Reeling and Healing - Westover Style

Last weekend I was able spend the most rewarding three days I have experienced in a long time. I volunteered to help teach stream entomology and fly fishing for an organization called Reeling and Healing. The group is dedicated to taking ladies who are in various stages of cancer recovery and teaching them the sport of fly fishing. In doing so these ladies are able to meet and make life long friends while they get a much-deserved break from the daily health struggles. Westover Farms provided the backdrop and treated these ladies to their wonderful fly fishing resort. Complete with awesome food from Chef Matt Bessler. The food was so good I think I was in a food-coma until about Wednesday. 

The ladies of the Spring 2014 Reeling and Healing Class

 

Tanya with her very first trout ever caught on a fly rod.

  

Props to the employees of the St. Louis Cabela's for their donation

 As a volunteer teacher and river helper I was the newbie. Many of the folks there had been working with this group for several years. The employees of the St. Louis area Cabela’s store raised the money and donated enough waders, wading boots, fly rod and ETC for all the ladies. THargoves Fly Shop in St. Louis donated all the leaders, leaders, tippet and anything else the ladies needed.
 

Al B. giving instructions while Diana hooks a fish in the background.

Tanya and I concentrating on a fish

The rewards of our work

Learning to Cast from Marty

One thing cannot be overstated…Get involved…the Ozark Fly Fishers is a wonderful group of people that helped out as instructors and river helpers.

Our fearless leader. Patti. She is the glue that put this all together.