This will be an area for disabled fishing men and women, Share your story's and helpful hints.

IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OUT THERE THAT ARE DISABLED IN THE BERLIN, NJ AREA, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE YOU OUT ON MY BOAT AND GO CATFISH FISHING ON THE DELAWARE RIVER. CONTACT ME THROUGH THE CLUB OR E-MAIL ME WITH YOUR INFORMATION AT rhank123@aol.com.
MY NAME IS RICK HANKINS AND I LOVE TO FISH, I HAVE A OLDER RANGER BASS BOAT ( 1995 ) AND JUST FINISHED REBUILDING MY JOHNSON MOTOR. I HAVE A CGA INSPECTOR COMING TO INSPECT MY BOAT ON MONDAY AFTERNOON, 5/ 23. JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS TIP-TOP.
STARTING ON TUESDAY THE 24TH. I'M HOPING TO MAKE AT LEAST 3 TRIPS A WEEK TO THE DELAWARE RIVER IN WEST DEPTFORT AND WILL BE FISHING NEAR RED BANK NATIONAL PARK. WANNA GO FISHING? CONTACT ME
J. RICHARD HANKINS, THE EVERYDAY FISHERMAN
( RICK TO MY FRIENDS )

I personally don't know anyone who is disabled. I cant imagine being disabled and fishing, but it's done. One of my fishing/hunting hero's is Capt. Tred Barta. He caught more big eye tuna than any man alive on rod and reel, and has more IGFA records than anyone alive. About 3yrs ago he developed a spinal disease and has been paralyzed from the waist down. He continues to hunt and fish from a wheel chair. His motto is "Doing it the hard way, the Barta way". What he means by that is when hunting, he only uses a long bow, spot and stalk..get into the animals world..no tree stand, no blind, and fishing he only uses light tackle...he caught a marilin on 4 lb test....thats the hard way! And I admire that...I try to do things the hard way as well...When u accomplish what you've set out to do...doing it the hard way, it's much more satisfying and much gratification. If you ever get a chance look him up. He used to have a show on VS channel The Best and Worst of Tred Barta...I don't know if it's still on, by he is an inspiration to everyone.

Hey Barresi, did you see where Barta had Dennis Braid build him that special harness for fishing. You're right, Tred Barta is a trooper!

Yup...I've seen all of his shows...hopefully there still going to have a new season.

I dislocated my right ankle in Nov. 2006. and after 5 weeks in a boot cast, it healed crooked. Can't run, jump, climb, pivot, or make quick turns on this ankle. Using stairs is difficult as well. Must try to fish on as level a ground as possible. Can stand up 10-20 minutes at a time before needing something to sit on.
And it has also made getting into a boat much more difficult. Usually need a second person help pull me into the boat with my good left ankle going in first. Then I bring my other ankle in and can usually walk okay. It is easier to have a boat pull up to a courtesy or loading dock and I slide into the boat from its side.

Hoping to have an Orthopedic specialist look at my ankle this year and see if it can be fixed and straightened. If not, then I'll fish whenever and where ever I can.

I live right next to Harry S Truman RES. between Clinton and Warsaw, Mo.

scasteel, sorry to hear about your condition. I can sympathize with you though...I am retired/disabled...and although I have the use of my legs...my heart/lung condition causes me to tire very easily. It has totally changed my fishing, so I understand your frusrtation. Hopefully that "saw-bones" can fix you up, but if not don't give up. Where there's a will...there's a way. I have seen guys that I NEVER though could fish do it...the passion will drive you!

MO65......I still fish all I can. Esp The meet at La Crosse Wi. in July. I just have to watch where I step and sometimes have another person with me in case I fall, or need help carrying things.
I still happily do rod and reel repair and tackle sale since Aug 1982. Have to sit at the flea markets when I sell most of the time.
I have learned to cope with it. I hope I can get fixed, but surgery and rehab may leave me a weaker foot than it is now. If So, I live with what I have now.

