Fishing: Getting on with it

Jo and her husband, Ron, left their home at Tuakau at 6.15 the other morning for the long drive to Whangaparaoa where they met other members of their fishing club for a day out snapper fishing on the charter vessel Gulf Raider.

There is nothing unusual about a fishing club organising a day out. It happens all the time. Except that these keen anglers are all members of an exclusive club. They all belong to the Stroke Survivors Fishing Club.

"The key word is survivors," says founder and club president Sam Benjamin. "We don't complain about having a stroke, we just get on with it."

But getting on with it is easier said than done, for many members have to manage a fishing rod with one arm or one hand. Some can use a regular rod by resting it on the side of the boat and winding with one hand. Others use a rod which has been modified for one-handed use. When he gets a bite, Sam moves his right hand over to grasp the rod butt, turns the rod upside down and winds the reel backwards with his good left hand.

They all love their fishing and have regular outings on the Waitemata or Kaipara Harbours when they have enough funds for the cost of the charter. Raising the funds is a continuing battle and involves garage sales and other projects, and Sam is the driving force behind the club.

Sam, an electrician, says he said he didn't know he was having a stroke. He called the after-hours number of his doctor and it was some time before he eventually made it to a hospital. "That was a mistake," he says.

Jo had her stroke eight years ago, and now Ron looks after her. Her rod has a custom-made extension which fits into a rod holder and allows her to operate the reel with her right hand. Ron baits her hook, Jo flicks the free-spool lever and drops the bait to the bottom and waits for a bite. Then she can wind it in with one hand. But the sun was hot and there was no wind while the boat rocked gently at anchor in the middle of the Hauraki Gulf, and Jo was sitting waiting for a bite when she suddenly fell over on the seat. Ron got her into the cabin where she lay down and recovered, before returning to the fishing. "We had an early start, and the heat got a bit much for me," she said.

It is hard to stop Sam from talking. He is full of stories, including one about talking on the phone to his 4-year-old grandson in Australia who asked him if he'd been fishing. "I said, yes and I caught a few fish, and he said: `Well, better luck next time'."

Warren didn't know anything was wrong when he returned home from work as a builder and was slurring his words. "My wife said I'd been drinking. I didn't know I had had a stroke.

"Then three years ago I got prostate cancer and had surgery to remove it, and now I have pancreatic cancer, so I go fishing every chance that I can."

All have a story to tell, but when it comes to the fishing they are all competitive and hope to catch the biggest fish which will be recognised at the annual prizegiving.

Meanwhile, Jo wound in another snapper, and Ron measured it carefully, noting the length and weight in his notebook.

Then John, who acts as caregiver for his brother, Joe, hooked a large fish. It gave him a real battle before the skipper put the gaff into a large kingfish. That one will be hard to beat. Another caregiver, Tony, was quietly cutting a fresh mullet into strips for bait and soon the biggest snapper of the day surfaced after a tough fight.

Then, with the anglers having a cup of tea and a rest on the trip back to Gulf Harbour, we wielded the knives and filled plastic bags with fillets.

"Some come out for a day's fishing and find they can't handle it. They get too tired and don't come again," Sam said. "Other people ask if they can join. I say, `Have you had a stroke?' If they say `no' they can't join." When it was suggested to Jo that she would be able to have a rest tomorrow she replied : "No, I'm going to play bowls."