Wounded Warrior / Military Appreciation Day @ NCWRC Pechmann Ctr 7-12-12

2nd Wednesday of the month means it's Wounded Warrior and Military Appreciation Day at the NCWRC John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center located on the west side of Fayetteville, NC. We have been holding these events for the better part of four years and will continue to hold them to give our military and their families a change of pace from the rigors of dealing with deployments to defend America's freedoms. The Pechmann Center provides the venue and volunteers, many of whom are veterans themselves, provide the organizational leadership and instruction.



Many of our Wounded Warriors, particularly those who are suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) enjoy the challenge of fly tying. One of our contacts from Womack Army Medical Center is a speech therapist who each month brings several of her patients on a "field trip" which is part of their therapy. The mechanics of listening to someone show and describe how to tie a fly and then making your brain and limbs work together to emulate that procedure is enjoyable and at the same time exercises all their hand, eye and brain coordination.



We reserve at least half of our time to "testing" the flies our participants tie. Nothing is more satisfying then to catch a fish on a fly you personally tied using hook, thread, yarn and a few feathers. Our volunteers assist by providing basic fly casting instruction.



It's not long before all those worries about tomorrows medical appointment and what the future holds is forgotten.



Lots of smiles today.



"Damn, these fish are slippery! - Hold on a minute, I'll get him!"



Catfish are the most prevalent species in our ponds this time of the year but we also have one pond stocked with lunker bass and 2-3 ponds with some nice size bream, all of which can be caught on a "catch and release" basis. A fishing license is not required for our events and we even provide the rods and other gear if you do not have your own.

Not a big crowd today, about 15 by my count. No kids today which was a surprise and disappointment. Families with young children are welcome. We'll provide the water and gator-aide, you provide the sunscreen and adult supervision. Our next Wounded Warrior / Military Appreciation event will be on Wednesday, August 8, 2012. We specialize in fly fishing but have over 200 spin casting outfits for those who want to dunk a worm or try some "stink bait" on the catfish. Hours for these events are from 1:00 - 5:00 pm, but if the weather is nice and the fish are biting we can be talked into staying a little later.