Fishing provides a chance for special moments. Appreciate when you have them.
What seemed like an ordinary guided striped bass trip request for me became something more when I was told that this was a special outing to celebrate the sixth-year anniversary of a pancreatic cancer operation. Few make it more than a couple years after having the procedure.
I had last fished with Dale Rhine of Hollister some years ago, but in the meantime his father, 80-year-old John Rhine of Salinas, had been diagnosed with the cancer and gone through the incredibly complex Whipple operation. Surviving this operation is a feat in itself and I knew from another friend’s experience just how difficult it was to try to recover from it. This man deserved a special fishing trip.
I met Dale, John and Dale’s brother-in-law Dale Self at the dock bright and early. I was concerned that the day might be hard on John because I had seen the impact on the health and stamina of my much younger friend, but John jumped in the boat ready to go. I was impressed.
Temperatures were in the 90s but John never complained or showed he was uncomfortable. Tough guys like this don’t waste time complaining. He was in the moment, and didn’t take any part of the trip for granted. Seeing him made me once again reevaluate my blessings and made me ashamed of my occasional whining.
Up until noon, the fishing was very slow, with just a couple nice stripers to show for our work, but John just kept on as good anglers do. All three knew that the bite could be slow – but they were fishing. We were having a great time. It’s always special to be able to fish with other passionate anglers, but we all wanted for something special to happen for John.
It was getting close to 4 p.m. and it seemed like the fish were slowing down, but something more was needed. Yeah, I say prayers.
We agreed to fish one last area, but there were no fish there. We couldn’t end on this note!
So…I’m trying to figure out what to do when the wind switched direction, then calmed. Really? I could feel that things had changed somehow. Instinct? Intuition? How do you explain it?
“Hey, John, what if I took you to one more spot before we go? Can you handle it?” He looked at me with an expression as if to say, “What are you waiting for!” I knew something was going to happen.
I got to the spot, looked at the sonar and couldn’t believe my eyes. Wow! It was filled with hundreds of fish that looked like they were feeding. This was off the scale. We went to work.
Within 45 minutes we had landed/released five very nice stripers and lost at least another five. John got his biggest, a 25-inch beauty. Mission accomplished!
John hung in there the whole day; I hope I can do the same when I’m 80, let alone having gone through one of the worst surgeries on the planet. I found out later that he had worked in the ag industry and grew up as part of the “greatest generation.”
Watching men live calmly through incredible adversities, yet never complaining about it while living a selfless life as well as they can inspires me to be better. They are the kind of men we need in our world today and I count it a great honor to be able to fish with them whenever I can. John, thanks for fishing with me!
Never take your life for granted and…
Never give up!
Roger George: rogergeorge8@protonmail.com, Rogergeorgeguideservice on Facebook and @StriperWars.