The competitors all will cast a 9-foot, 5-weight rod with a 9-foot leader, using a Size 10 Elk Hair Caddis with the bend removed (a one-inch piece of yarn may be substituted for the fly). Scoring will be based on three phases of fly casting: Round 1 focuses on casting accuracy; Round 2 challenges the competitors’ accuracy in casting around an obstacle; and Round 3 focuses on distance casting. The scores from all three rounds will be added together to determine the overall winners.
Our group has held two formal practice sessions, as well as numerous informal ones. We were also treated to a day of casting instruction from Jim Rogers, concessionaire at Bennett Spring State Park. Jim, himself a Certified Master Casting Instructor, operates the Jim Rogers School of Fly Fishing at Bennett Spring, and is tireless in his support of our program. Thank you so much, Jim!
Jim based his instruction on the scope of the Project Healing Waters competition, which he regarded as both thorough and challenging.
Program Growth and Sustainability
A funny thing happened over the past several weeks of continued activity: Participation went up!
Our regular fly tying sessions every second Tuesday at Fleming Hall used to involve two tables – a beginners table and an advanced “Challenge” table with a dozen or so participants divided between the two. We have now added a third table, for intermediate tyers. Our recent third-Thursday session at Rainbow Fly Shop drew 20 participants.
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| The addition of a third fly tying table at our monthly meeting makes the room at Fleming Hall a little crowded, but the growth of our Project Healing Waters program is worth the cost in elbow room. The more the merrier! |
News of our program is spreading through the Veteran community (I suppose it comes as no surprise that word-of-mouth advertising among Veterans means a lot more then coming from the mouth of another Vet). And, yes, the nicer weather helps.
But the nature of the program sustains itself through its consistency, its dependability. Project Healing Waters is not a one-hit wonder. Our participants benefit from repeated interactions, so they need to know that we’ll be there twice a month, as advertised.
We are grateful for our dedicated volunteers and our MTFA sponsors, for their support of our program and our Veterans.
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