The world has been a strange place lately, it has been hard to get away from all the negativity that has been on everyone’s social media feed. Thankfully, there is fly fishing in Western Massachusetts. A place where you’re able to disconnect and put the phones away for a few hours. A place where it is only the present and everything going on in life seems to disappear.
This past weekend, Rifles to Rods with the help of our friends and premier guide outfit in Western Massachusetts, the Harrison Anglers were able to get some veterans on the river and fly fishing for the first time.
I always find it very exciting to meet the veterans first thing in the morning. Most of the time, we’ve never met and only communicated through text or phone calls. It seems to be the same process each time, each veteran rolling into the parking lot of Hager’s Market one after the other. We all exchange greetings, order some coffee and talk about the day ahead. Once we’ve said our initial hello’s, we’ll load up in our cars and head to the river.
Once at the river, each of us will grab our gear we need for the day and hop in a raft with one of our fly fishing guides. The guides we work with are the best in the industry and I know they love the days they can help guide our nations veterans down the river for a fun day of fishing.
The rest of the day is spent floating the river in special crafted rafts that can take on any water. It’s easy to get lost in the beauty of Western Massachusetts. The veterans out for the day can often be found staring off at the beautiful landscape the river has carved out of the mountains. Just when you start to zone off, you’re quickly brought back to reality when your guide is yelling SET THE HOOK!
Every trip is different, but our fly fishing guides are always guaranteed to provide the highest quality trip and always put our veterans on fish. Even if it is your first time fly fishing.