Anand Kanna from Kelowna made the trip from Kelowna this past weekend to participate in the Fishing Forever event that is sponsored by the BC Wildlife Federation. The event allows people in wheelchairs and those who suffer from other disabilities to get out and enjoy a wonderful day of fishing. The Strohmann family, who built a manmade lake on their property, have been active supporters of the event since it started in Osoyoos three years ago. (Dan Walton Photo).
Strohmann’s Pond, located up on a pristine piece of wilderness on Anarchist Mountain near Osoyoos, was made to offer everything an avid angler could want.
It’s located on a serene property, stocked with new catchable fish each year, which are kept plump with regular feedings in oxygenated water.
But above all of its ecological attributes, the Strohmann family’s primarily focus is making their own beautiful fishing hole accessible to members of the public
For the past three years on the last Saturday of May, the Strohmann family opens up the pond as a venue of Fishing Forever, a program run by the BC Wildlife Federation.
The idea behind Fishing Forever is promoting the recreational activity of angling, while making fishing much easier to access for people with disabilities.
“I heard there was a little lake stocked with fish that’s accessible … as soon as I hear the word accessible, it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ll give it a try,’” said Anand Kanna from West Kelowna, who’s living with a spinal cord injury.
“It’s hard to find anything nowadays that you can get to and fish in a wheelchair. I know of a couple other mountains lakes that I can get to, but you can catch up to five pound rainbows here.”
Last weekend was the third year that Strohmann’s Pond participated in Fishing Forever and Kanna is proud to say he’s been at every event.
“It’s great atmosphere … how can you not sit here and enjoy this,” he said. “I don’t have to toss the line far. I just go down a bit, set the hook nicely for them, and we seem to catch some big fish and a lot of fish. Any chance to come out and do some fishing is fantastic.”
Fishing Forever holds several similar events around the province each year. Property owner Brian Strohmann credits his son David for giving the event another home in Osoyoos.
“He got the ball rolling and we never looked back,” Brian said. “Every year it’s getting better and better.”
Brian said about 80 per cent of the lake is accessible by wheelchair with additions and improvements being made each year.
“We’re looking at building more docks to help make things even easier to access,” he said. “And the big boys like to hang out under the docks.”
Another sponsor of Fishing Forever is Go Fish BC, which has stocked the lake with 100 fish each year prior to the event – and every fish dropped into the pond is at least 12 inches in length.
“The ones that don’t get caught this year, next year, they’ll be a little bit bigger and the year after a little bigger,” said Norm Eady with the Osoyoos Wildlife Federation. “The ones put in three years ago weigh up to five pounds now.”
There seems to be a low turnover of anglers because they always seem to find success at Strohmann’s Pond, Eady said.
“They don’t sit here drowning worms, they catch fish and that’s why they keep coming back. That’s the glory and magic of this pond,” he said. “It’s a moment for them to enjoy what most people take advantage of. You and I can walk down to a river, lake or creek and pull out fishing equipment and just go fishing. For these folks it’s a little different story – they can’t just go up to any lake.”
Eady said this past weekend’s event was comfortably crowded and he expects Strohmann’s Pond is well-suited to handle more avid anglers in the future.
“As it grows in the future, we know exactly what we’ve got ahead of us,” he said.
And there are no administrative barriers, as Fishing Forever invites anybody living with a disability to take part.
“It’s not just for BC Wildlife Federation people or people with spinal cord injuries,” Eady said. “If you have a disability come up and enjoy yourself. The day’s on us. We do all the work. You just go out on the lake and catch some fish and have a good time.”
Kanna said he’s already looking forward to returning to Strohmann’s Pond and participating in the 2017 Fishing Forever event a year from now.
He has met many friends who feel the exact same way.
DAN WALTON
Regional Reporter
