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Against All Odds

Author: J.T. Bennett
Ernest Hemingway and other pioneers of billfishing portrayed this activity as one requiring a macho dose of brute strength and mental toughness for success.

Bank Of America Investment You'll get no argument from Skip Wilkins, an angler who two years ago experienced for the first time the thrill of giant bluefin fishing in his home waters of North Carolina.

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Investment Opportunity "The strike is the thing," explains Wilkins. "It's awesome."

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Banc Of America Investment Sitting in the fighting chair of Capt. Bob Sumners' 51-foot Cannady sport-fisherman, 25 miles southeast of Hatteras Light, a Penn 130ST between his legs, Wilkins had no idea how hard a big tuna could pull. "I wasn't mentally or physically prepared, like I like to be when I'm competing," explains the decorated athlete.

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Banking Investment Wilkins had caught his share of kingfish, wahoo, dolphin, white marlin and yellowfin but says of the bluefin, "I didn't think I was going to be able to turn him, until finally the line started to inch back on the spool."

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Investment Solution Strategic "Inch by inch, anything's a cinch," the crew was chanting.

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Investment Banking Services Lacking the stop 'em or bust 'em power stroke and know-how of a Jo Jo Del Guercio, the first-time bluefin angler applied equal amounts of willpower and grit, wrestling the monstrous tuna to the stern of the For Playin', where it was tagged and released after 40 minutes' fighting time.

Bank Investment Wilkins' catch was no mean feat - especially when you consider that he's had limited use of his arms and no use of his legs for more than 30 years.

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Online Investment Services Missing the Boat

Accompany Essential Investment Like Wilkins, Capt. Sumners fishes in spite of his physical capabilities, not because of them. Sumners lost his left leg below the knee in a 1974 motorcycle accident, but he quickly realized having a disability is not the same as becoming disabled from life.

Investment Company "Losing a leg isn't that big a deal - it just makes things more challenging," says the Manteo, North Carolina, charter fishermen, who refers to himself as president of the Peg Leg Fishing Team.

Investment Management Solution Cancer, multiple sclerosis, heart attacks, stroke, polio, automobile accidents - a surprising number of incidents and illnesses can rob you of the strength and muscle power necessary to land a billfish, tuna or wahoo. Few people realize how common such injuries are, says disabled billfisherman Don Ek, quoting a study from the National Spinal Cord Association that suggests 20 percent of U.S. population, before age 65, will experience some kind of physical handicap lasting anywhere from six weeks to forever.

Investment Management Services Yet most who are handicapped don't see the potential joy and fulfillment that offshore fishing can bring.

Guide Investment Stock "I love taking people with disabilities out fishing," Sumners says, "but out of the 150 days a year I charter, only a half-dozen are with disabled fishermen, even though I know a lot more would be interested. Most don't realize it's safe and that there is equipment available that can help them catch anything that's out there."

Investment Manual Solution Electric-powered reels such as those made by Elec-Tra-Mate and Lindgren-Pittman are easily operated even by fishermen with severe spinal cord injuries. And with help from engineer Mike O'Herron, Sumners has created a device called the Geezer Gadget that makes it possible to pump and fight fish as large and tough as Wilkins' 550-pound bluefin tuna.

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Essential Investment Solution Accepting the Challenge

Citicorp Investment Services A quadriplegic ever since a water-skiing accident that took place three days before he graduated from high school with a fistful of track and football scholarships, Wilkins went on to complete college with a degree in psychology. He also became a para-Olympic record setter in shot-put, table tennis, biking and fishing. A sought-after inspirational corporate speaker, Wilkins writes in his autobiography The Real Race about how he overcame self-doubts and the disappointment of not becoming a professional athlete to become a successful human being who's "still enjoying the outdoors."

Fool Guide Investment Motley Catching a giant bluefin tuna is but one example.

Fidelity Investment Services "After my accident," says Wilkins, "I realized my body had changed, but I hadn't. My love affair with fishing started when I was 8 years old and was still burning strong after I got out of rehab. Even though I couldn't walk, I wanted to fish. The challenge for me was to figure how to do it."

Investment Management A year later he had.

Francisco Investment San Appearances on television shows such as Jerry McKinnis' Fishing Hole and Suzuki's Great Outdoors, both on ESPN, and on NBC's Today Show and PBS' Georgia Outdoors have shown the techniques Wilkins uses to pursue outdoor recreations such as fishing.

Mellon Investment Services Lacking the upper-body strength necessary to cast a fly rod, the avid fly fisherman started experimenting. He soon discovered that by lashing the fly rod to his arm with an elastic bandage, he could create an extension of his arm and make accurate casts. The more daunting task of feeding line to the fish was solved when he found that by holding the line gently in his teeth, he not only could cast but play and land a fish with little or no assistance.

Finance Investment "Once I found out I could do it on my own, I became a fanatic," says Wilkins.

Investment Manual Science Another passion, saltwater fishing, was realized with the purchase of a center-console boat, a few safety devices and some specialized fishing equipment.

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Guide Investment Made to accommodate anything from 20- to 130-pound tackle, reels made by Electric Fishing Reel Systems automatically retrieve fishing line with the push of a button. Invented 25 years ago by P.T. Huffman, the reel's whole purpose was to minimize wear and tear on fishermen dropping for grouper in deep water. As it's turned out, the reel has helped thousands of fishermen with limited strength continue to enjoy the sport, "which makes us very proud," says company president and Huffman's son Carl Huffman.

Chase Investment Services Coupled with standard Penn Reels and trolling or deep-jigging rods, Elec-Tra-Mates operate off 12-, 24- or 32-volt power, catching everything from grouper and snapper to blue marlin. In addition, Huffman can customize switching to suit the customer's needs. "We've made toggle switches people can operate with their teeth or by leaning their head against them."

Firm Investment The demand from disabled clients is growing tremendously with the aging of the baby boomers, says Huffman, who this fall was to introduce a line of electric devices for bait-casting and spinning reels.

Financial Investment Services The Geezer Gadget was designed to take over where Elec-Tra-Mate and other such electric reels leave off. The purpose of the Geezer Gadget is to offer mechanical assistance for holding the rod upright and for pumping. Designed for use with any conventional boat rod, the device works like a ratchet, says Sumners. The rod fits into the standard gimbal on a fighting chair. Once the butt is in the gimbal, everything changes. Instead of leaning down and reeling back, the fisherman pumps the fish by pushing against the rod. When this happens two powerful springs respond, returning the rod to its mechanically designed 80-degree position. From its upright position, no matter how hard the fish pulls, the rod can only move 18 degrees before returning to its upright location, allowing someone with no use of the legs to apply constant pressure.

Investment Securities Because the rod action is the opposite of what you are used to, it takes a few minutes to get used to the rhythm, says Wilkins, "but once you do, you can really use it to your advantage. Push, crank, retrieve. It's almost like having a set of Jo Jo Del Guercio's legs."

Property Investment Services Sumners has built a dozen Geezer Gadgets in the last year, which he has sold at his cost (about $225) to a handful of charter fishermen and a few disabled anglers. "I want to emphasize this is not a money-making business for me," Sumners says. "It's a way to give back, to help others experience the kind of fishing I've been blessed to enjoy.

Calculator Investment "Helping fishermen such as Skip Wilkins achieve his dreams of catching a giant tuna, and hopefully catching a big blue marlin in the future, has taught me to appreciate how lucky I am and how strong and resourceful wheelchair-bound people can be," Sumners says, "especially when faced with a dream."

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