Dave Magner sets out to give something back to the community by taking people with disabilities kayak fishing

Canoeing and kayaking have both played a big part of my life for a long time now. Over a fishing career that has spanned more than four decades, I’ve been lucky enough to sample so many diverse and wonderful experiences. I’ve used paddle powered craft to pursue everything from trout in the crystal clear waters of the upper Murray to hard fighting barramundi in both rivers and impoundments here in the Sunshine State, not to mention a whole host of saltwater species up and down the east coast of this beautiful country of ours. I guess you could say that fishing from paddle powered craft has been so good to me, that for a while now, I’ve been thinking about finding a way to try and give something back.
The trouble was, I simply didn’t know how to go about it. That was until a wonderful opportunity finally came along thanks to a chance enquiry on our local Canoe and Kayak Fishing website. A disability support group here in town was looking for someone to take people with disabilities kayak fishing. As I’m a learning support teacher who works with children with disabilities on a daily basis, it seemed like the opportunity was tailor made for me. Needless to say I made contact to find out what was involved.
Soon afterwards, I found myself sitting down with the boss of the support services who told me about his clients and how they just loved fishing but due to their disability, didn’t get the same opportunities to enjoy it as more able bodied anglers did. Now I could only imagine the frustration I would feel if I wasn’t able to organise my own fishing trips so right then and there I made a decision to get involved and help these young people. I wanted them to experience some of the amazing things I’ve been lucky enough to witness. The only issue was that despite all my experience, I had no formal qualifications and this was a problem insurance-wise.
Having made the decision to get some formal qualifications, I then had to find out how to go about it. I thought it would be a fairly simple process, but that’s not exactly how it turned out. Actually, there was a great deal more involved than I had ever imagined.

Fishing with mates makes the whole kayak experience even better. Especially when there are barra like this to be caught.

Rafting up is an essential safety skill when rescues are in progress.

Our instructor Martin Worth looking over a map in preparation for a trip. There is a lot more to planning a successful canoe or kayak trip than you probably realise.

First, I had to find someone who could provide the qualification I was looking for. Not knowing where else to start, I contacted the helpful guys at Sunstate Hobie to see if they could point me in the right direction. That turned out to be a good move, as they put me onto a gentleman by the name of Martin Worth, who runs an outdoor education business by the name of Worthwild.
After giving Martin at Worthwild a call to discuss what I wanted to do, he recommended I do the flat water Canoeing Guide component of the Certificate III in Outdoor Education. To complete this, I would need to undertake a whole range of written and practical assessments. As luck would have it, Martin was running a three day canoe and kayak course in the upcoming school holidays, so he sent me out a whole heap of homework to get started on and I soon found myself headed down to Sandgate on the north side of Brisbane to get into the actual paddling component.
GETTING PRACTICAL
I must admit that I really didn’t know what to expect when I arrived for day one of the course. I knew I had years of paddling experience behind me, but I’d never been taught any specific strokes or fancy techniques so I have always paddled the way that I know works for me. Also, most of my paddling time has been fishing orientated, which is a bit different to the sort of stuff you do when you are planning and guiding others on a dedicated canoe or kayak trip.
As it turned out, there was no need to worry. Martin proved to be a relaxed and humorous guy who loved a joke and obviously knew what he was talking about. He sat us down and we covered all the necessary safety aspects before letting us know what we were in for over the next couple of days.
After the necessary equipment checks, our group jumped into the canoes and kayaks and hit the water for our first session. First, we learned a couple of basic strokes and paddling techniques. Then we all had turns at capsizing our craft and undertaking what’s known as a deep water rescue. As the name implies, this is basically a safe way to get a capsised canoe or kayak back up the right way with all the water out of it without going back to shore. Of course, you need to get the paddler back onboard so things can be a bit tricky if you don’t know the right way to go about it.
We clocked up around a dozen kilometres on the water on that first day. When you add in all the capsizing and rescue work, there were a few tired bodies by the end of it. Still, I felt I’d got quite a bit out of the day. For homework, I had to create a paddle plan for the following day’s session. The plan would need to take into account the tides and all the other possible factors to make sure our trip would be safe.

