WHEN THE WATER BECKONS . . .
THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY

Last June, while at MDA's annual summer camp session near Nashville, I spotted a camper fishing from the pier, much as I used to do as a kid. He was in a trance, staring out across the glassy lake, pole in hand, looking for the slightest ripple that just might be the bass of his dreams coming to lunch on his bait.

He wasn't using a graphite rod with a $300 reel. Across this angler's left shoulder rested nothing but a bamboo pole with line attached to the end.

"We all started that way," says Chris Manhart, a 40-year-old instructional assistant in the Math Lab at East Central College in Union, Mo.

"There's always a way to fish. There are products on the market that can make fishing easier for anglers with limited arm strength like myself, but affordability plays a big factor," Manhart, who has Becker muscular dystrophy, points out.

Fishing enthusiasts and avid sailors who have disabilities have come up with a host of imaginative techniques and devices that allow them to indulge in their favorite hobbies.

Fishing Innovations

Fishermen with limited strength can use casting devices and rod holders, as well as electronic reels. The best all-round reel for light tackle, weighing a little over a pound, is John's Reel II, while the model 450-PTH Elec-Tra-Mate remains popular because it can be used for either heavy freshwater rigs or light saltwater rigs.

The Elec-Tra-Mate is a "very powerful, very substantial reel," says Don Krebs, president and founder of Access to Recreation, which issues a semiannual catalog for the sports enthusiast with physical disabilities. "I've seen anglers operate this reel using chin control on their chairs or pushing a button with the sides of their heads." Anglers can also power the reel via a cranking battery, a boat's cigarette lighter or a portable battery pack.

Such reels can cost an average of $300. But inventor Stephen Wentzel of New York has patented a battery-operated small spincast reel which he anticipates will run a mere $60.

The EZ Knot helps anglers make knots without threading the hook.

"The Weasel Reel," says Wentzel, "will reel in line at the push of a button and it's far less costly than what's currently available." Wentzel is looking for investors and a manufacturer for the reel. He's also the creator of the EZ Knot, a 3-inch plastic guide that allows an angler to make quick, strong knots without threading the hook.

Other fishing innovations for anglers with physical disabilities include the Easy Caster, hyped as an "effortless casting tool," and the Uni-Mount System, which attaches optional equipment such as a rod holder to its universal mounting bar and fits under a wheelchair seat. Both items are among the lifestyle products designed and manufactured by BlackBerry Technologies of Pottstown, Pa.

Manhart, however, takes his chances, fishing with standard light tackle. He fishes several lakes which have piers with special access cutouts added by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

"I prefer fishing from the special access piers because I have freedom to move on my own. But just being out there, hoping to catch a big one and worry about reeling it in later, is good. Sometimes I don't catch anything but I'm still out there enjoying it."

Contacting your state's Department of Fish & Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management or Department of Conservation is a great way to learn about barrier-free fishing sites in your area. Your state Wildlife Resource Agency may also offer a lifetime sport fishing license for residents "permanently restricted to wheelchair use" for a low one-time fee.

Finding Partners, Charters and Guides

Fishing experts caution that fishing alone is never advisable, even for the able-bodied.

If you don't have a fishing partner but want to give the sport a try, you might consider joining a fishing club. Fishing Has No Boundaries is a nonprofit volunteer organization whose purpose is to open the great outdoors to people with any disability through the world of fishing. With chapters nationwide, the organization hosts fishing events year-round, charging only a modest registration fee.

Bob Rocchetta's (left) charter service in Long Island, N.Y., leads anglers to big striped bass.

Another option is to look for an accessible saltwater fishing charter.

U.S. Coast Guard-licensed Capt. Bob Rocchetta is in his fourth season operating Northern Lights, a barrier-free charter business out of East Long Island, N.Y.

"I offer services to anglers on all levels of disabilities. Standard chairs, power chairs, it makes no difference. Anglers wheel directly onto my boats through a door that opens in the side of the boat and into the cockpit. Whatever is necessary, I see that it happens so my customers have a safe and comfortable fishing experience."

Do they catch fish? "Every time without exception," says Capt. Bob, a retired New York City police officer who holds the International Game Fish Association's striped bass world record at 76 pounds.

Some local fishing guides, such as Rick Toumey of Tucson, Ariz., have wheelchair-accessible boats. Although he's now retired from his Fish for Life freshwater guide service, Toumey says his 19-foot tri-hull fiberglass deck boat with a 97-inch beam worked wonderfully to accommodate anglers in wheelchairs.

