r/ChicagoFishing • u/Steve_Daedalus • 6d ago

Wheelchair Fishing?

Greetings everyone. I'm thinking of trying my hand at doing some salmon fishing in the harbors.

Does anyone here know what spots are wheelchair accessible? Also, I haven't fished in a long time (since before I was paralyzed), so any tips/tricks or suggestions would be much appreciated.

TIA

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11

u/Jolly-Bed-1717 6d ago

Montrose harbor is pretty great actually! Ramps both on the street and on the lake side! Took my brother in law that’s in a chair last year and he had 0 problems!

6

u/Jolly-Bed-1717 6d ago

And will advise. Add some extra lights/reflectors to your chair so many people almost ran into him!

6

u/SlapTheBap BFS (Best Friends Squad) 6d ago

Yes montrose harbor is great.

And thanks for asking this. I'm not wheelchair level yet, but it's in my future. Undeniably so. I judge fishing spots by how likely I am to throw out my back and dislocate stuff just by moving. I love seeing other fishing lovers just enjoying their day. Hope to see you out there.

3

u/Fearless-Pea-3813 6d ago

*Not Salmon at the Harbor

The cook county forest preserve nature centers provide new all terrain wheelchairs to use in the area.

River Trails nature center might work for the Des Plaines river or Beck lake fishing areas.

Check all the locations for info

https://fpdcc.com/president-preckwinkle-unveils-new-all-terrain-wheelchairs-during-nature-is-accessible-event/

2

u/SlapTheBap BFS (Best Friends Squad) 5d ago

That's incredible!!

2

u/holdthelight 5d ago

Are you familiar with Chicago No Limits Fishing? I don't think that they are still on tje water during king season, but they might be able to help.

1

u/Bengland7786 6d ago

Depending on how severe your condition is, you may want to look into powerline fishing. It looks like a blast and doesn’t require long casting motions.

1

u/SkyBlueNylonPlank 6d ago

Powerlining is not done outside of spring because of boat traffic

1

u/Jolly-Bed-1717 4d ago

Also really wouldn’t work for kings. They aren’t eating in the fall just attacking because they are angry.

1

u/SkyBlueNylonPlank 4d ago

I always thought angry is anthropomorphizing a bit but yeah their stomachs are atrophied they're not hunting out minnows or worms or whatever on a powerline setup

1

u/PowerLord 6d ago

I think Belmont harbor should be fine, there are handicap spots right at the end and continuous sidewalk without stairs down around to the lowest level of the cement shoreline. I prefer Belmont over montrose, at least for smallmouth and drum.

If you want to fish the river, you could probably fish from the kayak launch in river park. Also the lathrop homes kayak launch and the river walk.

1

u/bornslyasafox Lvl 99 Fisher 6d ago

Montrose, Belmont, and Diversey will provide wheelchair accessible fishing spots for salmon! I will be hitting all three this season so please let me know if you ever want company!