So it may seem surprising that a trip last spring to the Uinta Basin - of all places - tops my highlight list.

Tribune photographer Leah Hogsten and I arrived at Falcon's Ledge lodge in Altamont to spend three days with organizers, volunteers and participants in a Reel Recovery event.

Our lives were changed forever by the emotions hauled out of the recesses of the souls of everyone, and I mean everyone, involved in the retreat.

Fond memories of that retreat came rushing back when I heard about Reel Recovery and the Utah Cancer Foundation's upcoming fundraiser.

Reel Recovery is a national nonprofit organization created in 2003 that offers fly-fishing retreats to men battling or recovering from life-threatening cancer. The thought, which I strongly support, is that there are inherent healing qualities in fishing, which lead to mental, physical and emotional benefits. Any angler will tell you that fishing is about so much more than the catching.

Casting for Recovery is a similar program for women, but Reel Recovery was designed specifically for men because the founders realized how much easier it was for males to talk about the fears of having cancer when they are distracted by fishing.

Some participants say the fishing is used as bait to get them to talk about the issues they face knowing that cancer resides in their bodies, but in the end they realize that confronting those deep, dark thoughts is ultimately one of the best ways to fight the disease.

Participants arrive at Falcon's Ledge twice a year for the retreats, where they receive fly-fishing instruction from volunteer "fishing buddies." One of the most amazing parts of the retreat is watching the volunteers bond so quickly with the participants. It was as if they were lifelong pals reunited after a long absence.

Some of the participants fish every second they can during the retreat. Others are too tired to stand on the bank or even make a cast. In those cases, buddies do the hooking up, but the reeling in is left to the participant.

One of the cancer patients who was not a fisherman asked me what all the fuss was about. "They are just fish," he stated.

Soon after, the angler temporarily forgot about his battle with cancer while battling a 20-inch-plus trout on the end of his line. We talked again and it was obvious he had invested some thought in the question he had raised earlier.

"I was connected to a life by that fishing line and it made me feel more alive," he said. "When I let that fish go, a part of its life energy stayed with me."

The man shared that experience with the other participants when the group gathered for one of its "Courageous Conversations."

It may be the fishing that gets the participants to the retreat, but it is during these powerful sessions that the men release deep emotions that they otherwise do not share for fear of burdening others.

The March 5 fundraiser will be at Cafe Trio, 6405 S. 3000 East, Holladay, from 4-7 p.m. The cost is $40 per person and includes wine education and silent and live auctions.

Money raised from the event will help send 12 men with cancer to a fall retreat at Falcon's Ledge. For more information about the event, call 801-281-6861 or visit http://www.reel recovery.org.

I'll be serving as a host, but please don't let that deter you from supporting such a worthy event sponsored by these two fine organizations.

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Contact Brett Prettyman at brettp@sltrib.com or 801-257-8902. Send comments to livingeditor@sltrib.com.