Leprechaun in cutoff overalls-

[mixermarkb]

Bull Shoals folks, we lost a good one. Bryan gave me the sad news in another thread, but I thought Gary Nokes at least deserved his own post here.

I wasn't a close friend of Gary's by any means, but over the 30 years or so that I have been fishing at Theodosia Marina, Gary, who had been a friend of my late Uncle, became a friend and saved more than one fishing trip for me. He looked like the stereotypical Ozark Hillbilly, with beard, cutoff overalls, and ever present chaw. He also was one of the smartest men I've ever met, and an absolute mad genius boat mechanic. He was the kind of mechanic who had been to all the marine manufacturer's schools, and knew the "book way" to fix a problem, but also had the natural problem solving skills and experience to know the "RIGHT WAY" to fix a problem. I'll always remember overhearing this hillbilly looking guy talking on the phone to someone in the early days of the internet, about IP addresses and other technical netspeak, which one would never have guessed he had any knowledge about, given his appearance. Gary always had a funny story, and was a master storyteller in his messy on the water shop at TMR, while he worked on (and cussed at) somebody's boat. He saved no telling how many trips for unprepared amateur boat owners like myself by digging through that seeming rats nest of tools, broken outboards and trolling motors to somehow come up with whatever relay or switch or fuel pump or whatever other random part he needed, and worked his posterior off to seemingly magically get people back on the water fast when their boat was out of commission. 

He also drove a TMR rental boat from Theodosia all the way to Music Creek late one evening, well after work hours, to try and help some twentysomething year old kid get his boat started. He had a cranking battery and some other tools and fuses, and fully expected to be able to get him going. He wasn't counting on a melted wire harness, and after working til after dark, realized he was gonna have to tow that twentysomething kid in the new Champion back to Theodosia. Looking around the rental boat he had driven down, and looking around the dumb city kid's boat, he realized the only thing the had to tow a boat with, was a 50' orange extension cord from the trolling battery charger. Sooooo, for the next three hours or so, we made our way back to TMR, the dumb kid and the hillbilly boat mechanic, with me laughing the whole way with decades full of Ozark county and Bull Shoals stories. I cracked up for many years after that, walking past that stretched out orange extension cord, still plugged in the charger on that rental boat.

I've missed Gary since he retired a few years ago. Theodosia Marina just hasn't quite been the same without poking my head into his floating shop and shooting the monkey dodo for a few minutes when I came down to fish. 

He was one of those humans who just made the world better, without making a big deal about himself. 

One last story.

On Bull Shoals, at the mouth of the Little North Fork arm, is a long runout point called The Saddle. There is a real narrow hump that comes back up, WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY out in the middle of the lake. At certain lake levels, the tip of that hump is just barely under water. Gary said he used to have a buddy drop him off on that hump, and he would stand out there and pretend to be walking on water in the middle of the lake, just to get a reaction out of "the flatlanders" cruising by in their runabouts and pontoons.... 

Here's hoping I'll get to shoot the monkey dodo again with Gary, my Uncle, and my Dad, when I get on to the place the guy who really walked on water said He was going to prepare for us.

Thanks again Gary, for the fixes, and the stories.

 

[fishinwrench]

Awesome 👍 

I particularly enjoyed your "book way vs. right way" analogy.    When asked for advice I often have to make a quick decision about which version to reply with.    So I totally get that.  😊 

I'm sad that I never had the pleasure of knowing him.   RIP Dude. 

[ness]

Wow! What an outstanding tribute!

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Sounds like an outstanding guy.  (no pun intended).  The world needs more.  

[Fish24/7]

Thanks Mark that was perfect!