On a quiet stretch of the West Fork of the Tuckasegee River, just north of Cashiers, a group of veterans wades into the current, casting flies into cool mountain water. It’s fall, and the leaves are just beginning to turn – but for the eight men and women here as part of Project Healing Waters, the season isn’t marked in months or weather.
It’s marked by something far more elusive: peace.
This fall retreat is made possible through a unique partnership. Tom Wright, past president of the Waterdance Homeowners Association and a longtime volunteer with the Atlanta program of Project Healing Waters, convinced the community to open its private riverfront property for the cause.
Matt Canter and his team from Brookings Anglers stock the river and guide the participants. Chip Cavin, Atlanta’s chapter lead, coordinates the veterans and volunteers.
Each retreat spans two and a half days. Eight veterans are paired one-on-one with six volunteers and two Brookings guides for immersive, guided fly fishing. The setting is deliberately intimate: just enough support to be cared for, not so much as to feel overwhelmed.
“A lot of the vets struggle with crowds and noise,” says Cavin. “Here, they have space. Quiet. Time.”
For Mike Evans, an Army veteran and two-time fly-casting champion known affectionately as “Uncle Mike,” the retreat is a sacred time. “When you’re out there in those mountains, standing in the river, it’s just you and God’s creation,” he says. “I don’t have a care in the world when I’m on that water.”
Evans, who lives with injuries from a jeep accident during his service, found Project Healing Waters years ago and has since become a mentor in casting and fly tying. “It’s not just fishing,” he says. “It’s rebuilding the whole person.”
The Atlanta chapter meets every other week to tie flies, build rods, and practice casting. They fish together on the Chattahoochee, and many veterans go on to mentor others – just as Evans now does.
But Waterdance is different.
“It’s a chance to get away,” says Cavin. “To be in a place that feels special. To fish water that’s been set aside just for them.”
The program’s power lies not only in the natural beauty or the thrill of landing a fish, but in the relationships forged along the way.
In a world where many veterans struggle with trauma and isolation, this small corner of river offers something rare: stillness, connection, and a renewed sense of purpose. For those who step into its waters, the healing runs deep.
For more information, visit Projecthealingwater.org.
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