Be honest. Some of us are uncomfortable when we encounter people with disabilities. I don't know whether we have some deep, unspoken fear of having to fight the same fight. Maybe we are afraid we'll do something, or say something, that offends or hurts. Or maybe, and this might be more likely, that we feel sympathy or empathy, but we don't know how to articulate that, so we look the other way or just say nothing because that's easier than trying to form up the sentence when we should just say, 'Hey, how ya doing?' My wife Rana has a doctorate in special education and has worked with kids with such severe disabilities -- blind, deaf, feeding tubes, wheelchairs, emotional problems -- that over the years, just being around them, I've developed a sensibility about adults and children with those challenges. At least that's what I thought, until I got this e-mail from James Hudson, one of our readers: 'Would you use your imagination for a little exercise? 'You are unable to walk and are confined to an electric wheelchair. These are wonderful vehicles, however they can not ride over bumps. They can go up slopes and can turn around in a small space but still near water to be safe you need a guardrail or curb to prevent any unplanned swimming as you can only use your arms in that event. Where would you go to fish?' I was stumped. I'd never given it that much thought. I've taken kids and adults with disabilities fishing and hunting but always when it was set up by someone else. Where WOULD I go? I know there are some fishing piers around, both private and public, that are accessible by wheelchair. And I know that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department should have a list of state park ramps and fishing piers that could put fishing in front of folks in chairs, as well. It turns out that TPWD and Lower Colorado River Authority have a fairly good sampling of accessible ramps and piers in Texas and there's good access right here in Central Texas. 'A lot depends on your level of injury, but around Austin there's a lot of extremely accessible places,' says Roger Woods, training coordinator for the LCRA. 'As long as you have a pretty good wheelchair, you can get to places pretty easy.' Woods, who uses a wheelchair because of a lower back injury, says access at Lady Bird Lake and at Inks Lake State Park, for instance, are among the best around. Lake Bastrop and Fayette County Lake also offer good access for wheelchair anglers. What he's learned about access for anglers with disabilities, Woods has learned in a fairly short time. He had a short fall that only seemed to jar him, he says, but that eventually led to a permanent disability and loss of feeling in his legs. 'It's only as bad as you make it,' he says. 'I get good parking now.' Woods says there are outreach programs for anglers who need wheelchairs to get around. Seton Adapted Sports sponsors an ongoing program training anglers to use kayaks for recreation and fishing. 'I fly fish out of a kayak all the time,' Woods says. 'They've helped me and they do a really good job. With just a little bit of help, people can get onto the water.' Mike Leggett writes for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: mleggett@statesman.com. 