Go Fish!

By David Smallwood

The night air was cold and crisp, and the northern lights were doing justice to their fame with ever-changing aerial displays. The bonfire, which we surrounded, sent forth its own competition in the form of embers as another log was added to ward off the chill.

The reflection of the skyward sparks flashed off her brown eyes as she spoke. "Before the accident I fished all the time. Ever since I was a little girl. Now, the only time I fish is when I come here."

The gravel stones milled beneath the wheels of her chair as she moved away from the ever-seeking smoke. "My love of fishing and the outdoors hasn’t diminished, only my access. Before, I would just go and fish. Anywhere. Now, I’m restricted to wheelchair accessible fishing. And other than this lodge, the disabled fishing opportunities are far and few between."

The lodge of which Joan, 36, spoke is Northern Lights Lodge, Canada’s first fully wheelchair accessible fishing lodge. It is also the home of the "Lions Wilderness Experience," an annual event sponsored each summer by Lions clubs throughout Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Scheduled for the month of August, the Lions sponsor people with disabilities to come fishing at the lodge.

My duties were, for one week, to present fly-fishing clinics formatted for people with physical disabilities. Sponsored by Thomas & Thomas Rodmakers, Inc., these clinics were the basis on which to develop annual fly-fishing clinics for people with disabilities.

Presenting a flyrod casting, fly-tying, or knot-tying clinic to a group of anglers with disabilities is no different from presenting the same clinic to able-bodied fishermen. Due to different biomechanics - whether or not a disability is present - each individual has his or her own way of doing things. However, what does set anglers with disabilities apart are the necessary specialized equipment and the general lack of fishing opportunities.

I had almost completed the task of threading the flyline through all the guides on my flyrod when a power wheelchair hurtled past me. Attached to it, by way of a leash, was a black Labrador retriever. As this travelling blur circled back, I cautiously flagged them down. When the dust settled the first image to appear was grins: ear-to-ear, tooth-filled grins. The kind that attach themselves to the faces of young boys who are heading out fishin’.

As formal introductions were made (I’m always amazed at how solemn young boys can be at times), I was introduced to Jesse LeClair, the leader of this mechanized mayhem, his brother, Cameron, and their friend, Terrence. Looking up hopefully for a scratch instead of a handshake was "Judd."

While there is something akin to a Norman Rockwell vision of a boy and his dog, the relationship between Jesse and Judd is a partnership in the truest sense of the word.

Born with muscular dystrophy, Jesse, like any busy 13-year-old, wants to do a lot! Judd entered Jesse’s life four years ago. Judd is a companion, for sure; he is also a special skills dog, the first in Saskatchewan.

Purchased by the Lions organization at a cost of approximately $10,000, Judd’s job is to carry on where Jesse leaves off. Just watching Jesse get ready for a fishing trip is a prime example. If Jesse drops anything, Judd will retrieve it, and as Jesse moves from room to room Judd is there to open doors and drawers, and turn the lights on and off. Once Jesse decides which clothes to wear, he points to them and Judd pulls them down from the closet and brings them to him. If Jesse is in need of assistance, Judd will go for help, and when the day is done, he lifts Jesse’s legs up on the bed and covers him up at night. All in a day’s work for this dog.

The three boys gather at dockside. Nearby is the hoist, consisting of an L-beam, winch, mat and some steel cables, which will transfer Jesse from his chair into the specially designed boat. All the components of the necessary apparatus were purchased at the local auto parts store. Innovation and simplicity are key words for these sportspersons with disabilities since, for the most part, they must design their equipment themselves.

But what avenues does the angler with a disability have in obtaining the necessary equipment if he or she is not innovative or mechanically inclined, and does not have friends who are? The answer is, quite a few.

Linda Martin, a recreational therapist in Saskatoon, is involved with this type of equipment every day. Linda works primarily with people who have spinal cord injuries, the majority being young men. Most of her clients fished prior to their injuries and, through experience, Linda has found that fishing is excellent therapy. Toward this end, her knowledge of equipment that enables clients to return to fishing is impressive!

The fishing equipment is designed on a person-to-person basis to meet individual needs. One such example is the "casting arm." This device was designed to enable a particular fisherman with quadriplegia to cast and retrieve. Another device is called the Strong Arm. Designed to provide support for the casting arm, it is made out of leather and is attached over the forearm by way of Velcro straps. The fishing rod is then inserted into a holder sewn onto the Strong Arm.

The province of Manitoba has made tremendous inroads on behalf of sportspeople with disabilities with its provincially funded Special Devices Program. Located in the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and headed up by Paul Tustin, its mission statement is simple: "We design and build anything and everything that is not commercially available."

While the majority of work consists of designing hand controls, foot controls, wheelchair modifications and aids to daily living, time is found to design recreational adaptations. Examples of just a few to date are: rings on reel crank handles, which allow an angler to insert his or her finger, and reel; special fishing rod handles; and rod holders which attach to a wheelchair.

Since this is a provincially funded program, the services are available at no cost to Manitoba residents. (These same services are available to people with disabilities outside the province for a fee.)

Not all adaptations and innovations come from government-funded organizations. John Boyd - fisherman, designer of fishing equipment for anglers with disabilities, and inventor - takes ideas and improves upon them. A case in point is the "electric reel."

