Joe a colourful character, a native South African who now lives in Ringsend with his partner Jenny and his son Zacki called into my campervan at the Shelly Banks on the South Wall for a cup of tea.

The pleasure was all mine for the few hours I spoke with him. His well maintained South African drawl takes you away as he embarks on his life's passion for fishing.

Joe, now aged 46, fought many battles in earlier years, serving as a soldier in the French Foreign Legion, which took him to far-off places. He assured me he has hung up his well-dusted military boots for good.

His only enthusiasm for battles now is from the seashore or from the side of his boat and what he loves battling most is the big fish. His expression was one of sheer ecstasy as he explains his love for fishing.

Joe says fishing is his life saviour and he fishes with a firm policy of catch and release. He put it beautifully when he said that when the day comes and he is standing at the pearly gates of heaven, he will have one question for his gatekeeper “are there lakes and are there many, many fish?” He describes his passion for fishing as a “little bit of heaven.” It's a place he can go to take himself completely away, into an abyss of mindless serenity, all the while enjoying the challenge of mastering the big fish, the big lakes, the big weather and of course, the big self.

Joe has enjoyed many fishing excursions around the globe, solo fishing in the Congo, South America, Europe and his favourite, Loch Sheelin, Co. Cavan. He is so happy to have added a new dimension to his fishing trips– his 12 year old son Zackie.

Zackie now shares his dad's passion for fishing as he was introduced to fishing at an early age. Joe explains “to teach patience that a fisherman needs to a young child is not easy but the pleasure of hanging in and teaching a child patience with the reward of a good fish at the end of his hook is beyond any magic.”

Zackie is today a formidable young fisherman, with a personal best of 26lbs of sheer muscle pike. Joe says that to watch a child land a fish on this scale is an experience that every angler who has a son should witness. “To see his beaming smile of conquering a fish following a good fight and watch my son release that fish back into nature ready for another day is simply heaven.”

So, Joe has a message to all the dads out there who may have one of their offspring hooked on fishing. “It is worth the patience, the frustration and the joy at every level. My son Zackie is growing up into a fine footballer, a good student and an exceptional fisherman for his age. Joe hopes “his passion stays as mine has and that the knowledge I have shared with Zakie may be handed down to his own children one day.”

Left: Joe doesn't exxgerate the size of his catch– here's the proof! Meanwhile Zackie, below, is well on his way to emulating his dad.