THERE was a time when a feed of fish meant the difference between dinner on the table and lining up for a Salvation Army food voucher for Joe Geia.
The 10th of 12 children, Mr Geia said fishing was not only a necessity growing up in North Queensland, but also one of his happiest memories.
He recalls moving between various towns as a child, but it was the simple moments at Machans Beach in Cairns during his high school years that left a lasting impression.
“We caught quite a few, just off a hand line,” he said. “We’d fish when the tide went out and when the tide came in.
We’d fish after a bit of rain
“I loved fishing with my Mum. She’d say ‘Who will be the one to catch the first fish today?’.
“She’d make a game of it and we always caught something.”
Fishing was so central to family life that it even became a form of currency.
Mr Geia said there were times the family would catch a taxi home from their favourite fishing spot and pay the driver with part of their catch.
“He’d take that instead of taxi fare. We always had quite a few in the bucket – plenty for dinner,” he said.
Barramundi and whiting were regular catches, providing reliable meals for the large family.
Now 66 and living on Macleay Island, Mr Geia still enjoys casting a line, although his reasons have shifted.
These days, he fishes less for the catch and more for companionship.
“I like going with somebody,” he said.
“I like the company, and with extra lines out, we are bound to catch something
He often fishes with a handline off Corroboree Park, where cod and small trevally are common.
Among his more adventurous memories are catching eel and catfish using goggles and a wire.
“You hold your breath and look around in the snags and then you hook them, with a sharp barb,” he said.
“You see them hiding behind a tree or something.
“But these days I eat fish with scales. It’s very biblical.”
Mr Geia also recalls fishing on Palm Island in the mid-1970s, hauling in coral trout, whiting, groper and barracuda.
“You hook a barracuda with another fish,” he said.
“Palm Island is known for it. Its football team is the Palm Island Barracudas.
“And groper is always good to share around in a large family.”
While fishing helped sustain his family through tough times, Mr Geia said his first passion was always music.
Among his repertoire is a song titled The Fish and the Alleys of Destruction – a reflection, perhaps, of a life shaped by resilience, family and the simple act of casting a line.
