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Lions’ fishing trip for the blind another success
By Sandy Dickson
    
The Winthrop Harbor Lions Club did it again—something else that made people happy and fulfilled the club’s goal to do yet another good turn and be a blessing to others. They do it all the time—that’s their purpose.

This time it was their annual fishing trip for the blind, which took place Saturday, August 4 from North Point Marina on Lake Michigan. Some guests were totally blind, others partially sighted but considered legally blind. They joined the fishing expedition from Blind Outdoor Leisure Department (B.O.L.D) from the Milwaukee area. In addition, there were special needs guests from North Pointe Resource Center in Zion. The group totaling 21 (12 of whom were blind) split up among 6 small chartered fishing vessels with a volunteer aboard each from either the Lions or North Pointe Resource Center.

It was a great day for it with a slight but non-threatening cloud-cover so no one got sunburned. The lake was fairly calm so no one got sick. And the fish were biting so no one got disappointed.

The captain of each boat took off to depths of about 120 feet and three or four miles out. He mounted fishing rods, all donning colorful lures (no bait, just lures) from about 10 positions on his boat. Between watching the gauges on his boat such as depth finder, fish finder and whatever else all those little screens are for, and steering as well as watching the rods for signs of a bite, he kept pretty busy. In addition, he was in constant communication with captains of other fishing boats to learn where the fish were biting. If one location didn’t seem to have any hungry fish, the boats moved on to another. The fishermen-for-a-day sat and chatted until the captain’s trained eye saw a line move in a certain tell-tale direction, then he yelled, “Fish!”

The guests took turns getting up to reel them in by being guided to the rod with the action and shown to the reel. It was exciting for them and each fish was a beauty. Most of the fish averaged upwards of 12 pounds and salmon was the most frequent catch. At the end of the 4-hour jaunt, the day’s catch was cut up by each captain and divided among the fisherman in plastic bags. The guests were treated to a picnic after the boats docked. Each guest was given a medal for participation and there was a special medal given to the person who landed the biggest fish, which, that day, was a 17-pound king salmon.

A facilitator at North Pointe Resource Center said the group came back very excited and jubilant about the experience. Those who had also gone in prior years always look forward to the experience and find it a real high point.

So, good job, Lions Club of Winthrop Harbor, for another successful altruistic venture that put smiles on faces and in hearts!   

Copyright © 2007 Sandy Dickson. All rights reserved.