Video

It's a special event held one day a year, and it's all made possible by a group of volunteers. Today, the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department sponsored a fishing day for individuals with special needs from Minot and the surrounding area. Dan Erdmann introduces us to this excited group of anglers. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) It wasn't a perfect day for fishing. Wind was blowing, temperatures were cooler, but for the true die hards, conditions were just right to reel in a monster. It's a game of cast and wait, and unfortunately, sometimes, there's just not a whole lot of luck. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) Did you catch any fish yet? No, I haven't No, not yet. I'm waiting for the big one. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) But anyone that's gone fishing knows, the key to a big catch, is patience. I had two bites that got off. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) Two that got away? Uh huh. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) You're sticking with it though? Oh yes, I'm sticking with the fishing. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) Today's event is not a new one, in fact it's been around for over a decade. About thirty volunteers lend a hand each year to give individuals with special needs a chance to enjoy North Dakota's great outdoors. And each year, the event continues to grow. (Duane Anderson, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) Sixteen years ago, we came up with the idea to do this, we had some local sportsman that wanted to be a real active part of it, and basically started out with probably less than a hundred people doing this, and now we've grown to close to two hundred. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) Unfortunately, there weren't two hundred fish caught, but for some, being patient paid off in the end. Yeah, it was tough! (Dan Erdmann, KX News) And like many things, if you do it enough, fishing, just gets easier. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) Is this the first fish that you've caught? No, my fourth! (Dan Erdmann, KX News) But unlike most anglers that are searching for a particular kind fish, no one in this group is too picky about what they bring ashore. (Duane Anderson, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) Even to catch a bullhead, you know, most fisherman, they might complain if they have a bullhead on, or a northern they don't want, but when you don't have the opportunity to fish as often as some of these people do, like I said, just catching a bullhead's a bonus. (Dan Erdmann, KX News) Sadly, there weren't many fish cooked on this day, there weren't any record catches, and probably not a lot worth hanging on the wall, but these fisherman did catch their limit of memories, at least until next year. Near Lake Darling, Dan Erdmann, KX News. And amazingly, in the sixteen year history of this event, not once have organizers had to postpone it because of bad weather.