Brian Aiken is excited about fishing. His wishes are coming true. Brian, 11, is going fishing on his first Wish-A-Fish Chesapeake Bay fishing excursion July 19, out of Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis.

He thinks that he might “catch a few rock,” although anything he catches might well be dwarfed by his April catch of a 26-pound, 40-inch citation striper.

“Right now, Brian is catching fish a lot larger than he was when he was born,” said his father, John Aiken. Brian was born three months prematurely. As a result, he’s mildly disabled  and a perfect candidate for the Wish-A-Fish program.

The Wish-A-Fish Foundation takes disabled youngsters or those with life-threatening illnesses out for a fishing trip. That’s how Brian landed his whopper rock, fishing with Wish-A-Fish volunteer Skip Zinck in April.

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This is all new for Brian and parents John and Jeanne Aiken. It was one day last summer when Brian said to his dad, “Why don’t we go fishing?” John, a non-angler at the time, said they would. John visited the Internet and tackle shops before discovering Wish-A-Fish.

Wish-A-Fish started eight years ago and this year they will take out about 30 families with the help and cooperation of local volunteer boat captains, fishermen and tackle shops.

“The main goal is to take special-needs children and their families out to give them a typical fun-filled fishing day,” Zinck said.

There are other Wish-A-Fish chapters, including one in Ocean City. It is a year-long effort, planning for the funds needed, contacting volunteer boat owners, and soliciting goodies from local tackle shops.

“They do a great job for developmentally disadvantaged kids,” said Jim Bieler, owner of Marty’s Sporting Goods in Edgewater.

Ralph Meloy of the Annapolis Wish-A-Fish chapter notes that they also get great help from Warren’s Bait Box in Glen Burnie.  Windows Catering Co.  of Virginia, will provide lunch for all after the July 19 Bay fishing trip.

Boat owners such as Wayne Morgan contribute time, boats and fuel — the latter not a small thing this summer.

“When you make a kid’s dream come true, it is a special thing,” Morgan said.

Each youngster of each family gets a rod and reel, with the family receiving a goody-filled tackle box. The important thing for all is the smiles garnered with the catch of a fish from the youngsters on the trip.

“When Brian is on the water or near water, his disabilities almost totally disappear,” John Aiken said.

For information on the group, contact Wish-A-Fish on the Web at www.wish-a-fish.org, by e-mail at md-wish-a-fish@comcast.net, or by calling Zinck at 410-551-5024.

C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally known sportsman and award-winning writer on fishing, hunting, and the outdoors. He can be reached at cbpfeiffer@msn.com.