A Moving Experience

[Koz]

As many of you know, I run a hotel for a living and on many weekends I host my Fishing With The GM program where I get kids and even adults interested in fishing. It's a great time and I spend my morning baiting countless hooks while the anglers catch bluegill after bluegill. But this time of year, when school starts, I shut down the program until next season.

 

But yesterday I received a call from a gentleman who wanted to know if we had any more fishing events this year. I explained to him that the season ended, but if he visited the hotel I would try and find some time to fish with him. Then he told me his story. It changed everything.

 

He said he was "newly disabled" (his term) and was looking for something to occupy his time and he wanted to learn how to bass fish. He read about my program and hoped that I could teach him. That absolutely floored me. I immediately shifted gears and told him that whenever he came to town I would take the time to fish with him. He thanked me and told me he would get back to me. We talked fishing for a few more minutes and he told me about the spinning combo he had just bought and the few baits that he had. I told him that his best and most consistent opportunities to catch bass would be a Texas rigged, 5" green pumpkin Senko as well as a 3/8 ounce chartreuse/white spinnerbait. He was ready to go to Bass Pro right then and there!

 

An hour later he called and asked if I could fish with him the next day (today). I told him I would clear my schedule and might even by able to fish with him when arrived later that day. Luckily, I just happened to have a few rods set up and a change of clothes in my truck. 

 

With him arriving in a few hours, I hatched a plan and sped off to the tackle shop at Sugar Creek Marina. I bought him some 5" Senkos, 3/0 AWG hooks, some tungsten bullet weights, and that spinnerbait. He had told me had had limited use of one hand, so I tried to find one of those Hook-Eze devices to tie knots with one hand but they didn't have them. Instead, I printed out a page from Amazon so he could order one.

 

He arrived a bit to late for us to fish yesterday, but we made plans to fish this morning. As we mad our way down the hill to the lake today I learned his story. He had been a doctor for decades running his own practice and suffered a brain tumor a few years ago. After it was removed he could not fend for himself and relied on his wife and others for everything. He was so despondent while he was in the hospital that he asked if they had a Dr. Kevorkian on staff as he no longer wished to live.

 

I cannot imagine what he endured and how he got through it. He can walk a bit now with a walker and even a bit on his own, but relies mostly on his electric wheelchair. Today, as we headed down our steep hill to the lake he almost went off the sidewalk when one of his back wheels locked up. We got him out of his chair and he used his walker to go the rest of the way. Meanwhile, I dispatched my Maintenance Chief to see why the wheel had locked up. Luckily it was an easy fix.

 

The Doctor had fished as a kid, but told me he hadn't fished in 60 years. But now he really wanted to learn to bass fish as it gave him purpose and something to focus on. He had bought a fishing chair at Bass Pro and we set it up at the end of the dock and talked a bit more. I went over the basics of cover, structure, wind, sun, and locating bass. I set up his rod and showed him where to cast parallel to the seawall.

 

That was my mistake as he popped up his first cast into a tree. Luckily, it was close enough to the shore that I could save is bait and his line. So we had his next casts further away from the seawall, and he gradually gained confidence and was able to cast nearer his targets.

 

I wish I could say he caught a bass, but it was not to be. It was a hot and sunny morning, and our shallow and narrow creek channel is lousy when it comes to summer bass fishing. He fished and we talked, and he tried his new baits, and I could see his smile and his confidence in his cats and retrieves. We worked on a few different retrieves with the Senko, including casting it in the shadow of the dock and letting it sit for 20 or 30 before working the bait.

 

After all he has been through, it was great to see him smiling and having a good time out there. Even when he got a little frustrated because of his limitations, he worked through that and had a good time even though he didn't catch anything. I asked him to come back next March when the fishing was better and I'd take the time to fish with him again. He and his wife live right near Lake Allatoona, but I also told them to check out nearby Rocky Mountain PFA as that location is set up for bank fishing.