Understand the heart and lung thing. Can walk around 10-15 minutes on flat surface then take a breather somewhere.
MO65.... Where do you live? Maybe we can meet someday to fish or just visit?

scasteel, I'm in Chillicothe, Ohio...the "mo" part doesn't stand for Missouri. My name is Mike, but when I was a kid, my nickname was Mo!
                                                                                                                                                                                              

scasteel and mo, i am also disabled i had my right knee replaced two times in in 18 month peroid,the first one wore out and had to get it done again also had my left knee replaced the next yr.i also need to get both of my hips done.i'm trying to hold off on them as long as i can..i'm not sure i want them to do my hips becouse my knees don't work right as it is.i can't walk or stand very long and my knees sweel up to the size of basketballs if i'm on them to long.but my wife got me a boat about three yr's ago and that allows me to fish , i have two great friends that i fish with and they help me to get in and out of the boat...i'm sorry to here about you guys health issues ,but we all still get to fish and thats what keeps us going..JOHN

I have a appointment Jan 26th with an Orthopedic Dr. He is to check my right ankle, do several tests, and X-rays. After that a determination will be made if I can have surgery or not. If I find out that my injury [right ankle dislocation] was fixed improperly at the Emergency Room in Nov 2006, then I will consider legal action if there is no Statute of Limitations to mess with.

I know so far due to this problem, I've lost all my savings, and what all was in the bank, plus all my annuities, Trying to survive and find employment!!!!!!!, and ended up declaring Bankruptcy to get clean again.
I'm on full SSI monthly income now and have MoHealthnet [Medicaid] So I am much better off now than I was. I guess time will tell [this year] what course of action I can follow.

I will never stop fishing no matter what medical conditions I have to face.

I too am disabled. I have severe spinal arthoritis- entire spine- and a bone spur in my neck. The doctors say they could fix my neck, but the bone spur is on the inside of my spinal column so even the least little mistake and I would be paralized. Thus I can only fish or do any other activity for a few hours at a time. But hey my dog don't bite, my roof don't leak and my wife don't complain when I go hunting or fishing. Besides all that God loves me- so what could be better!

Hey all, I hope this finds everyone in as good of health as possible. I've been disabled for 30 years now due to a spinal cord injury where I broke my neck at the C5-C6 level. It left me a quad and even though I was in the hospital for nearly a year for rehab it was the thought of going fishing that helped keep me going. I have a special brace that my therapist and I came up with so I could cast without losing my rod into the water or have a fish yank it away from me. I have very limited grasp but manage to handle my gear fairly well. My power wheelchair lets me get up to some area ponds and even to one or two areas along the Maumee River if it's not running too high.

We also have an older 20' Grady White Fisherman that my dad made some modifications in and we designed a lift to get me into the boat. I've been out on Lake Erie quite a bit even in what some might say were some rough conditions. I always wear one of the self-inflating life-preservers so I can sit and be comfortable for several hours at a time. I've also been out on a headboat called the Irish Drifter that runs out of Port Clinton, OH. I even have been out on a rather large headboat in the Gulf of Mexico off of the Ft. Myers area. But my love is still Lake Erie and always will be. My best fish has been a 24 inch walleye so far though I have hooked larger. My best bluegill was a 13 inch bull caught from a pond and on the same evening I caught a pair of largemouth bass that were 17 and 18 inches respectfully on a top-water plug. What a blast that evening was.

I guess you could say that fishing is therapeutic for me and in many ways it is. I enjoy the outdoors and even manage to go camping a few times each summer. I used to have a website but right now it's down but I'm working on a new one that not only covers fishing, camping, and boating but much more is going into this one such as hunting and many other outdoor activities. It's called Free Wheelin' Outdoors and once I get it up I'll post a link.

