Sunday, October 25, 2009

Flies catch fish and fund medical research



I met Stuart Patterson at the Federation of Fly Fishers Florida Conclave in Celebration.


Nice guy.


He watched as I tied a few of my Myakka Minnows.


We chatted as I finished about a half dozen flies.


During the conversation, I found out Patterson sells flies through his website: http://www.pattersonsaltwaterflies.com/.


Nothing out of the ordinary there. Lots of folks are trying to make an extra buck selling flies.


But Patterson is just a little different. He donates all of his profits to the American Syringolmyelia Alliance Project. Syringomyelia, often referred to as SM, is a chronic disorder of the spinal cord. It can lead to numbing and tingling, a loss of sensitivity to hot and cold, scoliosis, muscle weakness, paralysis and other symptoms.


Patterson's daughters, Hope and Holly, suffer a number of neurological disorders, including Syingomyelia, Chiari malformation, intrachranial hypertension and chronic pain.


Holly and Hope decided to raise money money to fund research. Their goal is to raise $40,000.


Patterson joined the effort when he began selling flies.


To date, the Patterson family has raised more than $20,000.


Patterson has patterns from some of the biggest names in Florida saltwater fly fishing, including Tim Borski, Rick Grassett, Aaron Adams, Norm Zeigler and others.


Not only are the flies great fish-catchers, but money collected from their sales go to fight crippling diseases.


If you are in need of flies, check out Stuart Patterson's website.


You'll be glad you did.

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