BigBendFishing.Net

The Florida Disabled Outdoors Association (FDOA), local area Rotary clubs and the North Florida Gulf Fishing Club (NFGFC) will be hosting the tenth annual Hands Helping Anglers Fishing Day on Saturday, June 13. Anglers from FDOA are paired with volunteers (Note: you don’t have to be an NFGFC member to be a volunteer captain) who take them out to experience a day of fishing on our local waters. For many of these anglers from FDOA, this is the only day of the year that they have the opportunity to fish. There are approximately 20 anglers from FDOA signed up and so we need as many volunteer captains as we can get...I hope that each of you consider volunteering your time for this event. If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions, please post here or send me a PM. Thanks in advance for your help.

Who's in to help?
1) CC
2) Skip
3) Jumptrout51

I'd love to but I've got to be in New Orleans that weekend.

I'll be there.

I've been contacted by the Husband and Wife team that I've taken out the past 4 or 5 years. They've requested to go with me again this year.... talk about gluten's for punishment... So Count me in. Casey, I'll send you a PM with the details.

Who else is in? We need many more volunteer captains and mates! We've got 20 anglers who really want to fish and most won't get the opportunity to fish any other day this year...

Who's in to help?
1 - CC
2 - Skip
3 - Jumptrout51
4 - Tin Can
5 - Sir Reel
6 - FutchCairo
7 - Cleanlivin

HEY CASEY, I WILL BE GLAD TO HELP AGAIN IF I AM STILL AROUND, WHICH I PROBABLY WILL BE.
PA THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA

P.S. YOU WILL HAVE TO REMIND ME ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE.

Thanks PA! Who else can help?

Casey I would to help out, but I don't think my little disaster will be fixed by then. I believe I commited to fishing the ABC tournament (think it's that weekend) with some folks if the boat is fixed in time.

With all that said, if the boat is fixed and I don't have to fish that tournament then count me in.

captkeyser wrote:Casey I would to help out, but I don't think my little disaster will be fixed by then. I believe I commited to fishing the ABC tournament (think it's that weekend) with some folks if the boat is fixed in time.

With all that said, if the boat is fixed and I don't have to fish that tournament then count me in.

Thanks, Eric. I understand...if you hear of anybody that might be interested in helping out, send them my way.

Who else can help?

Any other volunteers? This is the only day of the year that these people get to fish...surely some more people can volunteer a little of their time and energy to help these folks out???

Casey I was looking forward to assisting as a mate again this year, but I'll be out of town that weekend. If anything changes I'll let you know.

Bill

How exactly does the day go? If one furnishes boat, tackle, etc., how many passengers and where do you fish out of.....Anky, St. Marks?
Starting time and how long do you stay on water....tides look good that day for an early start and enough water to come in most anytime during the day.
Any info appreciated!

RHTFISH wrote:How exactly does the day go? If one furnishes boat, tackle, etc., how many passengers and where do you fish out of.....Anky, St. Marks?
Starting time and how long do you stay on water....tides look good that day for an early start and enough water to come in most anytime during the day.
Any info appreciated!

Sure thing - sorry I didn't cover this earlier.

1) We look at the boat that the captain has and ask them how many folks they feel comfortable taking. Last year, I took an FDOA angler and his dad. His dad was there both to have a good time with his son, but also to help out on the boat. So to answer your question, assuming the captain owns a flats boat, it's usually one angler and one helper. If the boat is a pontoon or offshore boat, we might add one or two more anglers, but only if there is room / if the boat is safe. Safety is our first priority obviously.

2) You can fish wherever you like. Captains are able to launch at the Fort, Lighthouse and Shields for free. We also have a deal with the FWC where each Captain ties a piece of flagging tape to their boats antenna or console to let the FWC know that the boat is participating in the HHA event. The captains are given the information of the participants on the Wednesday before the event. Most talk with their anglers before the event to establish a meeting time and location. The Tallahassee area Rotary clubs are nice enough to provide transportation to and from the ramp / arranged meeting point. So, you could fish Econfina if your boat was there. We try to keep it in reason though...I'd say Econfina to Shell Point is about the East-West limits just for the drivers' sake.

3) Fish as short or long as you want. Last year we came in at about 11:30 because it got hot and looked like it might rain. Some folks stayed out there all day, but it's really up to the captain and angler to decide. Most come in around lunch time or when it gets hot though.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to PM me if you need more information or would like to talk over the phone.

CC

Brian and I are in!

I thought I'd have to do school work, but I made a good deal of dissertating progress this week--YES!

A nice article about HHA is on tdo.com and should appear in tomorrow's paper. It's not too late to volunteer!

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/2009 ... sabilities