Warriors on ice: Bozeman program takes veterans fishing as move to reintegration | State & Regional

So what was the bundled-up Baltimore man doing on this January day in Eastern Montana, where the sharp wind felt like it was blowing directly off a Canadian glacier?

“When I get an email from these guys I’m all in,” he confessed. “I can’t say no to them.”

“Them” is the Bozeman-based nonprofit group Warriors & Quiet Waters, a foundation built to expose post-9/11 military personnel facing a challenge to the healing power of fishing and being outdoors. The group was started in 2007 by Vietnam vet and Bozeman native Eric Hastings to provide cost-free fly-fishing outings in Montana.

Teaching fly-fishing skills to veterans, and taking them fishing on ponds and rivers, can be a “totally immersive but not taxing” way to unwind, said Brian Gilman, WQW chief executive officer.

The fishing is overlaid with a safe, secure, family like environment meant to break down barriers of isolation the soldiers may confront. Through the use of volunteer “battle buddies” – assigned to each participant for the week, and volunteer moms – who help with things like cooking meals and taking care of the lodge to make it feel like home – the group also reinforces the importance of human connections. To use the skills they’ve learned after the program, participants get to take the free fishing gear home with them.

“We’re trying to guide them to a thriving, resilient life,” said Gilman, a Butte native.

Six years ago the group expanded its work into winter with its Ice Fishing Experience, known as Ice FX.

“It’s nice to be out and keep going, rather than wait for the thaw to hit,” said Jesse LeNeve, a Helena native and fishing operations manager for WQW.

From a base camp of cabins at Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs & Resort, located 17 miles east of Malta, six participants accompanied by three WQW staff and five volunteers spent three days fishing adjacent Nelson Reservoir.

On the lake, two trailers rented out by the resort were set up for the anglers to shelter from the wind and cold, or to eat a hot lunch of potato-bacon-cheddar soup. ATVs allowed the men to haul out tip-ups, live minnows and ice augers while also speeding around to check the holes when a fish struck.

“They cater to your needs,” Wallace said. “They go above and beyond to make you feel at home and at ease.”

LeNeve organizes the outings, which started out with wall tents pitched on Fort Peck Reservoir before upgrading to the hot springs three years ago. While most of the participants have never tried ice fishing, they imagine it as sitting on a bucket next to a hole. Instead, LeNeve and his staff and volunteers bore several holes into the ice and set multiple tip-ups – fishing line attached to a small plastic stand. When a fish strikes, a flag on the tip-up pops aloft to alert the angler so they can rush to the hole and haul their catch in.

With one person running the ice auger, another scooping out the ice chunks from the hole and a third baiting and setting up the tip-ups, 20 to 30 holes can be drilled and rigged. It’s teamwork like military personnel are trained for, LeNeve added, calling them an “efficiency machine.”

“One of the great aspects of ice fishing is that it keeps everyone busy and working as a team,” Gilman said. “It provides a sense of accomplishment.”

The previous day the fishermen had landed about 30 walleye, pike and perch and lost another 20. The ice-fishing program is the one time the crew keeps fish, frying them up for dinner, including a surf-and-turf event the last night that includes steaks from a Malta butcher.

The first morning on Nelson Reservoir’s icy surface the wind chill brought the temperature down to minus 12, but as the day wore on it warmed up to 25, the cold-adverse Wallace noted.

“The gear they give us is amazing,” he said, which includes insulated bibs with built-in floatation and fat, warm boots. “And what’s not to like about Montana?” he added with a smile and arms outstretched to take in the expansive prairie surrounding the lake.

Ryan Long, who lives south of Detroit, took the Fly-Fishing FX program and by the time he got back to the Bozeman lodge was already asking if he could return in any capacity. His first Ice FX was last year, so this year he returned as assistant team leader.

Whether in combat or stationed overseas, Long said many military personnel struggle with finding something to commit to after leaving the armed forces. So WQW is geared toward helping soldiers reintegrate, starting with basic needs and working up to pursuing a life of purpose while thriving, Gilman explained.

“A lot of veterans found it was the right time,” Long said. “It definitely was the right time for me.”

After the initial fly-fishing program, Warriors & Quiet Waters offers a series of 13 other programs that Gilman compared to a rope ladder – difficult to climb and with the possibility of falling off – that are geared to alumni. Some programs include the warrior’s spouse or family. One is keyed to conservation and giving back to the sport of angling. Another links the warrior with a professional coach for a year to set and achieve a goal while conducting a personal assessment.

“That’s the whole idea, to bring them back,” Gilman said.