The Royal Bee was a reel that used to be on the market, manufactured by the Royal Bee Corp. In Pawhuska, Oklahoma, and subsequently by Shimano of Canada. It went out of production due to the cost per unit and only fair demand. It essentially allowed an angler to retrieve the line with one arm, using an electric motor attached to a spin reel. A rheostat switch attached to the motor controlled the speed.

John took this idea and added a clutch and a "hit pad," allowing completely hands-free operation. To date, the biggest fish John has taken on this system is a six-pound walleye. Now in the design stages is a system that will shoot the line out hands-free. John is quadriplegic at the C3 level and uses a ventilator.

"Other than this lodge, the disabled fishing opportunities are few and far between." Throughout my stay at Northern Lights Lodge, those words came back again and again. When I began to research this statement it soon became apparent that it was, indeed, fact. Fishing opportunities available to anglers with disabilities are not abundant. But service organizations seem to be taking the lead in this area.

The Lions Clubs have been organizing fishing trips for people with disabilities for numerous years. Individual clubs sponsor one or two people in the community, cover their expenses, and provide volunteers to assist the person during his or her three-day stay at Northern Lights Lodge.

Friends in Sportfishing, based in Carleton Place, Ontario, was formed in 1993 and registered as a national charity in 1996. This organization’s services consist of providing half-day sportfishing trips at no charge for individuals and groups during the summer months, as well as developing and delivering aquatic conservation, restoration and public education programs. Over the past four years, this organization has hosted more than 10,000 quest trips. Its program promotes enviroment conservation through catch-and-release fishing.

Friends of Sportfishing chapters operate in four eastern Ontario communities, from Ottawa to Belleville, using 28-foot pontoon boats that have been specially designed and equipped to serve guests with disability-related needs.

The Friends outdoor program is offered to people over a four-month season from June through the end of September each year. Up to 600 boating trips are conducted with groups of up to 12 people. Guests range in age from six years to over 80.

The Lions Blind Anglers Integrated Tournament (BAIT) program offers two fishing tournaments per year in Ontario. Anglers with visual disabilities are teamed with professional tournament anglers and boats. The BAIT tournaments are privately sponsored by various boat and tackle manufacturers.

Group fishing is an interesting trend of the past few years. This activity is based on the premise that the wilderness and its associated pursuits and rewards should not be attempted on an individual basis. The code of the wilderness, for safety reasons, dictates that you never travel alone in the bush. And as any angler knows, that’s the first rule that gets chucked when a prime fishing spot is discovered. Finding the fishing partner that’s just right is not an easy task!

Harry Hawkins is a veteran of World War II, sustaining wounds that cost him his left arm and approximately a year in the Fitzsimmons Army Hospital. A fisherman before the war and after, he used to visit the hospital to talk to other soldiers who had become amputees. I asked Harry what he would say to a young amputee who had been an angler or hunter before the accident. The following is pure "Hawk":

"I would tell them that we are not cripples... I would tell them I truly believe we were chosen by God to show the rest of the people that we can do anything they can do! I would tell them there is only one word I want them to eliminate from their vocabulary, the word ’can’t.’ We can do anything! We can make it happen."

When Harry first tried fishing again after becoming an amputee in 1946, he encountered difficulty retrieving the line after casting. So he developed a rod holder, a tube with a fly-tying vise attached, to fit around his stomach. "I would cast out, insert the butt of the rod into my rod holder and reel in," he says. "I would use the fly-tying vise to tie on flies, lures or bait. It’s worked for over 50 years. I made it happen!

"What I try to convey to these folks," says Harry, "is that you can ’make it happen’ to you! It can be frustrating, it takes guts, desire, and perseverance, but it’s worth it!"

Dave Smallwood is a freelance writer living in Air Ronge, Saskatchewan.


RESOURCES:

Lions Wilderness Experience
Northern Lights Lodge
P.O. Box 832
Flin Flon, MB R8A 1N6
Phone: (204) 687-4797

Michael Hayes
CNIB BAIT Program
231 St. Laurent Blvd.
Ottawa, ON K1K 2Y9
Phone: (613) 744-1340

Friends in Sportfishing
P.O. Box 1431
Carleton Place, ON K7C 4L8
Phone: (613) 253-2001
Fax: (613) 253-1206

MANUFACTURERS:

Access to Recreation, Inc.
Catalogue available of adapted sports and fishing equipment
2509 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Ste. 430
Thousands Oaks, CA
91362 U.S.A.
Toll-free: 1-800-634-4351
Fax: (805) 498-8186

Strong-Arm Fishing Products
P.O. Box 309, Stn. D
Scarborough, ON M1R 3C0
Phone: (416) 756-1379

Interior Mediquip Ltd.
Maker of submersible wheelchairs
P.O. Box 1875
Vernon, BC V1T 8Z7
Phone: (604) 543-1363
Fax: (604) 549-3002

Electric Fishing Reel Systems, Inc.
Electric fishing reel system
P.O. Box 20411
Greensboro, NC
27420 U.S.A.
Phone: (910) 273-9101
Fax: (910) 370-9411

Basmatic
Adaptive device for amputees to handle fishing rods
2512 Columbus Rd.
P.O. Box 7117
Canton, OH
44705 U.S.A.
Phone: (330) 455-3983
Fax: (330) 455-6534

Iron Horse Productions
Wheelchairs designed for rugged use, including wading in streams for fishing
2624 Connor St.
Port Huron, MI
48060 U.S.A.