A group of soldiers stands at the edge of a lake in Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga., with brand-new fishing gear, listening.

“You stand and look at the water, then bring the rod up slow,” says Ken Griffin, their instructor who is teaching them the finer points of fly-fishing. It’s a beautiful day and, as the practice goes on, the guys start to loosen up, applauding when someone catches a fish; booing when one gets away. This is exactly what Griffin has been hoping for, a chance for these guys to relax.

“When I came back from Vietnam, I literally didn’t want to tell people that I’d been in the service. There was so much hostility, I just didn’t want to talk about it,” says the retired Army warrant officer who ended up spending 26 years in the military. And he is doing what he can to make sure that the men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan don’t feel the same way.

A group effort

That’s why he created Fly Fishing for Vets. Aided by volunteers from veterans organizations and fly-fishing groups, along with a multitude of retired service men and women, he’s equipping his students—all wounded combat veterans—with basic fly-fishing skills. Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources donated 3,000 trout for a November Veterans Day event last year, and promised 5,000 for the next gathering in the spring. The National Guard brought tents. At another event, a man contributed $2,500 to buy fishing licenses for any vet who didn’t have one. The fishing equipment that they’re given is not on loan; it’s for the soldiers to keep, the hope being they’ll return to fishing again and again.

Just the simple fact that so many people have offered to make these trips happen boosts the morale of the returning soldiers. Volunteer guides are available across the state in a number of lakes to help the soldiers perfect the art of fly-fishing. Retired Army Sgt. Joshua T. Benefield loves the experience. “From start to finish, the way they treated us was just magnificent,” he says. “I’ve been fly-fishing, but I learned more from these guys in 10 minutes than I taught myself all the years before.”

Salve for the soul

But the lessons provide something more than instruction. Griffin himself is living proof.

In 1991 he was hurt in a Special Forces airborne operation, and a friend took him out fishing after he returned.

“Standing in the water up to my knees, listening to the river moving over the stones … it was the most peaceful day of my life,” says Griffin. “That’s what I hope for these guys.” The camaraderie of the days on the water with a fishing rod instead of in the desert with a weapon, in a soothing place where neither danger nor death lurk around the corner, restores the spirit. So does the beauty of the surroundings. “Trout don’t live in ugly places,” the soldiers are fond of saying.

1 | 2