Dear Military Veterans,
We are inviting you to join us for our free, annual fishing event. While originally designed for military veterans with disabilities, we now extend the invitation to all veterans. Fishing has proven to be an activity to help heal the body and soul! We welcome seasoned fishers as well as those willing to try fishing for the first time. We will provide one-on-one instructions and provide a full-time mentor for whoever wishes to have that level of support. Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited is partnering with Ken Sink chapter of TU and Kingston Veterans Sportsmen Association at their facilities to provide this event.
The event is free to all military veterans. You just need to provide your own transportation and a lawn chair. You are welcome to bring a friend with you. We will provide lunch, bottled drinks and snacks. There are two pavilions, one which is lakeside. The facility has a large lake with easy wheelchair access and ADA accessible, portable restrooms. Boy Scouts will prepare lunch and can deliver food to those who prefer to stay lakeside and fish.
One of our partners will be Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. Some of their veterans have built their own rods and tied their own flies. We will have fly rods and spinning rods available but you are welcome to bring your own. If you’re not comfortable with fly fishing, we’ll have spinning rods and live bait on hand. We want to do everything we can for veterans to catch fish and enjoy the outing.
We are reserving 30 seats until September 1 for veterans with disabilities. We fully expect to be able to accommodate 75 veterans. Some of the veterans who attended our first three events said it was one of the best days of the year for them. That is our goal! We want to give veterans an opportunity to catch fish, and enjoy a day on the lake in a beautiful country setting. The lake is stocked with trout and there are plenty of bass, catfish and panfish to provide action.
To register, please e-mail us at [email protected] and provide your name and contact information. Or you can go directly to our web site at www.forbestrailtu.org and click on the drop down link to register. Participants will be asked to sign a photo release form at the site so we can use photos of the event on our web site. We strongly encourage early registration. The deadline for registration is September 16. If you registered then find out you’re not able to attend, please notify us before September 16, or as soon as you can. We need an accurate count in order to provide the correct amount of food and volunteers.
Veterans will not need a valid PA fishing license. We have a permit from the PA Fish & Boat Commission to cover all participants that day. In the event of foul weather, the event will be rescheduled for the following Saturday, October 9, same location and time.
Please come join us. We will do everything in our power to make this a memorable event, and one you’ll want to attend annually. Thanks.
Larry D. Myers, President
(724) 454-9345