When considering the purchase of a boat for fishing, Toumey advises deck boats over pontoon (flat-bottomed) boats for better stability in the open waters. Be sure the boat's weight capacity will permit a power wheelchair. Door openings can be custom-ordered to any width, and railing heights and seat arrangements can also be designed to fit your needs.

"No matter what your boat," says Toumey, "you really have to be careful when out in open water. But with deck or pontoon boats, you need to use common sense and be extra careful. You're not in a 60 m.p.h. bass boat that can speed to safety when the weather changes." Toumey warns that canopy roofs make navigation in windy conditions even more treacherous.

Toumey, who's affected by polio, used light tackle with normal spinning gear and electronic reels for anglers who had little or no arm strength. "It was the hook that made the difference, not the tackle," adds Toumey. "I used a split shot hook, and my customers pulled in beautiful bass using a size 5 or 6 hook without ever having to set the hook."

The split hook sets itself in response to the "slightest amount of pressure" after a fish is snagged, Toumey says. For more about the split shot technique, see Gary Yamamoto's Inside Line in "Resources,"

Believing that fishing is more than just a trip on the lake, Toumey says, "Fishing offers mental as well as physical rehabilitation. It improves mental attitude and rebuilds character and self-esteem, all of which are important to everyone, but particularly important to the physically challenged."

Sailing

Along with fishing, gliding through the water on
a boat can be good mental and physical therapy.

SeaLegs, a program of the nonprofit organization the Handicapped Sailing Experience Inc., is dedicated to making the joys of sailing available to everyone. The program's guiding principle is that the sailboat is a microcosm containing all the physical and psychological stimuli used in the rehabilitative process.

SeaLegs enables people with physical or sensory impairments to experience the freedom and sometimes competition of sailing through a series of courses on specially modified boats. "These adaptations," they say, "enable sailors to reach their goal of independence."

The program, which runs May 1 through Oct. 31 and serves the Greater New York metropolitan area, is a member of the U.S. Sailing Association and its instructors are certified by that organization. Similar programs are offered across the country. To locate one in your area, inquire at your local center for independent living, Veterans Administration, or Parks and Recreation Department.

Leslie Little of Williamsburg, Va., finds freedom and joy in sailing.

"Every day is a new adventure when I'm sailing," she says. "It's peaceful and allows me to reflect on the beauty of life. Plus, I'm not disabled when I'm on the water. I'm doing the same thing as anyone else can do if they choose. We're on equal footing."

It's been three years since Little completed her first 15 hours of instruction at the Hampton Roads Community Sailing Center on Chesapeake Bay.

She sails a 14-foot Sonar with her sailing partner, Dave Coffield, who is a C2 quadriplegic; her 7-year old service dog, Buck; and two able-bodied "spectators who go along for the ride."

"I was approached by the center's founders, Gay LaRue and Tom Wood, as a consultant to adapt their recreational sailing program for citizens with varying disabilities and high-risk children or disadvantaged youth. They roped me in and I haven't been off the hook yet."

Only minor adaptations are made by the sailors. Coffield uses metal arm braces adapted to hook onto the steering column. Little, affected by Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, adapted the sheets' ropes she handles to tie off on her wrists since her hands have atrophied. Buck only requires one carry-on — a towel he frequently takes to Little so she can wipe off his coat when splashed.

"Buck hates getting wet," she explains, "but he loves being out on the water." Little herself has only once "tipped enough where I've taken a saltwater shampoo."

Getting onto their boat has taken some planning but as Little explains, "It's really quite simple. I wheel over to a Hoyer lift where our able-bodied partners assist me out of my chair, and then it's basically just aiming me over the stern and setting me down onto a floatable seat where I'm strapped in. The same routine happens for Dave. Our collapsible wheelchairs are stashed in the hole and we're off!"

If Coffield or Little wants to get off the boat in another port, their partners use a homemade transfer box (costing $25) and the "fireman's pull-drag" methodology to get them onto the dock and into their wheelchairs."I still have a lot to learn about sailing but I enjoy learning new things and building self-esteem in the process," says Little.

The 43-year-old consultant on fire and disaster safety is now looking for new adventures.

"While traveling recently I saw signs for river rafting on the New River in West Virginia and so I stopped and inquired about it. 'Can you take me river rafting?' I asked. 'I suppose we can get you into the raft. What do you need?' they asked.

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