 

I know from what he said and his reactions that this interaction lifted his spirits, but it also lifted mine. This was a man that spent his lifetime taking care of people, and now it's a challenge to take care of himself. But he pushes on. He is finding his new purpose in life, despite the challenges. I greatly admire that and hope that I can remember to do the same.

 

I'm going to follow up with an email to him tomorrow and provide him some more resources for fishing with disabilities as well as some links to general bass fishing topics.

 

It just goes to show that you never know what life is going to throw at you, and with all of the craziness in the world today there is still some happiness and joy - even if you don't catch a fish.

[GRiver]

You did good @Koz. 

[flatcreek]

Good on you man!

[islandbass]

Truly a touching story, Koz, and did a very good thing. May it lead to a great friendship. 👏👍

[rgasr63]

Just being a part of his therapy 1day is something special. I have had days like that myself. But I don't think I am as injured as he is. But I can tell you he will tell people every time he is asked about when you took time to help him out. The day you spent with him is a memory he can hold on to for a lifetime. Great job well done!!!

[Kirtley Howe]

I put a "Thanks" on your post because it made my day. It is great to know that good people (a lot of whom are on this forum) still exist in this messed up world of ours. Good job.

[txchaser]

Thank you for making a difference!

[DaubsNU1]

OUTSTANDING @Koz!!!

[TnRiver46]

[GreenPig]

Wonderful. That visit was as good for you as it was for him. Thank you.

This is the type of behavior, Glenn demands of forum members.😁

[BrianMDTX]

@Koz Did you happen to inform him of this site? He’d learn a lot and it would definitely give him something to look forward to each day. 
 

Great post. You did good! 

[Mobasser]

Koz, way 2 go! I'm glad to hear this story, and glad to know that you've helped him.

[Koz]

10 hours ago, Kirtley Howe said:

I put a "Thanks" on your post because it made my day. It is great to know that good people (a lot of whom are on this forum) still exist in this messed up world of ours. Good job.

I appreciate that, but for me this is about his resilience and what he taught me and the positive impact he brought my life.

[Koz]

9 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Thanks, but I’m proud of him.

 

We all love to fish, but we also may take it for granted. Fishing is giving him a purpose right now.

 

I probably didn’t do a good job of making that point in my initial post.

9 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

@Koz Did you happen to inform him of this site? He’d learn a lot and it would definitely give him something to look forward to each day. 
 

Great post. You did good! 

Not yet. I’m sending him an email with this and other information.

[Alex from GA]

Thanks for the inspiring story.

[TOXIC]

Great job.  We all know a big part of fishing had zero to do with catching fish.  I have had the same fulfillment guiding wounded warriors.  It’s unbelievable how much we both get from those experiences. I have always said, I get more than they do, it’s life changing. 

[Dwight Hottle]

Inspiring Koz. Thanks again.

[Swamp Girl]

Well done, Koz.

[The Baron]

God bless both of you.  And a reminder for me to quite whining about slow fishing or the weather. 

[ike8120]

That was a very nice gesture you did for the gentleman. This world needs more people like you.

[Koz]

1 hour ago, ike8120 said:

That was a very nice gesture you did for the gentleman. This world needs more people like you.

The world also needs more people like him who choose to fight, endure, adapt, and overcome.

[roadwarrior]

 

 

                                                               

[Bankc]

Well, I'm proud of both of you @Koz! 

 

It's fascinating the power of good intentions.  How the one good act can reverberate and draw out the good in others, and from them others still, and so on.  Like happy little ripples of joy in a pond. 

 

 

[DinkDonkey30]

Good job guys. Good on you for being good humans.

[Zcoker]

Did good. That was brave of him to reach out and put his hopes, trust, and willingness into kind hands. My days are spent seeing the last days of many, and I know first hand the joy of watching those who live life to its fullest. Life is a journey, good, bad, or indifferent, for all to follow, hopefully on the path of everlasting reward!