Back on the water
- This topic has 4 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated Aug 7, 2011 at 2:26 am by
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Gentlemen,
I ahve a friend who suffered a major stroke about 18 months ago. He has made a huge recovery however his right arm is still flaccid and pretty much hangs limp at his side. He wants to get back to fishing however the one handed thing is not working out too well especially for situations where he needs to retrieve line (short line nymphing is a possibility). Have any of you ever run into any type of equipment which we might be able to use to facilitate this fellow getting back on the water.
Thanks,
JohnP.S. While this is a primarily FF board he would be interested in any form of fishing.
John –
There was a reel made by Shakespeare in the 1950s-60s which retrieves itself using a spring. It is certainly strong enough to land trout on. The reels are widely available on eBay for peanuts – under $20. I know guys with the Wounded Warriors and Healing Waters programs who have learned to be proficient fishermen (fly fishermen) with only one hand.
Here’s an example: http://cgi.ebay.com/SHAKESPEARE-SILENT-TRU-ART-AUTO-FLY-REEL-ITEM-1-/310289682319
The main trick would be tactics and knot-tying. In all probability your buddy will be limited on the knots until he gets at least the use of his hand back for gripping. He would need a buddy to fish close by to help out if he got tangled. Although, to tie on flies, he could try clamping some forceps to the back of the hook, then running the line through the eye, pinching the two ends together in his hand, and spinning the forceps by knocking them against his chest or chin. Once spun, he would be able, I think, with practice, to run the tag through and make a clinch knot, all one-handed.
Tactically I would focus on places where I could fish across-and-down with wooly buggers and soft hackles because that requires a set amount of line. I know for a fact that all the casting and fishing aspects can be done one handed because I’ve tried it. Stripping off line might be a challenge but he could secure the rod under his bad arm (like Jim Abbott used to do) and pull line with his good hand.
When fighting fish, the idea would be to horse the fish in by lifting the rod to bring the fish close, then using the spring to retrieve line as you drop the rod down.
Zach,
Now that I think of it I may have one of the old “automatic” reel floating around. Great idea though.
I wish the “Jim Abbot” approach were a viable option however there is absolutely no muscle activation in the “bad” arm. It is infact so bad that his shoulder has an open gap of 1-2″ and literally is just hanging on the muscles.Thanks for the info. When we get him on the water I’ll try to get some pictures up, although since the stroke he is funny about having his picture taken.
JOhnJohn, a friend of a friend is a mad fly fisherman and only has one arm.
While I’ve never personally fished with him, I hear he goes well on the trout.He has one of the auto wind reels like Zach posted above.
Another idea would be Tenkara because there’s no real.
It’s a very pleasing way to fish and a very simple set-up that doesn’t cost the earth.Tenkara USA have a great website with lots of video.
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
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