Handicap Access at Twenty Mile

Sounds like it was made for you! Hope you catch a bunch!

I just looked this up, and it looks like it is on the east side of the creek, which used to be private land.  I haven't been down there this year, health problems.  Is there access to the creek from the east side now?  

I would HOPE that an able bodied person who was fishing that spot would IMMEDIATELY move if thy saw someone who truly needed it.

Dano wrote;
 
"It's on on the west bank below the concrete slabs. From way up there, you get a nice birds eye view of the fishermen"
 
I may just go and check it out the next time I come up.  I was up last Sunday but was unaware of the Handicap Access.  I was at Twenty Mile and everyone must of been down near the mouth.  There were 22 cars in the parking lot at 5:00 p.m. and not a single fisherman in sight but me! Kind of hate standing shoulder to shoulder.  Would prefer to be alone and maybe catch one fish than contend with a bunch of other guys and catch 10.

cdcaddis
Indsguiz wrote;
 
"Of course you do realize that if there is Any Type of good fishing from there the place will be over-run with "Handicapped" people who could just as easily fish in normal ways. But since it will make fishing easier  everybody will be handicapped. Or the phrase "I didn't know"  will become very much in use."
 
I never thought of that because I would hope the Handicap-Accessible area would not be abused by able bodied anglers.  I guess that is naïve of me! I should of thought that through longer.  I often see very able bodied people parking in Handicap Only parking spots in supermarkets and other establishments.  In PA not only do you have to display the handicap placard off of your rearview mirror but if challenged you need to be able to present a special card that includes your name and the identical number found on the placard.  I have often been unable to park because some yahoo who can walk very well has chosen to use a family members placard because they are too darn lazy to park in a less convenient parking space.  
 
I guess it wouldn't be any different for some low life types to all of a sudden be "handicapped" so they can avail themselves of the Twenty Mile access.  It would be easy for a WCO to challenge and check anglers to see if in fact they have a legitimate right to fish on the handicap platform.  I just can't walk on uneven ground for more than a very short distance before I feel like a fall is imminent.

To me, the bar should be 1) A physician or other authorized healthcare provider has issued THE FISHERMAN a Handicapped pass for their vehicle, and 2) THE FISHERMAN does not feel safe/physically able to fish elsewhere.  As long as you have the pass issued for you, WCO should have no recourse.
 
It's 2018 and people are as self centered and judgmental as at any time in our history, so those who are not wheel chair bound will absolutely be called out by someone who thinks that they are more deserving of that spot. Ultimately, it's between you, your healthcare provider, and your maker as to your real need for this privilege.
 
Having said that, I'm sure it will be abused. I personally have seen adult men stand 50 feet upstream from a children's section of a stream stocked w breeders, float their bait down into the children's section, catch said 20" breeder Rainbow, and then take exception with those who call them on it for catching the kids' fish.
 
Heck, I may have even snarkily offered them a $20 to go buy on from the local grocery store if they need fish that badly:-) 
 
The reality is that if it's good water in front of/below this 'platform', there will be guys who could absolutely fish elsewhere who will abuse this good deed.
 
But, no one should feel guilty about using it, even if not wheelchair bound, if their Doc/provider says they need to.
 
 

I was up there the last weekend in September, and will be back this thursday through saturday. I saw this, but it was still roped off at the time.

Got no problem with this idea, but how are you going to get a fish up there? 

Speaking of scooters, won't be long before the PFBC will be required to provide those. Then the no-loads who don't need them can run the battery down and leave it parked without plugging the charger in for the next no-load.

😱 ohhhh the thought of hearing beep, beep, beep, as you fish the tribs.

If Northeast Twp. PA. is responsible for overseeing use of the handicapped fishing area(s) whyyyy not give Northeast Twp a call, regarding the specifics.

http://northeasttwp-org.w...elephoneDirectory.aspx

Making access to any form of fishing for those with limited mobility is such a super idea and the people who take the time to get such a project completed should always receive a hearty thank you, for their efforts.

I've watched and heard the excitement, many times, coming from the pier at Wilhelm as fish were being caught by those bound to a wheel chair, scooter, etc. There also is a no boat zone around the pier which I find to be great.

However, I also see some of the same people legally using the pier, fishing from the bank of the lake, in non-handicapped accessible areas.

Should there be laws regarding to what degree, a handicap might be? Based on where, when, and how?

Good times and tight lines.

Bring a long net. Or you will be climbing down boulders to net your fish. 

The PFBC has good intentions when they erect handicap fishing accesses but often the logistics of getting a good drift or landing a fish is pretty much impossible.  There is a handicap wheelchair accessible platform on Spring Creek in Centre County.  It is situated in a very shallow run with virtually no bottom structure or cover.  I have never seen an angler use it nor have I ever seen a fish anywhere near it.
 
