02-09-2007, 03:39 PM
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3][cool]I thought that you might find the following article by Dave Strege of the OC Register of interest.
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Navy Lt. Joel Stewart left an unusual legacy in Iraq upon completing his tour there: The Baghdad School of Fly Fishing.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Fly-fishing in Iraq?[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]It isn't quite like fishing in his home state of Montana, but Stewart found there were fish to be caught in the lakes surrounding the palaces of Saddam Hussein, at Camp Victory in Baghdad.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]The fish are mostly carp, so Stewart e-mailed a fly-fishing forum asking what flies to try for carp, used them and caught fish. Other soldiers saw this and were curious.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"Many asked if it was hard, and I gave a few on-the-spot lessons," Stewart said in an e-mail interview. "Therein lay the seeds of the school."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]In February 2005, with an outpouring of support from fly-fishers in the states, Stewart founded the Baghdad School of Fly Fishing. Rods, reels, lines and flies - "everything we could hope for" - were shipped to Stewart, who had taken his fly rod to Iraq.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Stewart began with three, one-hour classes one day a week. It is an eight-week curriculum.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Graduates receive a certificate and a box of flies.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Stewart taught during his free time throughout his tour in Iraq before passing the reins to a fellow fly-fisher from Montana a year ago.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"I honestly don't know how many soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have benefited from the school, but I do know that I officially had 35 graduates of the full curriculum, plus a number of quick lessons here and there," he said.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Stewart said getting out on the water during free time was a great way to relieve pressure. That was part of the premise for the school, which is dedicated to introducing deployed service members to the "quiet sport."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Still, the reminders of war pierced the mood on occasion. It was definitely not Montana.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"Fishing in Iraq is like fishing nowhere else I have been," Stewart said. "I've never tangled back-casts in palm trees, had to pry rotting dates out of my boot treads or caught fish reserved for a dictator. It was eerie to listen to a car bomb go off and later learn that people were killed a few clicks from where I was fishing."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Twice, stray bullets hit the water Stewart was fishing "and once it was a rocket" landing 400 meters away. Yet, he said the base was secure and he felt safer there than crossing the street in Boston.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Troops catch fish ranging from pan-sized to 15 pounds. Several 20-pounders are said to be swimming in front of the palace. Another is 40 pounds.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Stewart hooked one of these monsters - a fish called a mangar - on his trout rod.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"I fought the fish for an hour but had to break it off as I had to report to duty," he said. "Let me tell you, I thought of a million excuses for being late. I was on time for watch, however, and the fish will cause someone else heart failure."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]In the states, the club touched many hearts. People learned of the club and sponsors climbed on board. A fly-fishing club in West Virginia was recently closing in on the 1,000th fly that would be tied and donated.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Carole Katz of Tustin, president of the Long Beach Casting Club, heard about this and reached out to club members. She soon will send five rod and reels, seven lines, 60 fly boxes and 13 dozen flies from the club.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"The response from folks all over the world has been amazing," Stewart said. "The generosity of people never ceases to astound me, and I can't ever thank the supporters enough."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Currently, Stewart is somewhere on the high seas aboard a guided-missile destroyer, serving a NATO Maritime Group. But he keeps up the Web site for the Baghdad School of Fly Fishing when he has time.[/size][/font] (www.baghdadflyfishing.com)
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Chris Curtis, the third "dean" of the school, currently has five students. Curtis took the baton from Lt. Col. Bill Jones, the fellow Montanan.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]In his farewell e-mail to the school Web site, Jones wrote: "This is the end of the odyssey - this chapter, anyway. This has been an island of grace and decency in a sea of trouble and I am so thankful to have been a part of it."[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Navy Lt. Joel Stewart left an unusual legacy in Iraq upon completing his tour there: The Baghdad School of Fly Fishing.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Fly-fishing in Iraq?[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]It isn't quite like fishing in his home state of Montana, but Stewart found there were fish to be caught in the lakes surrounding the palaces of Saddam Hussein, at Camp Victory in Baghdad.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]The fish are mostly carp, so Stewart e-mailed a fly-fishing forum asking what flies to try for carp, used them and caught fish. Other soldiers saw this and were curious.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"Many asked if it was hard, and I gave a few on-the-spot lessons," Stewart said in an e-mail interview. "Therein lay the seeds of the school."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]In February 2005, with an outpouring of support from fly-fishers in the states, Stewart founded the Baghdad School of Fly Fishing. Rods, reels, lines and flies - "everything we could hope for" - were shipped to Stewart, who had taken his fly rod to Iraq.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Stewart began with three, one-hour classes one day a week. It is an eight-week curriculum.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Graduates receive a certificate and a box of flies.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Stewart taught during his free time throughout his tour in Iraq before passing the reins to a fellow fly-fisher from Montana a year ago.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"I honestly don't know how many soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have benefited from the school, but I do know that I officially had 35 graduates of the full curriculum, plus a number of quick lessons here and there," he said.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Stewart said getting out on the water during free time was a great way to relieve pressure. That was part of the premise for the school, which is dedicated to introducing deployed service members to the "quiet sport."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Still, the reminders of war pierced the mood on occasion. It was definitely not Montana.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"Fishing in Iraq is like fishing nowhere else I have been," Stewart said. "I've never tangled back-casts in palm trees, had to pry rotting dates out of my boot treads or caught fish reserved for a dictator. It was eerie to listen to a car bomb go off and later learn that people were killed a few clicks from where I was fishing."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Twice, stray bullets hit the water Stewart was fishing "and once it was a rocket" landing 400 meters away. Yet, he said the base was secure and he felt safer there than crossing the street in Boston.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Troops catch fish ranging from pan-sized to 15 pounds. Several 20-pounders are said to be swimming in front of the palace. Another is 40 pounds.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Stewart hooked one of these monsters - a fish called a mangar - on his trout rod.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"I fought the fish for an hour but had to break it off as I had to report to duty," he said. "Let me tell you, I thought of a million excuses for being late. I was on time for watch, however, and the fish will cause someone else heart failure."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]In the states, the club touched many hearts. People learned of the club and sponsors climbed on board. A fly-fishing club in West Virginia was recently closing in on the 1,000th fly that would be tied and donated.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Carole Katz of Tustin, president of the Long Beach Casting Club, heard about this and reached out to club members. She soon will send five rod and reels, seven lines, 60 fly boxes and 13 dozen flies from the club.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]"The response from folks all over the world has been amazing," Stewart said. "The generosity of people never ceases to astound me, and I can't ever thank the supporters enough."[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Currently, Stewart is somewhere on the high seas aboard a guided-missile destroyer, serving a NATO Maritime Group. But he keeps up the Web site for the Baghdad School of Fly Fishing when he has time.[/size][/font] (www.baghdadflyfishing.com)
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]Chris Curtis, the third "dean" of the school, currently has five students. Curtis took the baton from Lt. Col. Bill Jones, the fellow Montanan.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]In his farewell e-mail to the school Web site, Jones wrote: "This is the end of the odyssey - this chapter, anyway. This has been an island of grace and decency in a sea of trouble and I am so thankful to have been a part of it."[/size][/font]
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