8 vets and 1 vol arrived at Bozeman to begin their trip of a lifetime of 4 nights with 3 full days of fishing at the famed Freedom Ranch for Heroes in Wise River Montana. These vets from the Heartland states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Nebraska came with high expectations and I am happy to report they were all exceeded. The weather was perfect, the fish cooperated, the food and accommodation were exceptional, and there are no words that can do justice to the views.
After a huge BQ lunch at a local establishment, we headed to the ranch, an hour and a half away. In the van, the bonding began. It turns out that Wes, a marine, and John, navy, both served on the same ship at the same time in the late 80’s. Although they do not recall meeting each other, they did recall stories of ship side events and ports of call. They did have one thing in common, they hated the food. We arrived at beautiful downtown Wise River, MT, population 38 but for the next few days it was up to 47.
After getting settled in, and before dinner, the vets took a walk to the casting pond to show us what they had. 10 minutes later a dark cloud came over the mountain and started dropping ½” hail on the crew. Now although we were only 150 yards from the shelter of the fly shop, no one bolted ahead, they all kept the same pace as the slowest member of the team.
Wednesday AM, the Big Hole was low and warm, so we headed up to Dillon, a scant 71 miles away for casting practice in the AM followed by wading the Red Rock. All vets were able to get fish to the net.
Thursday was a combination, a few waded the Beaverhead River, and 3 boats brought the Big Hole to its knees. Once again, all vets were on fish, but the numbers varied from a few to 2 boats pulling in some 40ish fish. In the evening, more talk and sharing of stories, most were on the upper deck or lower patio with a view of the mountains and sunsets. Discussions centered around shared and similar experiences from their time in the military and shared challenges that many faced. All who took part in these discussions took something away knowing they were not alone in their military experiences. Post military interests came up and there were a lot of commonalities there as well with multiple beekeepers and the raising of chickens and quail. Our own Santa John found himself sharing his experiences around his craft.
Friday was more of the same except we had four boats on the water and all overproduced with Chuck and his twenty-one” brown being the largest fish brought to the net. Once again, we had some 30 count boats on the water. Guides in all cases were outstanding and connected well with the vets. At the end of the day, we went back to the lodge for a farewell dinner of prime rib. The evening was capped off with a visit to the Wise River Club in the center of town where the group was well received and listed to Tom and his guitar playing favorites called out by the audience including Jimmy Buffet, the Eagles, Billy Joel, Elvis, and even Frank Sinatra. A few of the vets were asked by some of the local ladies to grace the dance floor and all had a great time.
Saturday morning started off great until the flight delay texts started to come in relating to broken aircraft and weather in Denver. 3 made it home on Saturday and the remaining 5 spent an extra night in Denver but all arrived safely home although in some cases it took 36 hours. I can say the time at the lodge was worth even this final challenge and all it did was to spice up the stories of that outstanding journey.
