Do what you love more and more often…

Every year I tell myself this summer I am going to fish more and fish more often. Every year I tell myself this summer I’m going to shoot more and shoot more often. The fact is, it seems like I have done less and less fishing and shooting the last few summers. But this year is going to be different.

I don’t think I have done open water fishing the last two summers for sure. I have been lucky enough to get out on the ice on a local lake a handful of times the last two winters. That doesn’t suck. But I love fishing so much I can’t waste another summer of not enjoying my line in the water waiting for that tug that we all crave.

The last handful of summers I always tell myself I’m going to shoot my rifles more often just to make sure I’m still on and I just love the aroma of used casing. If they would bottle that smell and use it as a cologne, I know what I would be wearing. I was lucky enough to draw a North Dakota turkey tag this Spring, so I will have to shoot my shotgun a couple times before the season.

During the summer I usually fish the local rivers in my area which consist of the Maple and Sheyenne. I usually don’t catch much but if I do it’s either a walleye, northern or bullhead. I have a couple holes in each river that I like to go to and also a couple bridges that I like to hang my line off of. We are lucky in Enderlin because our park board purchased a fishing pier that gets placed in Patrick Pierce Park on the banks of the Maple River right in town. That doesn’t suck. Thank you park board. Hopefully this summer I will be at these fishing spots more and more often.

Where I can go fishing is limited because I am in an electric wheelchair but this does not stop me from getting out there. Being limited to the spots I can get to doesn’t mean I don’t have the opportunity to catch fish; I just need to be more particular in the spots I can get in and out of. There have been numerous times I thought I was never going to get back up the banks of the river but my buddies would drag me through some pretty gnarly spots just to get my line in the water. Good times.

Years ago, I was gifted an electric fishing reel from some family members that got me fishing again after my accident. It works pretty slick. A friend made a rod holder that attaches to my chair and the reel’s battery cord goes from there to a battery that hangs in a bag from the back of my wheelchair. I cannot cast due to my limited arm movement but I usually just drop the line and start fishing unless one of my buddies’ casts for me.

Just like fishing, I have failed to get out and do more shooting during the summer. Every spring I tell myself I am going to shoot my Ruger 22, Tikka 270, Weatherby 12gauge and crossbow more often. I love shooting just at paper and am lucky that our local wildlife club’s shooting range is only a couple miles away.

Many years ago, I was gifted a rifle mount that attaches to my wheelchair from a friend. This thing does not suck. All of my rifles and shotgun work with this mount. It attaches to the wheelchair pretty quickly and my friends have gotten good at strapping down my guns in a hurry if needed. But always safe. The elongated trigger my friend made for me is really the key to all of these guns working for me. It doesn’t suck. It attaches straight to the trigger guard on each weapon and can even attach to my crossbow.

I love shooting my crossbow. It is a Carbon Express Intercept. It is built AR platform, meaning parts can be changed and taken off easily. My dad made my crossbow mount that attaches to my wheelchair with just one bolt. This also is pretty slick. I aim with my chin and pull the elongated trigger with my right arm, even though I have less movement in my right arm it somehow works better on that side. I was born right-handed but after my injury I have learned to do most things left-handed. But my left-handed writing looks like chicken scratch.

 I have had my newest crossbow for probably 10 years with no problems. It can easily shoot out to 70 yards but I only set up while hunting around 20 yards or even closer. For me there is nothing more fun than shooting an arrow. Hopefully this summer I will be shooting crossbows and guns more and more often.

I still do more in my position than most do in a wheelchair but I would like to do a lot more. No matter what our physical conditions are, we all want to do more fishing, shooting and hunting right? Nobody knows how much time they have left to do what they love. Don’t take it for granted.

So, I challenge myself and everyone reading this to get out there and do what you love to do more and do it more often this summer.

Thanks for reading, Clint.