Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland Brookhall Retreat
(September 27, 2009)Brookhall Trout Fishery, near Lisburn, Northern Ireland was delighted to be chosen for the second year running as the venue for the 10th Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland retreat. Eleven ladies enjoyed the CfR experience on the idyllic 4 acre lake which is spring fed from a holy well. The tranquil surroundings and glorious autumn sunshine made for perfect conditions for the ladies to make the most of the well deserved retreat.Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland, the unique outdoor programme which provides fly fishing retreats for women who have, or have had, breast cancer, took the ladies for an unforgettable weekend from 18th to 20th September, 2009.
The retreat began on Friday evening with the ladies arriving to the Flatfield House Bed and Breakfast with self-catering cottages situated near Lisburn and Brookhall Fishery where they would spend the weekend. The ladies were then taken down to the lawn at Flatfield House where they were all given a short lesson in fly casting with qualified casting instructors Pat Hughes and Joe Stitt. Saturday began with a basic entomology lesson down at Brookhall Fishery with a sample of some of the aquatic insects taken from the lake and identified by the ladies so they had an idea of what the trout live on and what flies to use to imitate the insects. This was followed by a session in knot tying and finally some more fly casting. Now the ladies were prepared to catch their fish the following day! Sunday morning and the ladies arrived at the lake to a short briefing on the day ahead and then an introduction to their ‘guides’ for the day, made up mainly of experienced anglers and Brookhall Fishery regulars. After the introductions were made everyone tackled up and chose their spot on the lake and the fishing started. Almost straight away rods were bent all over the lake with the ladies catching fish. All of the ladies caught during the day and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Following the fishing there was a three course meal in the adjoining church hall, laid on by Brian and Sandra Fleming with help from their son and daughter. The presentation and speeches followed the meal with each of the ladies receiving a Certificate of Achievement for the day and a goody bag and the Guides were presented with a Certificate of Appreciation and keepsakes for their part. At the end of the presentation there was a special surprise for the CfR coordinators Sue Hunter and Sue Shaw, they were presented with a cheque for £3826.00 by Kenny and Cathryne from Brookhall Fishery. This amount was raised firstly by a sponsored competition which was held at the fishery. 15 anglers turned out for the competition, the entry fee for each angler was to raise a minimum of £50 in sponsorship although most anglers surpassed this sum by some margin, a special mention must go to Davy Marley who managed to raise an outstanding £1200. In addition to the competition we held a raffle with over 50 prizes kindly donated including rods, reels, tackle vouchers, fly selections, boxes, bags, dinner vouchers and tons more.
Congratulations and a big thank you to everyone who supported the competition, collected sponsorship, raffle prizes and bought raffle tickets. The total money raised for casting for recovery surpassed all our expectations and we were delighted to present the cheque to a shocked Sue Shaw and Sue Hunter who have said the money will be used to ensure further retreats will take place.
Brookhall Trout Fishery would like to pay special thanks to the following people for all their help and support in raising this money for a most deserving cause.
Brian and Sandra Flemming for the outstanding food. Pat Hughes and Joe Stitt – Casting Instructors www.flyfishingireland.org – to all the lads who tied flies and for the lanyards which were so gratefully received by the ladies and to which many of the fish were caught. To the site members who donated the outstanding prizes and bought raffle tickets. www.troutandfly.co.uk for the prize donations for the raffle and to the members for their support buying tickets from Brookhall regular Linda Straghan. www.flyforums.co.ukto the members for their support buying tickets. Darren from Woodford Fly Fishery for the prize donation Team Woodford Greys Ireland for the prize donations Laganside Tackle, Dunmurray Jack Smyths Tackle Shop, Lisburn Mcllduffs Tackle Shop, Lurgan The Outdoor Persuits, Portadown The Ballymac Hotel, Lisburn Creightons Garage, Finaghey Jamison & Green, Belfast
Casting for Recovery (CfR) provides fly fishing programmes at idyllic retreats around the UK and Ireland. Any woman who has experienced breast cancer is eligible to apply to attend a retreat (with medical clearance from their doctor). Retreats take place over two-and-a-half days and all accommodation, meals, counselling, and professional instruction are provided at no cost to participants. Fly fishing is a gentle exercise which requires no strength and is exactly the sort of exercise in which recovering breast cancer patients can participate safely. Fly fishing also offers those on retreat a chance to reflect and escape in tranquil surroundings. Brookhall Fishery is surrounded by a wide variety of mature trees and shrubs, making this one of the most attractive and tranquil fishing venues in the country.
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