How, one may ask, can going fishing help heal wounded warriors? Turns out, it can be helpful on many levels.

“It’s therapy. If you’ve ever spent a day fishing on a nice river or lake, you know it’s very therapeutic,” said Chuck Tye,  a retired Marine and regional coordinator for the Northwest region of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.

The nonprofit group helps in the physical and emotional rehabilitation of  disabled active duty military personnel and veterans through various activities and fishing outings.

“We work primarily with Veterans Administration facilities or military medical facilities,” Tye explained.  “We have them tie flies, get them out on the water casting, teach them how to tie knots, have them put rods together; it’s an all-ecompassing program.”

Project Healing Waters was founded in 2005 by Ed Nicholson, a retired veteran who served 30 years in the Navy.

“It started by just being down at Walter Reed Army Medical Center when I was going through my own troubles,” Nicholson said. “Seeing all those wounded warriors recovering planted a seed that I wanted to do something on a personal level. Now it’s morphed into something much larger.”

Nicholson said Project Healing Waters is beginning to take on international flavor, as its program now stretches into Canada, Australia and soon, Germany.

Tye, who had gotten involved as a certified casting instructor in Virginia, was asked by Nicholson to expand the program when he moved to the Northwest. There was only one program at the time at the VA in Seattle. Today the Northwest region includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.

“We’ve got 13 active programs in the Northwest and hopefully we’ll stand up another two next year,” said Tye. “All the programs are a little different. Most are attached to a VA facility, but there are two attached to a warrior transition  unit.

“When the program started, it was geared toward those coming back,” he continued. “But it’s expanded to cover active duty, reserve and retired personnel. We cover just about every veteran out there.”

The program begins with the basics of tying flies. The movement involved helps patients learn to manipulate the tools. Over time the movements and the flies get more complicated.

Volunteers teach fly casting and rod building classes and hold clinics for beginners and those with prior experience who are adapting their skills to their new abilities. All equipment is provided to participants at no cost, as are fishing trips.

With the help of volunteers from the Federation of Fly Fishers, Trout Unlimited and independent fly fishing clubs like those located here on Whidbey Island, Project Healing Waters is able to conduct the program. Volunteers are experienced fly fishers and guides who donate their time and knowledge to help support participants.

“We get them to local water or destination spot. If we go to a local river, we’ll tie flies a week or two before to use on that river,” said Tye. “You name it, we do it. The ultimate goal is to get them together so they can be around fellow veterans. It’s just a good healthy way to heal.”

Nicholson said it’s more than just administering a program and taking someone fishing for a day, then dropping them off. It’s about making healing connections.

“We teach, we mentor, we build relationships. We involve ourselves on a personal level,” Nicholson said. “Through that personal approach and our long term commitment, that’s where the healing comes in.”

Tye said vets don’t have to have physical injuries to overcome to benefit from the program.

“Just because there aren’t any bullet holes doesn’t mean there aren’t some sort of PTSD or readjustment issues,” he said. “If you can help someone get better, readjust and get back into the game here in the States, it’s working.”

“It’s not tied to a Purple Heart,” said Nicholson. “It’s tied to being disabled. I don’t care how they got disabled. They could have physical issues I can’t even see.”

For the program to be a success at any location, Nicholson said, it requires three things: Volunteers on a local level; a VA or military medical center that is willing to host the program; and service personnel and veterans who are willing to participate.

“Voluteers have to commit to building relationships not only with the participants, but with staff at the hospital,” he said. “Everybody working together optimizes results.”

The camaraderie and fellowship military veterans find with other veterans — and other fishermen — can help them open up and begin to heal, said Tye. And the program can be invaluable for veterans who have suffered severe
physical wounds and have mobility issues.

“If we can get them out and work with them, get them casting out on the water doing things they didn’t think they’d be able to do again, it’s healing. It’s good for everybody,” said Tye. “I’m a retired Marine. I certainly didn’t get beat up half as bad as some veterans do, but after a day on the water I feel mentally sound.”

Anyone who needs information or who would like to contact Tye can go to www.projecthealingwaters.org and find the contact box for the Northwest region. Donations to the organization can also be made online and can be designated to stay in the Northwest, if desired.