New Rods Open Fishing For Disabled Anglers

[FishNews]

CORVALLIS, OR[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size 2]—[/size][/font] Mechanical engineering students at Oregon State University (OSU) and the University of Alabama have designed two "breath-controlled" fishing rod devices that can be used by people with limited or no use of their arms. The Oregon students say their fishing devices, which accurately and repeatedly cast a conventional fishing lure and retrieve a hooked fish using only switches, are part of an introductory mechanical engineering design class at OSU. They say the goal of the rods is to enable seniors, stroke victims, people with quadriplegia and others with compromised strength or coordination to continue to enjoy fishing. The rods created by the Alabama students can be operated orally with a "sip and puff" set of switches.

For more information on the rods, contact the University of Alabama's Caitlin Tudzin at (205) 348-3051; [url "mailto:tudzi001@bama.ua.edu"]tudzi001@bama.ua.edu[/url].
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