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Rods and Reels on Wheels " might have to spend the rest of my life sitting down, but I won't sit still" —Ronald Smith, Iowa PVA
STORY BY P.J. PEREA The Paralyzed Veterans of America Vaughan Chapter from Hines, Illinois, hosted the Fourth Annual Lincoln Bass Tournament at Rend Lake May 4-6. This is the second consecutive year that Rend Lake was chosen to host the competition. The tournament is the third stop on the PVA National Fishing Tournament Trail. Anglers with various mobility impairments from 23 states fished in the tournament. The Illinois Bass Federation provided 68 boat captains to fish with the PVA anglers. The three-day event began at the Friday night team-pairing reception, where the PVA anglers were randomly teamed up with able-bodied partners. The partners served as teammates during the team portion of the tournament on Saturday and acted as fishing guides during the individual competition on Sunday. Both the able-bodied angler and PVA angler were eligible for prizes, which included a Ranger Bass Boat for the top PVA angler. PVA anglers, unable to fish from a boat or preferring to fish from the shore, also had the option of fishing in an open bank fishing division. Disabilities aside, this was a fishing contest, and it would prove to be just as intense as any bass fishing competition on the nationwide BASS circuit. Geoff Hopkins, national PVA associate director of sports, commented on the event: "I'm really impressed with Rend Lake. The facilities are wonderful and easily accessible for all our anglers. We look forward to returning to Rend Lake in 2002" Hopkins explained that the PVA Bass Trail is one of more than 40 sport and recreation programs that is available to anyone with disabilities, not just to paralyzed veterans. "We're all like one big family," noted Hopkins who pointed out that volunteers from each of the 34 nationwide PVA chapters take turns helping out at the regional PVA Bass Trail competitions. Ronald Smith, assistant sports director of the Iowa PVA chapter, is one of the volunteers who's closely watching the Illinois PVA event. "I'd like to see Iowa host a major PVA bass tournament next year at Lake Okaboji," Smith said. "I'm very impressed with what the Vaughan PVA chapter has done with this tournament in the past four years. Tom and Mary Mansfield and the chapter do a million little things to make it happen." "Letting the disabled public know that the PVA exists is very important because when you first get hurt, you feel robbed. You feel like I can't do this and I can't do that.' After my experience with the PVA, what I learned is the only thing I can't do is get up and walk." Tom Mansfield, outdoor sports and recreation director of the Vaughan Chapter, was pleased with the turnout and praised the efforts of the many volunteers and sponsors that came to assist with the tournament, including members of DNR's divisions of Fisheries, Land Management and Law Enforcement; the Illinois National Guard; the Illinois Bass Federation; and the Sesser-Valier Outdoorsman Club.
PVA angler Jim Goldman of Wayne City positions his
"The Sesser-Valier Outdoorsman Club, ran by high school biology teacher Gene Morgan, is assisting for the second year in a row. I think it's wonderful that these kids give up their weekend to help out," Mansfield said. "The guys really look forward to fishing this tournament. They'll go out, and ultimately their boat partners have to convince them to come in." Four Illinois anglers vying for the top spots on the PVA trail, Bill Lindbeck, LaVon Zeigler, Jim Goldman and Zygmunt (Ziggy) Tkaczenko, are an inspirational sampling of the stories each of the 78 PVA anglers brought to the Rend Lake competition. Lindbeck of Wheaton has fished the tour since 1997. "When I first joined the tour, I got lucky and won a bass boat in Georgia," he said. Lindbeck's Rend Lake strategy to catch big bass was to work top-water baits such as buzzbaits and poppers. Unfortunately, Lindbeck's luck wasn't great for the first day of the tournament. His boat partner unexpectedly did not show up. A Marion angler, David Zeigler, was fishing at Rend Lake that day and agreed to take Lindbeck out. Two hours behind the rest of the field, the two anglers missed the bulk of the early morning bite. They landed a number of bass, but none made the 12-inch minimum. Zeigler had personal commitments the next day and could not take Lindbeck out. On day two, one the tournament volunteers, Illinois National Guard specialist J.T Strain, took Lindbeck out for the individual competition. The two gambled that the bass had moved up one of the many creeks feeding the lake. After a long boat ride up a winding creek channel, they met up with about 15 other PVA competitors who were on the same wavelength. "And nobody was catching any fish," Lindbeck said. Despite the disappointing finish, Lindbeck emphasized that he enjoyed himself and was grateful to the two men that came to his rescue during the tournament. Zeigler (no relation to David Zeigler) of Glen Ellyn is a 12-year heart transplant survivor and has fished for four years on the PVA Bass Trail. Zeigler felt that fishing the Rend Lake tournament was so important that he scheduled his kidney dialysis so he could be there for the entire event.
Zeigler's strategy on Rend Lake bass was to fish spinnerbaits in shallow water, especially around the numerous brush piles that dotted the shorelines. Zeigler's strategy paid off as he and his partner, Charlie Cutting of Pekin, managed to boat three nice bass on the first day. While it did not place the twosome in the running for the team tournament, Zeigler was just happy to be out on the water. Goldman of Wayne City is an inspiration to all the able anglers that see him fish. Even the disabled anglers look up to him with some awe. Goldman has the distinction of being the only PVA angler without arms. He can back a truck down a ramp, launch and trailer his boat, drive his boat to a spot, cast a fishing rod, reel and work lures, hook and battle the fish, and lip and unhook bass just as well as any seasoned bass angler. He just does everything with his feet. The ironic thing about Goldman joining the PVA fishing tour is that he originally joined as a boat partner, but changed over to disabled status when he found out that the PVA anglers won better prizes. Tkaczenko, a resident of Bartlett, fished his first PVA bankfishing tournament in Rend Lake. He is the Shooting Sports Chairman of the Vaughan PVA Chapter. One of the younger members of the PVA tour, he is also an avid hunter, having successfully harvested deer and bear in past seasons. Tkaczenko hopes to harvest an elk in a future
hunt. He is also very active in wheelchair sports, such as softball, full-contact football, floor hockey and archery. An avid fisherman since he was three-years old, Tkaczenko recognized the light bites of the shore-roaming crappie in his fishing area and downsized his rigs to signal the whisper-like bites. Crappie after crappie fell for his finesse technique, and his tactic paid off as he shot up to third place in standings after the first day of fishing.
A second-day surge of catfish catches for other anglers slowly eroded Tkaczenko's placement in the standings. He managed to finally land a catfish and finish in the money in fifth place. "Not bad for a first time competitor using gear I picked up at the local Walmart," Tkaczenko said. "I did not plan on fishing this tournament. It was a last-minute decision."
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