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Rushed to the local hospital, doctors determined that his back was broken and all the ribs on the right side of his body were fractured. But of greatest consequence was the major nerve damage which left his right arm totally useless. Three months later, surgeons amputated the lifeless limb.

In the 27 years since that fateful day, Baty has learned to not only cope with his handicap, but also adjust to life with only his left arm. “I was right handed at the time, but over the last several years I’ve learned to do everything using my left arm and hand. And these days, I can write and fish – do whatever I want,” he said. 

What are some of the challenges of fishing with one arm? Baty said that it’s not as bad in saltwater as it is catching freshwater fish. “Bass fishing is more difficult because it requires that sharper hook set. I have to put the rod between my legs when fishing. Then when I start to set the hook, there’s that slack in the line. But now, after all these years, I’ve got everything down pat. I just have to constantly pay attention to what I’m doing in order to achieve a proper hook set.” 

Other than that, Baty’s biggest problem is one that he hasn’t quite figured out yet. It’s how to tie lines with his one arm. “My wife Cheryll ties all my lines before I leave the house with enough rigs for my trip.” Baty said he has friends working on some kind of device which would allow him to lash the line down and actually do the tying himself.

As for launching and operating his 22-foot Triton using one arm, Baty has it perfected. “I do just fine with the standard right handed controls and really have no problems at all. The Coast Guard has been on the boat with me and they seem to think that I can handle the vessel safely enough.”

Despite this handicap, Baty really wanted to take his fishing skills to the next level, even pursuing his captain’s license. But that required a long and arduous effort. “It actually took me two and a half years of trying. The first two times they just totally turned me down. They told me it’s not going to happen.”

Eventually, he contacted his state senator, Paula Dockery, who was able to arrange for Baty to take out a Coast Guard officer who had him perform a series of physical activities on the boat. “He had me launch the boat and put it back on the trailer by myself and do other things that he thought would be safety issues. And I showed him that I could do it capably and safely.” So after two and a half years of trying, Baty finally got the chance to show what he could do. Afterward, the Coast Guard officer said that once he passes the standard skipper’s  test, he would qualify for a license.

“Before actually taking the test, I waited 10-days while my wife and I would go over all 500 of those questions in the book every morning and every evening until I could answer them all correctly.”

Baty not only passed the test, but did so with some very high grades. It was a real challenge for the 57 year old to memorize all that detail. But after those 10 days of intense study, he had it nailed.

These days, the one-arm skipper from Plant City trails his boat all over Florida fishing and chartering. “Though I’m equipped with but one arm, I have been able to catch snook up to 40-inches jacks, bluefish, as well as several larger redfish.

As a matter of fact, his favorite target species is redfish. “They call them “bull reds” for a reason. I mean – when you get one of them on, you can never tell how big they are. It can be 18 inches or 38-inches – it doesn’t matter. They’ll scream line off and then give you a strong steady pull. The bigger ones are like hooking up with a freight train.”

A couple of years ago, Baty caught a 450 pound Goliath grouper in Boca Raton.
“It was tough. I actually had to pull him out from under the dock with the boat, and then I basically just held on to the rod until the fish gave up. Of course we kept him in the water and carefully released that big fish.”

Baty’s favorite fishing is done mostly in several Tampa Bay locations, from Tierra Verde on down into Manatee County and Terra Ceia, and occasionally along the Tampa Bay South Shore at Cockroach Bay.

“Right now we’re finding the big redfish schools right on the open grass flats. And if the tide pushes up real high, the reds get up under the mangroves. But basically, most of them have been patrolling those grasses.”

Baty has also perfected the art of netting greenbacks, which he said are what those redfish really prefer.  “And this time of year, they jump all over live shrimp but, as soon we get more bait schools in here, they’ll definitely go for the greenbacks.” 

He also sets up his clients with cut ladyfish or cut pinfish, so that they can dead-stick for reds. “They catch lots of fish with that setup. A lot of times the redfish will eat that cut bait when they won’t bite anything else.”

Some would call Baty handicapped or disabled. “I really don’t regard having only one arm as a handicap. I figure, in life, you stay with it and do what you want to do. As for me, it’s a joyful way of life. I just love fishing – and that’s what I want to do, and don’t think having one arm has slowed me down at all.”

For more on Capt. John Baty’s charters, go to http://foreverhookedcharters.com/ .