The fishing columnist 'Stinker' had in 1987 begun writing a fishing column in the Examiner which left people guessing ‘just who is this guy’?
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While his anonymity quickly faded the popularity of the column, Something Fishy, did not.
"I made it up, I didn't want anyone to know who I was," John Clarke said of the alias.
"Well, that lasted about a month".
Despite the advent of social media the Bay was a smaller place then, than it is now.
"A little girl came up to me in the playground once," the former PE teacher said.
"She waited until no one was around and she said to me, 'my dad thinks you're Stinker'.
"I said to her, 'he might be right'."
Mr Clarke took up the gig in April 1987, on the invitation of then editor Keith Campbell. The pair played cricket together for Nelson Bay and even enjoyed a few fishing trips.
"I said to him, I reckon the Examiner needs a fishing column, and he said 'you could do one once a month'," Mr Clarke recalled.
"I said, 'I reckon I could do one a week'."
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The challenge he set himself was to interest beginners because “experts are a dime a dozen”.
“A lot of fishing columns are boring,” he said.
“It gives me the opportunity to to express my opinion. I’ve never struggled with what to write about because Port Stephens is a living, breathing organism that’s always changing.”
The column led to a raft of media engagements spanning several radio stations and local TV stints.
Amid these triumphs his son, Ben, died due to complications of Hunter’s syndrome. A condition that causes dangerous build ups in the cells due to the body’s inability to process certain enzymes.
“I spent eight years off work with him,” Mr Clarke said.
“When I lost him, I had to reinvent myself.”
Ben Clarke Reserve at Corlette was named after him.
Mr Clarke became an enthusiastic author. Of his six books, three of them are on history, surrounding fishing and maritime life.
Old Salt, Oysterman and Broughton Islanders were accepted into the Royal Australian Historical Society library.
His profile led to roles on the National Parks, Maritime Parks and Recreational Fishing advisory councils.
He advocated for the adoption of the Marine Park to conserve the area’s biodiversity, because it was the “right thing to do”, despite opposition among fellow amateur fishers.
Mr Clarke also backed changes to crab pots to protect sea turtles.
The fight to stop a 90 hectare pearl farm in Port Stephens was among his biggest battles.
“It took eight years with the support of the community to convince the state government it was a bad idea,” he said.
Despite these issues Mr Clarke said the biggest change to recreational fishing was a technological development, rather than environmental or policy.
“The introduction of plastics [lures] has been the biggest thing, it has changed fishing incredibly,” he said.
“People who can’t catch a fish with bait, can on plastics. They’re very effective and only time will tell if its a good thing or not.”
But he does retain hope for the future.
“This idea of catching a fish, kissing and releasing it was unheard of until a few years ago,” he said.
“There’s become less of those people who think they can take whatever they want.
“Some recreational fishers still tend to be a bit greedy but I have incredible faith in the next generation, they’re far more attuned to conservation than my generation ever was.”