Cancer support group casts about for anglers
Staff writer
A crisp breeze caressed Gregg Armstrong’s face on a quiet mid-October day in 2023 while on the White River near Flippin, Arkansas.
“My fishing buddy told me, ‘Trout don’t grow in ugly places,’” he recalled, a rod and reel in his hand.
Armstrong wasn’t there taking in the scenes and catching fish alone. He was on a trip with a group of men through Reel Recovery, a non-profit founded in 2003 aimed to connect cancer patients through fly fishing and aid in their recovery.
Now, it’s coming to Kansas.
Reel Recovery, with Armstrong’s help, will sponsor a trip Oct. 12 through 14 to Rock Springs Ranch, 25 miles north of the county line off US-77.
It will be the first of its kind in the Sunflower State, and Armstrong hopes it will not be a one-off outing.
“It’ll only get better and better each time,” he said.
The trip, unlike most, will feature bass fishing, as no streams naturally yield trout in Kansas. The timing is no accident.
“October’s the perfect month,” Armstrong, who has prostate cancer, said. “It’s cooling down then, and really, the fish … are getting ready for winter, so they’re hungry.”
After his trip in 2023, Armstrong, of Wichita, was inspired to get one to his home state. But because of where he was in his treatment process, he didn’t “have the time or the energy to really try it.”
“It was just such a meaningful experience,” Armstrong said. “It’s hard to imagine how much difference 2½ days of this event can make on you.”
Finally, this year, Armstrong was able to get the trip set up.
He first called Reel Recovery to gauge their interest in getting a program here. They were all for it.
Planning for possible venues, when the best time of year was, and which species to target were the next steps.
Once the trip was approved came contracting guides — called “fishing buddies” — to go along with participants, getting equipment, and spreading the word. By mid-March, sign ups were available. Spots were filled within a matter of four months.
Reel Recovery relies solely on donations to get each trip scheduled. The only thing participants pay for is travel.
Armstrong, who now is state coordinator for Reel Recovery, said he was surprised how many people hadn’t heard of the organization when he went to cancer treatment centers and YMCAs to leave flyers.
“It was such a meaningful event for me that I thought, ‘Man, if it can work for me, it can work for anybody,’” he said.
Fishing isn’t the sole activity during trips, though it’s the main draw. At night, participants gather around a fire to express their experiences with cancer.
During his trip, nobody really opened up the first night, Armstrong said, but that changed by the second.
“You can never get a bunch of guys together on a fishing trip and they don’t bond,” he said. “That’s really the role of fishing in this whole event. Fly fishing can be such a vitalizing experience.”
While no Marion County residents are attending, people from nearby cities like Moundridge, Newton, and Salina are on the list, Armstrong said.
And although the list is full, he still encourages people from here to apply, even if it’s for a different trip in a different state.
“If you want to apply for the Kansas trip, please do,” he said. “If they miss the Kansas trip this year, there’ll be another opportunity. If they want to travel some, I know that there’s some available in Arkansas, Missouri, and there might still be some in Oklahoma.”
Reel Recovery helped Armstrong deal with his struggles with cancer. Now, he’s helping others manage it, too, in the state he calls home.
“It’s just a great program,” he said. “I’m still looking for a few fishing buddies. You can never have too many.”