Fly fishing is a great way to find peace. Being on the water, being focused on something so simple yet so complex…as fly anglers we understand this connection. Yet it took me years to understand why my father, a WWII veteran of the South Pacific, so valued fishing in his life. It wasn’t about catching fish. It was about something much more important. Fortunately, today’s veterans have advocates in the fly fishing community.
The Trout Unlimited Veteran Service Partnership works with a host of great partners. One of those partners is Project Healing Waters. And one new TU Business member in Pennsylvania is working to improve the lives of veterans through fly fishing and Project Healing Waters.
Nathaniel Treichler gets that. He’s a believer in fishing and in veterans. And when he started The Fly Crate, he knew he wanted to give back to those who had given so much for all of us. As he says, “The statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs shocking. Too many of our veterans are struggling in a host of different ways. Too many take their own lives. How many of these veterans could we help if we put a fly rod in their hands and gave them the support they needed?”
The Fly Crate is a community-minded fly fishing company in Pennsylvania that strives to assist veterans by making monthly donations to Project Healing Waters. For every six flies purchased from their monthly membership program and online fly shop, they donate one fly to PHW as part of their Healing Flies Program. As Nathaniel says, “Our goal is simple. We want to make smiles and create memories.”
True to form, the fly fishing community has responded. The Fly Crate will donate at least 72 flies this month. In 2017, they hope to donate over 2,000 flies. We’re proud to have The Fly Crate as a new TU Business member.
The Fly Crate
Nathaniel Treichler
Northampton, PA 18067
(484) 838-9981