Allen King lands another bluegill as he fishes below Chickamauga Dam. The 65-year-old relies on a wheelchair to get him to the swift waters generated by the dam.
Photo by Gary PettyFishing is one of the things Allen King likes most to do. However, it is not easy for him: He has to use a wheelchair to get to the water.
Almost every morning, King can be seen in his electric wheelchair below Chickamauga Dam, casting a line in hopes of catching some bluegill.
A few hours later, as the day starts heating up, he heads to Booker T. Washington State Park to angle for crappie.
“There is more shade up there,” he said one day last week as he put another cricket on a hook.
Now 65, King served in the U.S. Army’s 173rd airborne from November 1965 to October 1968. Part of that time was in Vietnam.