ASP LIKE query using parameterized query

In Access you use "*" + [passed variable] + "*", + can be replaced with &
Calling a parameterized query in Access requires % be used in place of *,
however, all that I have read show dynamic SQL passed to Access:

WHERE [some column] LIKE '" & ASPvar & "' % ORDER BY ...

However, my call is similar to:

conn.qMyLookup strVar, rs

If I modify the query in Access to:

"%" & [passed variable] & "%"

I get all records. If I only put it at the end, as suggested, I only get
matches at the end, not throughout the column.

Ex.

search for 'a'

Rows:

abc
bca
cab

all that is returned is 'bca' If I used the % before and after, it will
return all 3 rows in my recordset. I've done this before but I cannot
remember if I ever used performed a wildcard search with a parameterized
query. Am I restricted to using only dynamic SQL to get this to work?

Any help appreciated.

Roland Hall