Baghdad School of Fly Fishing Periodic Update

Hello again to all,

Hello again to all,
It has been over a month since I posted an update, sorry for that. Bill has been in touch with me, despite a very hectic schedule. He has been able to find some time to get out and teach or fish, but that time is very precious and eats up any time he may have to send me updates. I'd rather he fish than type. It is enough that he can find some respite amid the chaos he faces on a daily basis.

Here is what Bill has to say:

     Fishing here is starting to pick up. But, we are good on flies. All our boxes are full and most of the guys who fish have left in the last couple weeks. .
     I have received lots of flies. The Postal service is pretty darn strange. I haven’t figured it out yet. A letter can take a month, but the rods Joel sent me a couple weeks ago only took 7 days. Go figure, some of the flies were sent weeks ago. Rick Browning sent in a great mixed selection that I’m really looking forward to trying. Rick is a veteran contributor and it is always a treat to see what comes off his vise. The other batch was from Willard McCorskey. He tied a LOT of flies and he tied them very well.
     We are going to go out and see if we can move some fish. The heat is moderating and the days are getting a bit shorter. That is giving us some more shadow in the afternoon and the fishing has been better. We are going to start another round of classes soon. For the last couple of weeks it has been 1-1 or 1-2 instruction. It will be a hoot when we start back up.
     Wind. Wind is bad. Wind and a 5-wt. is really bad. Wind, a 5-wt. and a handful of students that are just learning to cast is acupuncture waiting to happen. We’ve been casting “live” with the latest class (we started with indicator yarn and used it for the first couple weeks…now we’ve graduated to hooks). A couple of the guys have nailed small asp while practicing. Today, I’m just hoping they don’t “nail” me.
     This is what happens when the wind gets really bad. In Arabic it is “shamaal”. What it is …is one heck of a dust/sand storm. No doubt, some of you readers have seen the movie “The Mummy”. It shows a wall of sand against a clear blue sky rolling in just like a tidal wave. Well, that’s exactly what it looks like in real life. The following photos were taken by a fellow flyfisherman.

Here you can just see the “wave” on the horizon. If you look close, you can see a C-130 airplane that took off from Baghdad International just ahead of the approaching wall of sand. I’ve titled the picture “Run, Forest …ruuuuuun!”

Here it is rolling in over the outer wall…

Right on top of the Palace…

30 seconds later…if you look closely you can just see the outline of the palace.

I know I’ve said it before, but please tell your readers how much we appreciate their thought and prayers. It’s not for me to say if we are making the right decisions on the Strategic level. It’s nice that the folks at home recognize that…and simply just support the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who are trying their best to do their duty. Your flies are a connection to a better time…a better place – and that’s priceless. So, from the bottom of my heart, thanks again.

V/r Bill

That is it for this update, check in again and see how we are doing.

Fish on! Joel