This is the sort of experience only open to kayaks and canoes. Shallow water and sneaky little creeks are a delight for the senses.

DAY TWO
Thankfully, the second day of the course didn’t involve quite as much paddling as day one. This was mainly due to the fact that it took quite a bit longer to get on the water to begin with. Before we could start paddling, we needed to go through our paddle plans and check that we had included all the necessary components. Again, when you are responsible for the safety of others in your care, an effective paddle plan needs to be a lot more extensive than you probably realise, so there was a lot to get through.
We also had to go through our other written assignments to make sure everyone had a good understanding of the tides. Now I was right at home here, having a fishing background, but for some of the other younger students, this proved quite a challenge. I must admit, I did pick up some valuable little hints even from this part of the course which will even help me on future fishing trips.
Of course, if you are taking inexperienced paddlers out, you need to be aware of just how much impact the tide or current can have on your rate of travel. On the bigger tides, you can actually go almost three times as fast as on still water. This sounds great until you have to turn around and paddle back against that same current. It can be all too easy to end up running out of daylight and getting stranded somewhere.
After all the checks, we got out on the water and test-drove our paddle plans. It was quite interesting to see how accurate they were. I managed to get mine pretty right which was a relief. With some more rescue practice under our belts, it was time to head back to base so we could go over some more assessment tasks.
To round out the day, we covered some basic navigation skills. I’ve got a Coxswain’s ticket so I found this pretty straightforward. I already knew how to use a compass and the difference between True North, Grid North and Magnetic North and all that sort of stuff, but again, this was relatively new information to some of the younger students.

Fish like this bass are why the author spends so much time in his Hobie.

DAY 3
Our final day was another big day on the water. Before starting, we went over our paddle plans and made sure everything was in order. Today’s trip included a portage to a nearby creek. We also had to check our plans along the way with a compass to make sure we had everything correct and we took timings to make sure our estimates were pretty close. We also covered some other rescue and assistance techniques.
Before returning, we had to show that we could swim at least 50 metres. That doesn’t sound too hard until you realise it’s fully clothed in a tidal creek and we were dog tired after a big paddle and portage. While I’m no Ian Thorpe or Grant Hackett in the water, I managed it okay. I’m just grateful that the tide wasn’t flowing any harder.
To finish off the course, we covered some of the basics of transporting canoes and kayaks. I’m fortunate that my old man spent a lot of time teaching me knots like the truckies hitch and so forth when I was just starting out but I still did learn a couple of new things, like an improved clove hitch and the highwayman’s hitch. I can see plenty of potential uses for both these knots so it was yet another valuable session.
LOTS OF BENEFITS
Now I know most readers will never find themselves in a situation where they need any formal qualifications; however, even for us fisho’s I can see a lot of benefits from getting some training under our belts. Just the rescue drills alone could help save a life one day (possibly your own). While learning how to create a paddle plan and navigate off a map would be a real boon if you ever wanted to do an extended float trip. Of course, you really can’t fish effectively in saltwater if you don’t understand the tides and in a kayak, the strength and stage of the tide can really impact on your ability to access different locations and then get back safely again.
While I still have a few more written assessments to complete before I’ll be fully qualified, I’m glad I went to the effort of undertaking the course. I know that I got a lot more out of it than I ever thought I would and I know I’ll use a lot of it in my day to day fishing activities. I also know that I’ll feel a lot more confident taking people out with me once I finally start working with these young people with disabilities. After all, that’s why I started on the course in the first place. As this article is being written, I’m in the process of meeting the staff and ironing out any possible issues before we start planning our first trip. I know I’m going to really enjoy helping these guys to get out on the water. There are just so many wonderful sights, sounds and experiences to be had while fishing from a kayak that I can’t wait to share it with them.
Dave Magner is a keen angler who relishes the freedom and flexibility that fishing from canoes and kayaks brings. While he’ll chase anything with fins, he has a real passion for our native and imported freshwater species.

A deepwater rescue in process. Getting the water out and the paddler back in is what it’s all about.