‘This is a special moment’
Young Truro angler thrilled to receive rod and reel from sportfishing guide
“It meant a lot to me … I didn’t expect that at all. I thanked him so many times.” Lucas Harris
As Matt Dort approached the boat launch on the Stewiacke River following a long day of striped bass fishing on June 5, he couldn’t help but smile.
Watching a young angler throw cast after cast into the water below as his grandfather provided words of encouragement sparked a rush of fond memories from Dort’s own childhood.
“I thought, ‘this is a special moment,’” said Dort. “Because it reminded me a lot of when I was younger and how my grandfather would take my twin brother and I to the river or to the lake almost every weekend, so it touched a special place in my heart right away.”
Dort, a certified sportfishing guide, noticed the boy was using a small rod and reel combination, a Pocket Fisherman, that wasn’t particularly suited for fishing striped bass. He went to his truck, grabbed one of his spare rod and reel combos, put it together, and tied a bass lure on the end of the line before approaching the man and the boy.
“And I said, ‘I want you guys to have this,’” said Dort. “I was so thrilled to see a young boy fishing, so happy to see his grandfather who had taken him out, and that’s what I really noticed at first.”
The older man helped Dort load his boat on to his truck. They didn’t exchange names, but it later became known through social media that the recipient of the rod and reel was 14-year-old Lucas Harris of Truro, who was on the riverbank that day with his grandfather David Smith of Green Creek, near Brookfield.
Smith was so appreciative of Dort’s generosity that when he returned home that night he posted a thank-you message on the Truro Rant and Rave Facebook page, which went viral.
“I totally was not in it for the recognition; I was just trying to add to the experience for the boy,” said Dort, a 41-year-old New Glasgow resident who works for Sobeys as a human resources specialist.
When contacted by Saltwire Network, Smith said he was astonished by the gesture.
“To be honest with you, it blew both Lucas and I completely away,” he said. “I thanked Matt profusely; we were just astonished that a guy gives him a fishing rod, a reel and a lure, and says, ‘here ya go.’”
Lucas was equally astounded by the kind act.
“It was pretty special,” he said. “It meant a lot to me … I didn’t expect that at all. I thanked him so many times.”
Smith said he doesn’t have a lot of experience when it comes to fishing, however, he was thrilled to take his grandson to the Stewiacke River that day. He knew Lucas was under-equipped for the species he was chasing, but the real value in the outing was spending time together and giving the teenager an opportunity to do something he loves.
Then along came Dort, who put the icing on the cake.
“It just blew me away with the generosity that this gentleman showed my grandson,” Smith said. “He made my grandson’s day and he’s still making his day because Lucas is so excited about all this.”
Lucas wasted no time trying out his new gear, wetting a line almost immediately after receiving it. After about 20 minutes of casting, working and retrieving the new lure, Lucas hooked into a big striped bass. He fought it for some time, however, it would be the one that got away.
“I hooked about a three-foot bass and I was battling that thing for about five minutes,” said Lucas. “It got off the hook, sadly. So close, but we live and learn, so …”
Dort grew up in Country Harbour, Guysborough County. As a boy, he spent countless hours on the Country Harbour River with his grandfather and brother
Mark, and at a family camp on Stewart Lake in Stormont where the boys not only learned how to fish but learned about life.
The opportunity to share those lessons and give youth the same opportunities he and Mark enjoyed in the outdoors while growing up is rewarding, said Dort.
“I sort of have the mindset that I love getting youth into the sport so they can have a fun hobby that allows them to relax and have some appreciation for the resources that we have in Nova Scotia.”