Last Wednesday night, we lost a great man. Dr. Joe DeJunco was a fishing buddy of mine — a Cuban immigrant, husband, father, heart doc, avid shooter and occasional fisherman. The man loved to entertain and cook more than anyone I have ever known. He and his loving wife, Maria, lived on Lake Oconee and were devoted members of Christ our King and Savior Catholic Church, where Doc was also a Knight of Columbus and a past Grand Knight.

Last year I took Doc to St. Mark’s and Shell Island Fish Camp for the first time. He had come to me and asked if I would take him down there for reds and trout. We’d fished a few times on Oconee for whites and hybrids, but he wanted to catch a redfish and a trout. So off we went. It’s not like I haven’t spent a LOT of time at Shell Island and any excuse to head south is a good one for me! 

Now, I wasn’t quite sure how Doc would take the fish camp with its old Florida, cracker lifestyle experience, but he took to it like a duck to water and had a ball. 3 days of fishing down there and we caught a LOT of trout. No big ones really, but that seemed to be the case across the whole camp that week. If I remember right, I caught one around 22 inches as the biggest. The disappointment was that we couldn’t find a red. I mean, folks, I blanked out on the reds. It was extremely frustrating. Yet we ate good, and Doc only got upset when he realized that I didn’t stop to eat lunch… He thought that was just a crime. I mean, one worthy of high treason status, I guess. I tried to make up for it by showing him all the great seafood for dinner, but lunch frustrated him to no end!

Doc was a trooper. That was the one and only real fishing trip we got to go on together, but it was a great time for me. He and Mrs. Maria supported my oldest daughter Emma’s non-profit efforts in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida, they supported many of our parish’s efforts around the lake country as well as many other things. Both are immigrants and their first-generation American son (their only child) is a Naval Academy grad and a retired Naval officer. 

In the end, I never did get Doc his redfish. However, he gave me a lot of memories, stories, conversations about good food and guns, and a friendship I will cherish for a lifetime. So, Doc, here’s to high tides and following seas my friend. Rest easy.

Outdoors columnist James Pressley can be reached at pressleyoutdoors@gmail.com .