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TOPIC: Re:Fly Fishing in Iraq - a book
#17217
Ed Kelleher (User)
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Fly Fishing in Iraq - a book 13 Years ago  
You may have heard of a group of Flyfishers who refused to let the fact that they were in a Combat Zone, and sometimes under fire keep them from fly fishing. The Baghdad School of Flyfishing was started in 2005 at Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq by a US Navy Lieutenant named Joel Stewart. He got a lot of logistical support from a group of fellow fly fishers on a Fly Fishing Board called the Gathering of The Clan - a Highland Scot reference. He also got a lot of logistics support from fly fishing and tying equipment manufacturers, especially Rick Pope of TFO; but for a year at Camp Victory, Joel devoted all his spare time to fly fishing, and teaching his fellow service men and women to cast a fly rod, to fish in the decorative pools around Saddam’s Palaces and to tie their own flies. When Joel rotated, another serviceman took over the School/Club, and so on. The Baghdad School of Flyfishing lasted until the fall of 2011, when it was finally closed out as the number of US service persons was drawn down.

In 2010, Joel [now Lieutenant Commander] Stewart set out to write the story of his journey to founding The Baghdad School of Flyfishing, the founding and operation of the school, and his and others’ adventures fishing for Asp, Shaboot, Carp, Barb and Mangar in and around Camp Victory.

The book is done, and available on line at Whitefish Press. It is titled “A Fly Rod in my Seabag” [www.whitefish.com]

I have read it. It is a good read, and gives a light feel to what it is like to serve in the rear these days, fishing for somewhat unusual species, and the support he got from numerous sources. I recommend it highly. In addition to other reasons to buy and read the book, twenty five percent of the royalties go to support Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.

Disclaimer: I met Joel on the GOTC Board, and in person during Fleet week 2010 in San Francisco, where as Navigator of the USS Makin Island [LHD 8] he gave me, my son and my grandson the VIP tour of the shop, and again at the 2011 GOTC Gathering in Virginia. I am proud to call him my friend. He is currently the Executive officer of a new LPD, the USS Anchorage [LPD 23], and Scheduled to take command of the ship in 2013.
 
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Tight Lines,
Ed K
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#17222
Salman (User)
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Re:Fly Fishing in Iraq - a book 13 Years ago  
I'll never get to fish in Iraq but I do fish near Baghdad now and then.
 
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