- Project Healing Waters is a nonprofit organization that works with disabled veterans, and we use fly fishing and the aspects of fly fishing for rehabilitation purposes.

We have four basic core principles: tie flies; of course, fly casting; we offer a program for rod building; and then we also teach 'em the aspects of fishing, reading the water, tying their own leaders.

We also cover the hydraulics, which is the flow of the water.

And it's interesting, when we work with them, we'll find out that one veteran loves the tie flies, and there's another veteran, he'd build every rod he could if you would let him, but then, every one of them love one thing, and that's fishing.

(gentle music) We fish for maybe an hour or two hours, and then after a while, you'll see the guys start going away from the water.

They will sit at a picnic table, they will open up their lunchbox, and then fellowship, and I think that is just as much to them as the actual fishing.

It's a way to still keeping that military bond and that brother connection.

When I retired, I was looking for a activity to volunteer my time.

I decided that this might be something I could really donate my time to.

I love to see a guy catch his first fish, but to see the transformation of his life, to see him grow to where he feels more comfortable about himself, his surroundings, and the confidence, to me, that's the gratification.

Yeah, the fishing is great, but when you have an opportunity to change someone's life, it's really a blessing, that it's very rewarding, and that's my biggest, of course, to see 'em catch a big fish, I love that too.