One wish, to hook fish

NEWPORT BEACH — When Evan Schneider was 4 weeks old, he underwent a heart transplant to save his life. Nine years later, with his condition still delicate, the Make-A-Wish Foundation came to his aid.

With help from the nonprofit agency, which fulfills wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses, Evan got to visit Fort Benning, Georgia, and be an Army major for one day.

Then, on Thursday, the Murietta resident got another wish granted. Evan, 10, was among more than a dozen Make-A-Wish kids departing for a five-hour fishing trip from Davey’s Locker Sportfishing on the Balboa Peninsula.

“I’ve been asking my dad to take me fishing, and when this came up, I was really happy,” said Evan, standing against the rail of the boat Western Pride and awaiting takeoff.

Every fall, the Make-A-Wish Foundation holds a fishing fundraiser — known as the Tuna Challenge — to raise money for its services. On Thursday, it held an expedition of a different kind. Inside Sportfishing, a show on Fox Sports, joined the foundation and Davey’s Locker to host a boat trip for kids who have had wishes granted in the past. The intended result of the trip: a documentary to be shown on Fox early next year.

“The fishing may not be spectacular,” said Michael Fowlkes, the executive producer of Inside Sportfishing. “There’s not a lot we’ll be doing on a half-day trip. But the look on their faces is priceless when they catch their first fish.”

The expedition, which took off shortly after noon, planned to cruise around Huntington Flats, the Newport Pipe and other popular fishing areas along the coast. Davey’s Locker and the foundation provided crew members, while Shimano, a rod manufacturer, provided equipment for the kids to take home.

The kids on board the boat, who hailed from all over Southern California, each brought a story with them. Armani Roman, 7, of San Diego, is recovering from a tumor on her spinal cord. Her wish, granted last September, was to visit New York and meet Raven Symone from the Disney Channel.

Michael Vanderby, a student at UC San Diego, had cancer of the elbow two years ago and got his wish granted while undergoing chemotherapy: a fishing and scuba-diving trip to the Bahamas. Since then, he said, he had volunteered at a number of Make-A-Wish events.

“It’s a great cause, just giving a kid a wish,” said Vanderby, 19. “It gives them something to look forward to when their life is at an all-time low.”