20 December 2006
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
I hope that this holiday season finds everyone safe, if not at home with family. The school is still going strong, though there has been another change of command. Bill has returned to Germany and CPT Chris Curtis has taken the helm. He too works near the lake and though he only recently began fly fishing has agreed to take on the job of carrying this project into the future. Chris hails from Kentucky and I know that will make a couple sponsors take notice. I'm sitting in front of the keyboard staring at blank space. I can't for the life of me figure out where to go with this note. This will be my last update from Baghdad . My tour is done. The last fish has been caught and the last class taught. I didn't think I'd feel the sting this bad...but I do. We have a few more donors to thank. Creative Publishing out of Minnekota, MN sent a batch of books on fly fishing and fly tying. Eastpointe MI's Alan Cayn, a singing and song writing fly fisher sent some of his original CD's, songs about fly fishing. Then Kelley Laughlin of Norway, MI sent a bunch of flies. Finally, Bob Ealer of Little Ferry, NJ sent a couple dozen leader wheels of flourocarbon tippet materiel. Thanks, as always, to the generosity of everyday people the guys in Baghdad can get out on the water and maybe for a few moments forget where they are. That is it for this update, check in again and see how we are doing. Fish on! Joel
Chris does have help though. In keeping the Montana connection going, Capt Jim Druell, currently stationed in my home town of Great Falls, Montana is lending a hand. Jim has a long pedigree, having fly fished for sometime. He has fly fished CO, AK, CA, MT, KS, OK, LA, MS, AL, MO, FL, TX, ID, OR, NV, AX, NM, WY, UT, Canada, Korea, and would like to add Iraq to his list. Now he'll get that chance.
This is the final update from Bill:
When Donna and I got notified that I was going on this latest deployment I had just finished a great weekend fishing for brown trout in their native waters in Bavaria . I was dreaming about fishing in Western Montana in the Spring. I was not anticipating my 5th all expenses paid vacation to the region (good Lord, am I that old? I still remember being a Second Lieutenant!). Donna said (after the expletives) "...Well, make sure you pack your fly rod(s)".
That would seem odd advice for someone going to a desert. But, in my last tour I'd discovered that the monster carp in the lakes of Tikrit could be enticed to take an Elk Hair Caddis or a Sparkle Dun (No, I don't know why...but they do). There is something hypnotic about the rhythm of a fly cast...and of turning fur and feathers to the fooling of fish. I knew there were lakes where I was going in Baghdad and I knew this was going to be a bad tour. Fly fishing was going to be just the ticket to keep me sane.
What a treat to find that fellow Montanan, Joel Stewart, had put together the "Baghdad School of Flyfishing". Just the name of it is so outrageous that people came around out of curiosity. They came...and some stayed and we taught them a little of rhythm and grace and the plain fun of catching a fish on a fly rod.
This last update wouldn't be complete without thanking my partners in this adventure. First to Joel: for starting the club and flying "top cover" for the last year. Next, to CPT Bob Ruckdeschel and MAJ Vance Sperry. Bob, Vance and I shared instructor duties for the 1st 6 months until Bob rotated out. Vance will continue the stewardship for instruction until he rotates out later in the winter. Thanks Guys...it was a privilege. Finally, to CPT Chris Curtis. Chris comes to us from the great state of Kentucky and will take over the School for the next year. Chris, thanks for continuing this great enterprise. I'm sure that, as with me, you'll feel that bittersweet sting when it's time for you to turn it over to the next guy. Good Luck...and have a ball!
Likewise, I can't leave without thanking a couple of our special corporate sponsors. Let me caveat: We have a lot of great corporate sponsors...Rick Pope from Temple Fork Outfitters comes immediately to mind. But the following folks are special because I personally enlisted their support. We spent a lot of great hours at the vise because of Bernard and Holly from Griffin Enterprises and Craig Matthews and the Gang from Blue Ribbon Flies. These two great companies donated hundreds of dollars in equipment and supplies that took the operation of the school to another level. To both, as a soldier, a Montanan and a flyfisherman...my most heartfelt thanks for your support.
Finally, there is simply a remarkable bunch of folks in the distribution area of the "Parkersburg (WV) News and Sentinel". The readers of Dave Payne Sr's column are coming close to the "#1000" mark in flies tied and donated to the club. Guys...your flies have caught fish half-way 'round the globe. Great job...and thanks!
So...this is the end of the odyssey - this chapter, anyway. This has been an island of grace and decency in a sea of trouble and I am so thankful to have been a part of it. It's back to Germany for a few months and then I'll be on my home waters of the Bitterroot in time for the Skwala hatch in March...and the circle will be complete. I can't wait.
God bless you all...Tight Lines. Bill
Copyright © 2006 by Joel Stewart. All rights reserved.
Revised: 12/21/06 07:05:57 -0500.
