TYLER HEMSTREET: KAYAK ANGLING HELPS SOLDIERS WITH INJURIES, PTSD >>>
While plucking kayaks out of the lake and loading them onto the trailer, it wasn’t hard for volunteer guide Brian Oakland to gauge the success of his most recent kayak fishing expedition.
Oakland, who’d driven down from Bellingham the day before, had just finished leading a small group of soldiers from Fort Lewis on a fishing trip at Lake Saint Clair near Olympia.
“Everybody was smiling — even the solider that rolled his kayak,” he said.
Smiles are just one of the benefits the Heroes on the Water program aims to bring to disabled active duty personnel and veterans through kayak fishing. The program, which is a subset of the nonprofit Kayak Anglers Society of America, works with military hospitals, Veterans Affairs hospitals and Warrior Transition Battalions nationwide to help service members with physical and emotional rehabilitation.
“The good thing about a kayak is that it can be tailored to a person’s needs,” said Brian Jackson, the Washington state coordinator for Heroes on the Water.
While a kayak can be modified to accommodate back, hip and leg injuries, Jackson said kayak fishing is also good therapy when it comes to treating traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The relaxation people get from being out on the water is a by-product of the fishing,” he said.
Since there is no noise created by an engine, soldiers can focus on relaxing and the trolling technique of slowly pulling the line through the water.
“It doesn’t require the expert casting like some other types of fishing,” Oakland said.
Soldiers also enjoy the aspect of having the freedom to troll around the lake and have direct control of the kayak — all in close proximity to the water, he said.
While it took Fort Lewis Staff Sgt. Robert Crammer awhile to get the hang of keeping the kayak steady, once he got the hang of it, the soldier plucked bass after bass out of Jackson Lake in northern Pierce County on a recent kayak fishing trip.
“You have to have a good center of gravity and keep yourself balanced,” said Crammer, who suffers from a tumor in his neck and severe asthma and allergies. “But (the experience) was physically stimulating and mentally engaging.”
It also may have put any thoughts associated with PTSD or dealing with war-related injuries members of the group may have had on the backburner for at least one day.
“The most unique thing about it was that (the various injuries) were not discussed,” said Oakland of the group he led. “It was a nonissue.”
Although Crammer had never heard of kayak fishing before, he caught on fast and even managed to stay out of the water.
“I did witness a couple of rollovers,” said the staff sergeant, adding that he hopes to go again soon.
In fact, most soldiers who go on the kayak fishing trips get hooked.
“They usually go back and rent kayaks the next weekend,” Jackson said.
Photo: Fort Lewis soldier Larry Clink keeps a watchful eye on his fishing rod while trolling for trout. Photography by Tyler Hemstreet
Brian Jackson is doing a great job as the HOW Coordinator for the area. Active duty WTB Cadre member, Avid Kayak Fishing Guide, and HOW. Thanks for your service in all areas!!!
The program is for all injured active duty and vets. TBI/PTSD and physical injuries.
Posted by: Jim Dolan, National HOW Director | August 24, 2009 at 15:44