I am a Lifetime member of the NAFC and have been for a very long time. I joined because every once in awhile there would be information on accessible opportunities for the physically challenged angler but it has been sometime since I've seen anything in the magazine. They had a short thing about Fishing Has No Boundaries once and I went to a couple of those events and they are great. At any rate the tips in the articles have come in handy even for a shore-bound angler. See you all around and good fishing wherever you call home!!

I highly agree that Fishing is Therapeutic.
Many times I have gone fishing alone or with a buddy, and just enjoyed Nature and the fishing as well as I could and Relax.
I will fish until the day I die. It's just too good for me.

I also agree, fishing is very therapeutic.. I have advanced Muscular Dystrophy.. be thankful if its just your legs that bother you abit.. I'm loosing the use of my hands and my legs are worse..:S

Its scary fishin from a power chair..bank, dock, boat fishing is totally out.. and you have to have solid ground for shore fishing with a power chair, which doesn't allow me much choice..

I am blessed to live near a lake with a small bridge to an island, and I sit there to fish.. the fence gives extra security..

I just bought a "Boss Hawg" rod and I love it [by Zebco].. although the reel it came with was too large for my hands.. so I switched it off with a small one I had o n my old rod..

The Boss Hawg: is 7'.. Med/Heavy.. and even though others state the same, this rod is stiffer so the tip doesn't bow- giving you more control when reeling in..

Also, the handle below/above the reel is twice as long giving better leverage and control when reeling in and resting..

The larger rubber grip handles also give better leverage for weak hands..

It also has a small solid mounted metal loop.. to attach a security line to..

Which all together, makes it alot easier for a handicap person fishing from a power/wheel chair due to our lower height, and better leverage over all..

Was approx $30 for the rod/reel combo

RHank1... That is extremely nice of you to offer to take a disabled people out fishing on your boat..

If I lived out that way and was able to get in it, I surely would consider the offer..

Hi Ms Guppy,

I haven't found many issues with my power-chair and getting into places that most would think a chair shouldn't venture into. I've had it on a charter boat out on lake Erie without any issues. The one place I haven't been since moving into the power-chair is Florida. I too have lost the use of my hands and some use of my arms though just by looking at me you wouldn't know it. I have some idea what you are going through as I had a cousin who had MD but he has passed. With my injury happening in the blink of an eye and forcing me to learn how to do pretty much everything all over again I've managed to adapt quite well which is a trait fishermen and women need just to be successful on the water. But with plenty of practice and help from my friends I can fish just about anywhere with the exception of very steep hills and areas with lots of mud. We actually hooked a winch to my chair to pull it out of what turned out to be a hidden mud-hole. It was well hidden by grass and looked fine until I got into it.

I have to agree with you about using longer rods, mine are all 7' or longer and all spinning. In fact spinning reels are the easiest for me to use. As for reels I look for t-shaped handles with a rubbery texture on them to help with gripping thus making them easier to crank in. I do have an electric reel that was built by some engineering students at the University of Toledo. It is a spinning reel in fact it is a Bass Pro Shops brand reel. It has taken a beating over the last 6 years but it still has plenty of power to crank in most anything I've hooked using it. I guess in many ways I've been very lucky that I can continue to fish and when other guys ask me how I do it I simply get out my gear and show them. In fact I'm working on a new website dealing with the outdoors and disabilities. Once I have it finished I'll post a link.

Until later...
Burnard

Hay ya'll how is everyone doing today. I made and offer late last year about taking any one who lives in the Berlin/ South Jersey area who are disabled. I'm a little sad  " src="http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/FC/emoticons/sad.gif" width="20" height="20">     due to no one taking up the offer. I know what it is like to be disabled since I have been disabled since 2009, when I had a third M.I. that left me unable to work for the rest of my life.
But I can fish and drive my boat.  My offer is still good esp. if you are a returning vet. All you have to do is contact me, set a day to go, and we'll go fishing.


if interested, contact me at TEFSCHOOL12@AOL.COM.  I'LL get back to you assoon as I can. " src="http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/FC/emoticons/smile.gif" width="20" height="20">