THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 5, 1996 TAG: 9609050397
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WENDY GROSSMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 74 lines
Tony Simmons, 38, ran his thumb down the fishing line to the silvery croaker he couldn't see. By touch, he worked the fish off his hook and flung it back into the James River.
Simmons, an avid fisherman, was one of 40 blind people who boarded the Coast Guard's Cutter Kennebec Wednesday morning for the Portsmouth and Churchland Lions Club's 26th annual fishing trip.
``You forget about being blind when you're fishing,'' Simmons said. ``Your blindness doesn't get in the way.''
The annual trip was started by the late Bruce Braham, a blind Lion and civilian employee with the Coast Guard. He talked an admiral into taking a group of blind men fishing, and they've been going ever since, said Harold Taylor, president of the Portsmouth Lions Club.
On Wednesday, the Lions Club members baited most of the hooks and untangled the lines for the anglers. But some, like Simmons, know the feel of the line when they've got a bite.
His muscles know how far to cast into the salt water. He knows to bob the line up to attract the fish. He knows how to ease them gently out of the water so they don't get away.
It takes skill, Simmons said. And he's got it. Not only did he nab the first fish, but he reeled in more than anyone else on the trip.
Simmons took a fresh piece of squid from Duckie Wainwright's paper cup and rebaited the hook.
Three days a week, you can find Simmons fishing off the pier at 414 East Ocean View Ave. But most blind fishermen in the area only get this one time to fish each year.
``It's hard to find a sighted guy to go out with ya,'' said Nelson Malbone, 68, a blind Lion.
That's how it is for Wayne Spivey, 51. As long as he can remember, he and his dad went fishing at Nags Head every couple of weeks. But when his dad died 10 years ago, Wayne and his mother, Cornelia, got rid of the boat. So now the two fish with the Lions.
Rufus Benton, 86, has come just about every year. He was so excited he woke up at 2 a.m. Wednesday and lay awake the rest of the night, listening to the radio and thinking about the fish he was going to catch.
Unfortunately, they weren't biting too well this year. Line after line came up empty.
Maybe it was the rain and wind that kept the fish out of Hampton Flats.
``You won't get enough to feed one person out here today,'' said Mary Jones, a volunteer, sitting on a metal picnic bench beside fish guts and soda cans. ``It's the deadest I've seen it.''
Jesse Olds caught a crab. Carlton White hooked a flounder. And Rufus Benton nabbed a blue bass.
Jack Lorber, a Lion, brought Jones's catch over to a fisherman known as Hurricane Edwards.
``That's Moby Dick,'' Edwards chuckled, running his hand up and down the footlong fish.
There were only seven fish in the group's bucket at the end of the day.
``It doesn't matter if they catch any fish or not,'' said Pete Darden, 78. ``This gives them a chance to get together, laugh, joke and talk. That's more important - most of them aren't going to see each other for another year.''
Simmons caught 13 fish. He threw back most of them. The rest he chopped up for bait.
A couple of silver spot flopped in the rainwater on the metal table before Simmons sliced them up and hung them on his line. On the other side of the boat, Jack Proctor, a seasick Lion, was swallowing Dramamine and dry crackers.
``We gotta stop by the fish market,'' Edwards announced. ``I told my wife I was gonna catch her a fish.''
At 4 p.m., his hands bloody, Simmons tossed back his last silver croaker. He lit a cigarette, took a drag and settled down for the ride back.
It began to rain. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by WENDY GROSSMAN
Rufus Benton, 86, second from left, hasn't missed a chance to wet
his line in 26 years, thanks to the Coast Guard and the Portsmouth
and Churchland Lions Club's annual excursion. by CNB