Life is full of challenges; catching big fish is one and catching a bigger one is another. Ultimately, the biggest one you catch is your PB or personal best, so then it becomes a greater challenge to get a better PB.
Surviving open heart surgery is a challenge.
Catching a PB after heart surgery is an even greater one.
This story might step back in time to 2015 but it was a pivotal era for me. A group of us were charter fishing out of Whangarei, targeting the Hen and Chicks for kingfish. We caught live bait in the harbour before steaming towards open water. Once there, a live kahawai was sacrificed and anticipation built as the minutes ticked by.
When the kingfish hit, it did so like the proverbial steam train. Having had heart surgery, I wasn’t sure I was going to get it to the boat, let alone survive a dust up with a denizen of the deep. The kingi maxed the scales at 30kg—my PB. Challenge conquered