It is hard to provide handicap access to good water when the stream is in typical wooded terrain.  It is much easier to have success when the access can be designated along a concrete wall like at the mouth of Walnut.  The east side of the Legion Pool on Elk would make a great handicap access.  Great holding water with relatively easy access, except for all the mud, from the parking lot.  I guess it is more feasible at lakes and ponds where there may already be docks.

rsquared
There's also a new-fish deck on Elk at the Rick Road access.  
 
These are really nice ideas, but don't seem very practical.  The one on Rick Rd. sits high above the water, and I don't know how you'd get a drift unless Elk was at flood stage. 
 

Speaking of practical ....I see no job john potties at Rick Rd. like in the past , seemed they were very practical for fishermen. Once again the Fish Commish fails.   

cdcaddis
Thank you for all the helpful posts and comments.  I really appreciate them.  If any posters live in NE PA and would ever want to float with me in my Hyde I would welcome you for a float on the main stem or West Branch. I've closed my cabin on the WB for the season but God willing (I just learned Monday I have four blood clots in my left leg) PM me in mid April and if I'm still walking this earth hopefully we can get together.  I was able to fish the east side parking lot pool on the Chautauqua last week by sitting on the rocks that NYS thoughtfully placed all along the east bank.  The stream was colored but I didn't touch a fish.  Canadaway was blown out and it poured all the way to the Catt and it too was blown out.
 
I have fished the Missouri River in Montana for about 23 years. This year it was too high to wade so I spent a week in Dillon hobbling along the grassy banks of some of the local streams. After about a week I drove back to the Missouri and rented a drift boat for five days and was able to find a few rising fish.
 
The pictures were taken before my injury.
 
 

awesome 👌 I loved fishing the mighty mo! The scenery was beautiful. Found myself just sitting and taking it all in when the guide would ask me if I was going to fish..lol

rsquared wrote;

"I agree with ya on that caddis.  I can't imagine what it'd be like to experience a long term or permanent disability and not have access to good fishing areas that you once had access to.  Sounds like you experienced something that may heal up in the future, and I do hope and pray that the healing comes sooner rather than later so you can get back to being mobile." 

Up until September 22 of 2017 I led a "normal" walking life for 74 years.  I have fished since I was 12 years old and fly fished for sixty years.  I used to be able to wade virtually anywhere.  Even as I got older I still waded waist deep in moderate flows and would cross swifter water thigh deep. My injury was to the sciatic nerve in both legs.  I hurt myself while in my bass boat on the Susquehanna trying to lift the motor out of the water because it was stuck on a rock. When the pain finally went away after three months I was left being unable to walk without a walker.  As time went by my walking improved a bit and no longer needed the walker but had to use cane. Now I am legally permanently disabled and can't walk very far (actually hobble very far) without my cane.
 
Being unable to walk "normally" is about the worst thing that can happen to someone who had always been active outdoors and on the water. I can no longer wade anything deeper than my knees for fear of falling.  I can still cross narrow and shallow streams because I use a wading staff. I just know my limitations and use my head. I think I will still be able to fish the Legion Pool on Elk if my buddy helps me cross if the flow is safe. There are a few other pools on Elk where I feel I can still enjoy myself and access is not too bad.
 
Luckily for me my wife and I own a nice little cabin on the West Branch of the Delaware.  It is situated on a really good pool with lots of wild trout.  I bought a drift boat twenty years ago but never really used it that much because I preferred to wade.  This year I used it more than ever because I typically float with a friend of sixty years who launches the boat and we have a grand time floating the river, reminiscing about all the great times we have had over the past sixty years and casting to rising trout. I've attached a couple pictures of myself and my long time fishing buddy.

Gentlemen,  There are a lot of good suggestions and advice on here.  Now I fished the tribs for years, but I lost a leg in Feb 2016 and have been in a chair since then.  Access is a difficult thing.  For me, I'd like to see a Concrete Jetty at trout run, marked Handicapped wheelchair access only.  It could be on the side where the pig pen was. with an access bridge over trout run.  Wouldn't interfere with the waders, and could be built with about 2 - 3 feet of water clearance (like the erosion piers).  I try to fish normally in my chair but it's very hard.
 

Hi Captain Hook,
 
I've got hundreds of stories and loads of pictures but don't want to be boorish about my exploits. But I do enjoy fish porn as much as the next guy.  Like I said earlier I know my limitations now and with the aid of my drift boat, bass boat, and good friends I'm hoping to fish as long as I am still able.