Achievable Concepts produces some excellent helpers for physically challenged anglers.

Fishing Harness: The harness goes around the waist and over your shoulders with adjustable straps. You cast, then put the pole into the holder that’s attached to the straps. It holds the rod while you can turn the reel, and pull that big one in one-handed.

Strong Arm: This leather forearm wrap-around lets you hold the rod without much hand strength or grip. It essentially straps the handle to your forearm. You can be one with the fishing pole, as it’s an extension of your arm.

The Strikefighter: This is another great product for those with limited use or no use of one hand. It comes in a sitting or a standing model. The Strikefighter holds the rod for you while you run the reel with one hand, but it’s more than just a rod holder. The special thing about this adaptive fishing gear is that you can actually move the rod while you’re reeling in the fish, if you can move your legs. It straps around your waist with a part of it going down to one leg. Shift your weight from foot to foot, lift up that leg and you can actually play with the fish you’re reeling in and come very close to simulating what you would do if you were holding the rod. Someone in a wheelchair could get a similar effect by raising that leg up a little.

Ty-All: This little device assists fisherman in tying knots. It can be used by anyone but is especially helpful for people who need to tie on lures one-handed.

Fishing Pole Holder: This fishing pole holder clamps directly onto a wheelchair, whether it’s a standard or a sports wheelchair, and can also be used on a fishing chair, lawn chair and whatever chair you choose to sit in and fish. It’s a handy holder for when nothing’s biting, but it’s also good for holding the rod while you reel in a fish.

Electra-Mate: This electric fishing reel is designed for adaptive fishing for people who need to be able to reel in with the push of a button. The 312HS weighs less than 30 ounces  and costs less than $400. It’s designed to power the Penn 320GTi.  The THE450-PTH is designed for the Penn 4500 SS and 5500 SS Spinfisher Spinning Reels and costs less than $300. For either model, a $120 battery pack is required, as well as your own Penn. Both these models have remote, waterproof, push-button control, they’re fine to use for both freshwater and saltwater sportfishing, and they can be attached very quickly. They let you set the drag, play the fish and reel it in one -handed.

Where the Electra-Mate really stands out among electric reels and electric fishing reel systems is in the light weight and design. Others like a Daiwa electric fishing reel or a Shimano electric reel are designed more for bottom fishing and dragging heavy fish up through hundreds of feet of water. The Electra-Mate was designed with the disabled angler in mind, so it has all the features you’d want in an affordable solution for one-handed fishing.

The OH 4

Another great product that’s not fishing specific but could certainly come in handy on a fishing trip is the wheelchair cup holder from OH 4 Industries.

This cup holder will fit almost any wheelchair, stadium chair, or any chair that has an armrest. Because it’s not designed to fit just one style, it’s easy to put on and take off with velcro straps and foam grip pads. It’s less than $30, shipping included, and has more to offer than just about any cup holder I’ve ever seen.

Because of its slotted design it can hold coffee cups with handles on the side just as easily as cans, glasses or bottles. They’ve even thought about those sweating containers by leaving the bottom partially open. You won’t have to mop condensation out of the bottom of the OH 4 wheelchair cup holder.

For the handicapped fisherman (or fisherwoman), this can just make fishing with a beverage (is there any other kind of fishing?) a little bit easier. Then the one that got away won’t have gotten away because you had a cup or can in your hand. Of course, that might mean you have to come up with another excuse for why you didn’t bring in a record fish, but for some people, that’s half the fun.

Electric fishing reels and electric fishing reel systems make easier work of hauling in those big ones. That’s not to say that when you’re fishing, electric reels make it EASY. You still have to know what you’re doing and have a familiarity with your fishing tackle. Your magical and masterful fishing technique still comes into play. You just don’t have to have the power to crank the reel to pull the fish in.

Electric fishing reels are good for deep sea fishing and situations where you expect to have a lot of weight on the end of the line. Some of the top brands are Daiwa electric fishing reels and Shimano electric fishing reels. They’re especially useful for bottom fishing, where you expect to have to pull a lot of weight a long distance. Even smallish weights can exhaust your hand, wrist and forearm thanks to the drag you experience over a long distance. Pulling a 20 pound fish up through about 20 feet of water can be taxing if the fish has a lot of fight. But pulling a 20-pound fish up through 800 or 900 feet of water is best done with an electric reel.

And anyone can suffer from hand and wrist fatigue after hitting a great spot and pulling in large fish after whopper after doozie, or while shark fishing. If you have issues with hand and arm strength or an injury, these electric reels can take the pressure off while letting you still enjoy some time fishing. Some of the most heavy duty reels can add some weight to your rod, though, and can be a slight challenge to cast if you have strength issues. You may end up with some muscled forearms and biceps just from casting them. Fortunately, the battery packs are separate and not also hooked onto the rod. Or soon your arm would be so muscular you wouldn’t need that electric reel, even if you hooked a small whale.

Electric Fishing Reels for the Handicapped

There are some electric reel manufacturers who also produce electric fishing reels for the handicapped anglers or those who have difficulty gripping and cranking a standard reel. These reels that are designed for adaptive fishing tend to weigh less than those designed for deep sea fishing trips, to make it easier for anyone to cast them. You do want to take care at first because the added weight on the rod may be an issue still.

It doesn’t matter how heavy or light the catch might be. For those whose physical limitations prevent them from being able to crank a reel or pull in a fish on their own, electric fishing reels can let them enjoy fishing without having to ask for help or have someone take over when they’ve reached the most exciting part–pulling in the day’s catch.

Adaptive Fishing Rods

Fishing rods for electric reels for the handicapped are typically just standard rods. Most electric fishing reels can be mounted on almost any rod, though a few manufacturers create them for specific rods. Some fishing rods for the handicapped are adaptive, and make it easy for people who have trouble gripping, or who have only one hand, to enjoy fishing. Manufacturers realize that not all disabled anglers will use electric reels, but may not be able to hold a rod and crank a reel at the same time, so they’ve created rod holders that allow people to handle rods hands-free. On this listing of adaptive fishing equipment and rods for disabled anglers you can find some of the more popular rod styles used in adaptive fishing today like the Electra-Mate.

There are a number of electric fishing reels for sale today to help everyone enjoy fishing. These reels come in a variety of prices ranges and sizes, depending on the ways they’ll be used. New electric fishing reels start at around $500 and only zoom up from there, so they are an expense but a worthwhile one if you enjoy fishing.

Budget Electric Fishing Reels for Sale

For those with a small budget, used electric fishing reels are a good option. Look at places like eBay and online discount fishing stores. You can find almost anything in the world you could possibly want at eBay. But if you want to pay as little as possible and actually win the item you want, read these tips on winning fishing equipment on eBay. You’ll raise your chances of getting a really great deal.

Another less expensive option is to find a converter. You can find some companies like Fish Winch that sell electric fishing reel drives for about $300 that will convert a variety of Shimano reels, Penn and Daiwa reels into electric fishing reels.

*Kids and Fish

By the way, kids and fishing go together well, and for smallish, sleight kids who want to go after regular-sized fish, the idea’s sometimes kicked around to use electric equipment. But the reels cost hundreds of dollars, and most kids I’ve gone fishing with, including myself when I was of the young persuasion, are perfectly happy with a stick, a string and a hook on the end of it. Just get some light sport fishing tackle, or yes, a plain old cane fishing pole, and they will have fun. If they catch a fish bigger than they are, you can always just grab their ankles.

Photo: gnr