MIAMI - When Lance Benson called light-tackle charter captain Eric Herstedt to book a fly fishing trip, they discussed species, tackle - the usual prospective guide/client talk.
As Herstedt poled the skiff on the flats near Frank Key, he spied tailing redfish in the distance.
"There's probably 10 tailers all over out here,'' he told Benson. "The fly needs to come right over top of him. When they stop tailing and cruise, that's when you need to put the fly in front of him.''
Benson made a perfect cast of a chartreuse-and-white Deceiver fly on his 12-weight rod, double-hauling to shoot the line out quickly in front of one of the tailers. The red dived for the fly, but Benson didn't strip it in quickly enough, and the fish got free.
"He's still there! He'll eat again!'' Herstedt called.
Once more, Benson shot the fly out in front of the red and this time, hooked it solidly.
"Good job! You're set! Awesome,'' Herstedt said as Benson fought the fish.
Despite intermittent rain, the day only got better. Benson released one more redfish, two snook and two small tarpon to complete a double inshore slam before lightning chased them back to the dock.
'My motto is 'no legs, no problem,' " Benson said, smiling.
Around town, he is known as a sharp dresser who wisecracks about his disability to put others at ease.
''As a person who's disabled, you have to look your best, so people don't get intimidated or think you're homeless or something," he said. ''I had to kind of work harder to work around it. I've always kind of embraced it to help others embrace it."
Herstedt, who has won several light tackle tournaments and guides some of South Florida's best fly anglers, is impressed with Benson's skills and attitude.
''He can fly fish really good - a lot better than a lot of people," Herstedt said. ''It's different - more exciting -when Lance catches a fish than anybody else because the whole thing is more of a challenge. I remember when he hooked a huge tarpon. Lance was so shocked. He was sitting on the platform with a 100-pound tarpon above him and he screamed. Then it jumped off. It was very exciting."
Benson said he doubts he will go back to fishing with bait or spinning tackle, the gear most recreational anglers use.
"I wanted something more," he said. ''I gave [fly fishing] a shot and fell in love with it. I just came out and started whaling on it. It's more rewarding. You have to work for it."
MIAMI - When Lance Benson called light-tackle charter captain Eric Herstedt to book a fly fishing trip, they discussed species, tackle - the usual prospective guide/client talk.
Uh, by the way, Benson told Herstedt, "I'm a little shorter than anyone you fish with.''
Herstedt thought nothing of it - until the morning of their trip, when Herstedt saw that his client didn't have legs.
He tried to act nonchalant.
'When he got out of the car, I was like, 'Huh, OK.' I thought this was going to be a challenge,'' Herstedt said.
At first, it was.
"We had some tough trips, but I don't think it was as much a function of my disability as of my casting,'' Benson said.
Herstedt was about to learn about Benson's competitive drive.
Born without legs, Benson, 35, has never let his disability slow him. Since being fitted with his first prosthesis at age 8, he never used a wheelchair. He wrestled in high school in Raleigh, N.C., lifted weights and fly fished for bass and bluegill. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at North Carolina State, and then an MBA at Florida International.
Using a skateboard and heavy gloves, he has completed 11 marathons - including January's ING Miami Marathon, where he finished in 3 hours, 24 minutes, 10 seconds. He works as a vice president for Grubb & Ellis Co., a commercial real estate advisory firm. In his spare time, he loves nothing better than fly fishing and tying his own flies.
Benson regularly practices casting from the dock of his downtown Miami condo after some pointers from Herstedt. When the pair fishes in Herstedt's 17-foot skiff, Benson sits atop an Igloo cooler strapped to the casting platform on the bow, where he casts up to 70 feet with accuracy.
"It's nothing fancy, but it works,'' Herstedt said of the makeshift perch. "He hasn't fallen off yet.''
Said Benson: "I have good balance. I'm used to this.''
He proved it on a recent outing to Flamingo in Everglades National Park.
As Herstedt poled the skiff on the flats near Frank Key, he spied tailing redfish in the distance.
"There's probably 10 tailers all over out here,'' he told Benson. "The fly needs to come right over top of him. When they stop tailing and cruise, that's when you need to put the fly in front of him.''
Benson made a perfect cast of a chartreuse-and-white Deceiver fly on his 12-weight rod, double-hauling to shoot the line out quickly in front of one of the tailers. The red dived for the fly, but Benson didn't strip it in quickly enough, and the fish got free.
"He's still there! He'll eat again!'' Herstedt called.
Once more, Benson shot the fly out in front of the red and this time, hooked it solidly.
"Good job! You're set! Awesome,'' Herstedt said as Benson fought the fish.
Despite intermittent rain, the day only got better. Benson released one more redfish, two snook and two small tarpon to complete a double inshore slam before lightning chased them back to the dock.
'My motto is 'no legs, no problem,' " Benson said, smiling.
Around town, he is known as a sharp dresser who wisecracks about his disability to put others at ease.
''As a person who's disabled, you have to look your best, so people don't get intimidated or think you're homeless or something," he said. ''I had to kind of work harder to work around it. I've always kind of embraced it to help others embrace it."
Herstedt, who has won several light tackle tournaments and guides some of South Florida's best fly anglers, is impressed with Benson's skills and attitude.
''He can fly fish really good - a lot better than a lot of people," Herstedt said. ''It's different - more exciting -when Lance catches a fish than anybody else because the whole thing is more of a challenge. I remember when he hooked a huge tarpon. Lance was so shocked. He was sitting on the platform with a 100-pound tarpon above him and he screamed. Then it jumped off. It was very exciting."
Benson said he doubts he will go back to fishing with bait or spinning tackle, the gear most recreational anglers use.
"I wanted something more," he said. ''I gave [fly fishing] a shot and fell in love with it. I just came out and started whaling on it. It's more rewarding. You have to work for it."
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