CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi’s avid fishers are showing their support for Fil Spencer, a longtime fishing and kayaking guide, after he was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.
Spencer, also known as Fishman, has been a well-known figure in the angler community since the 1980s, according to a GoFundMe page created for him.
Over the years, Spencer has won numerous awards, including Texas Angler of the Year and National Kayak Angler of the Year.
“Fil, no matter who you are, he’s going to make you feel like you’re family,” Stephen McBride told KRIS 6 News. McBride has been a friend of Spencer since the two met in 1985. “He’s one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. He truly is, and he just wants to teach young men how to kayak and how to fish.”
McBride went on to recount an experience with Spencer when his own family was experiencing a medical emergency.
“I had a child that we lost due to cystic fibrosis after a 26-year battle,” McBride said. “Fil would take Mike out after hospital stays at Driscoll Children’s Hospital, and it was nice to see the smile on his face.”
McBride continued, “Fil would hook him up, he’d get on top of the water, and it took away from the hospital stays.”
Spencer has spent much of his career helping younger anglers of the Coastal Bend. He was a founder of the Heroes on the Water Foundation, a group that provides recreational wellness to veterans, first responders and their families.
Cooper Deen, a junior at Flour Bluff High School, was one of the young men who learned under Spencer.
“He was one of the nicest men I’ve ever met,” Deen told KRIS 6 News. “He was very encouraging. He helped me and my friends learn how to kayak.”
Deen continued, “He was just a really nice man, and I loved being with him. I would love to go out there with him sometime, and I hope he just gets better.”
A GoFundMe page was created to help Spencer and his family cover medical expenses, including the cost of traveling to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
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