Stay in Touch with MDC news, newsletters, events, and manage your subscription
Xplor reconnects kids to nature and helps them find adventure in their own backyard. Free to residents of Missouri.
A monthly publication about conservation in Missouri. Started in 1938, the printed magazine is free to residents of Missouri.
Kansas City, Mo. – Giant carp and mighty mite bluegills provided tugs on fishing line that brought whoops and cheers from anglers. Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) staff, volunteers, and caregivers cheered them on June 10 at the No Boundaries fishing event for special needs anglers at Longview Lake Marina.
The event drew 52 participants helped by 25 MDC staff members and volunteers. MDC loaner fishing gear was rigged in advance. Anglers needed larger hooks and the heavy rods for carp swimming under the dock, some weighing 15 to 20 pounds. Helpers rigged lighter fishing poles with small hooks, sinkers and bobbers for anglers after bluegill. MDC has long held No Boundaries fishing events throughout the state to connect all people with nature. Some participants at Longview Lake are veterans of the event and handle a rod and reel well. Others needed a bit of help but found joy in each fish landed, examined, and released.
“That’s what’s so fun, some of these folks really know how to do this,” said Lisa LaCombe, manager at MDC’s Burr Oak Woods Nature Center, who organized the event. “Part of this is they don’t get to get outside in the sun and near the water and fish any other time. It’s a chance for these people to experience something in life that most of us take for granted.”
MDC provides fishing docks or jetties at many conservation areas or community lakes that are accessible for those with mobility challenges, including those who use wheelchairs. For information, visit https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places/accessible-outdoors. For information about fishing in Missouri and to find conservation areas with accessible fishing lakes, visit http://mdc.mo.gov.
