Great call this week, just a small motley crew of 20 having some laughs and catching up.  Please mark your calendars and save December 18 th .  This will be our annual Fly-tying/Holiday Gathering session.  Captain Bob is working on a fly of his own creation that will blend right into the upcoming holidays.  As usual, we will have a few special surprises for our vets and a special presentation for one vet in particular.  The tying session will be followed by a pizza lunch.  We

We took a Thursday off for everyone to enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday with Friends and Family.  We hope you had a great time and had a chance to relax.  Please mark your calendars and save December 18 th .  This will be our annual Fly-tying/Holiday Gathering session.  Captain Bob is working on a fly of his own creation that will blend right into the upcoming holidays.  As usual, we will have a few special surprises for our vets and a special presentation for one vet in partic

What a great Fly-Tying session we had.  25 vets and vols met at the American Legion Hall and tied the “Little Black Stonefly”.  The results were outstanding.  The pictures speak for themselves.  Vets who didn’t even know what a vice was a year or two ago tied some real masterpieces.  Check out the pictures and you’ll be amazed. We picked up two new vols to work with our group, Paul and Dave.  Paul is a premier fly tyer and instructor which will help our vets perfect their ski

Thursday, we held a weekly Zoom call with 19 of our vets and vols.  The biggest topic this week is related to the lack of stripers.  They are overfished and baitfish are becoming less available based on harvests from the commercial sector.  Stripers are on the decline, we need to look at them with a conservation effort in mind, slot limits exist but Catch and Release is the way to go.  Commercial groups are fighting further tightening of the catch, but at least we can do our

Only 26 vets and vols showed up to tie flies at the American Legion.  Back when I first became associated with this group, I remember having as few as 6 vets and vols attend a tying session.  All we had were 2 suitcases of assorted materials, and a few vices.  Back then we were meeting in a small storage room at the VA.  Boy how things change over the years.    Flies tied by one of our vets, Mike P Our next in person meeting will be Fly Tying at the American Leg

Another week and another Zoom call, 18 joined us this week when we discussed Redds, how to identify them and how to fish during spawning, the proper way to release a fish, and bear encounters on the river and at home.  The call was quick paced and full of great advice with a few laughs by the group. John L, one of out vets says he's been loosing a little weight recently, but he can still haul ass Down the river. Pictured on the right in his guide boat getting ready for a day

No in person meetings this week, so we did the next best thing, a Coffee Hour Zoom call, 17 joined us this week when we discussed current stocking by DEEP, increased catch rates for those that have been on the river lately, and some upcoming changes with evening fly tying and some Saturday outings being added to our 2026 calendar.  If you have not joined our Zoom calls, try one, there are some great discussions and a lot of good-natured ribbing and laughs.    Our next in pers

16 vets and vols from “Vets Healing on the Fly” had the privilege of fishing the six ponds belonging to Limestone Trout Club located in North Canaan.  The day was on the cooler side, starting in the 40’s and reaching a high in the low 50’s with 10 to 15 mph winds.  Although there was no lack of fish, (you could see them everywhere, and big too!) the vets only managed to get one to the net, Ken got a 16” rainbow.  Since this is a team effort, we can say, our group did not get

We were tying flies again this week, but before I go too far down that path, let me introduce you to Bruce, pictured left, a new vet...

Some say we’re a little off, others say we’re obsessed, but those that fly fish know there is more to it than just catching a fish.  It...

Another successful tying session 26, yes 26 in attendance.  We just keep growing.   We tied the “CDC Caddis” and were treated to Patty’s...

Flight made it in on time late Wednesday and we were able to hold the call on Thursday.  Three of our program vols spent 3 days on the...

Well, it appears the Farmington and local waters are starting to heat up, DEEP dumped 2,000 fish 2-lb’ers into the waters as far down as...

Doc’s Pond, 30 attendees, tons of fish, some new friendships, 78 degrees, clear skies, light wind, great food, and a whole lot of healing...

This is an exciting week, 8/15/25 was our first day operating independently from the old national organization as a new program, “Vets...

Our “Vets Healing on the Fly” group met on 8/7 to tie flies for our upcoming outing to Doc’s Pond on the 23 rd  of August.  We were...

The only Reported Catch This Week   Jeff on the Upper Madison  There was no call and no tying session this past week.  In its place, we...

We Tied the Slumpbuster This is a first for me, a Blog, just one small piece of our new organization…   Vets Healing on the Fly.  Please...

Good afternoon:   Twenty-two on the Zoom call this week.  Not bad after not having a call for the last 5 weeks.  Some questions on the...

Slumpbuster The Slumpbuster is yet another piscatorial creation from John Barr. The Slumpbuster is heavily weighted at the front end to...