Fishing For The Physically Challenged Population

Fishing for the physically challenged population is a great way to bring enjoyment and a feeling of accomplishment to their lives not to mention giving them a feeling of being part of the community.

A little kindness and time on your part can bring much happiness in the life of a physically challenged person who either yearns to fish again or needs a vehicle to help them regain confidence in themselves while being part of the community.

Your help can make a positive difference in a person’s life that truly counts.    

I want to share a bittersweet personal story that brought happiness to a person who loved being on the lake again after being sidelined by a debilitating illness.

STORY: While working at Bass Pro Shop in Memphis as the supervisor of the Fishing Department, I met this guy named Val who was restricted to a wheel chair due to a stroke.

He was a people person and loved to fish. Back in his early days, Val fished with some of the Pros and knew them all very well.

He approached me one day and said that he knew of a fishing tournament for physically challenged individuals scheduled to place in Brownsville Tennessee and would I like to fish it with him.

I said sure I was up for that kind of thing and I had just gotten my new boat that had plenty of room. Val was so excited that he was going to get to fish again and in a tournament.

Val got with me a few days later. He had gone home and got all the paperwork and brought it to the store for me filling out the parts that I had to such as Insurance, safety, and mailed it off.

He would zip around the store telling everyone that he was going to be in this tournament that was coming up and he was so glad to be able to fish again.

Well, the Saturday morning came up and I was to pick Val up at 4am. When I rounded the corner, there he was with all his things out by the street. To tell you the truth, I think he spent the night out there.

We got his things loaded and we were off to Brownsville. It did not take that long to get there and when we did arrive, the lake was not open yet. With about 1 1/2 hours to wait, we went to have breakfast and met with some other guys that were going to fish. 

As I Looked around, it seemed to me that everyone had a glow about them and were talking about the old days full of stories about the fish they had caught in the past. Then it came to me that we take things for granted and do not see what joy we can bring to a few people who love our sport and have been struck down, but never give up.

After breakfast, we proceeded back to the lake that was now open with a lot folks there helping with the tournament. They helped get Val into my boat and secure him to the seat before proceeding to back my boat into the lake.

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