Despite losing use of left arm, Robert Duncan remains a top bass
angler in the area
With a large-mouthed bass biting his lure at San Justo
Reservoir, Robert Duncan tries to reel his catch in. It’s a task
that his brother Will or any other fisherman could do
effortlessly.
Robert has to do so without the use of his left arm.
In July of 2004 the 20-year-old Duncan, who had just graduated
from San Benito High a month earlier, went for a ride on his
motorcycle down Fairview Road at speeds estimated to be in excess
of 80 mph.
Despite losing use of left arm, Robert Duncan remains a top bass angler in the area
With a large-mouthed bass biting his lure at San Justo Reservoir, Robert Duncan tries to reel his catch in. It’s a task that his brother Will or any other fisherman could do effortlessly. Robert has to do so without the use of his left arm.
In July of 2004 the 20-year-old Duncan, who had just graduated from San Benito High a month earlier, went for a ride on his motorcycle down Fairview Road at speeds estimated to be in excess of 80 mph.
While racing down the rural Hollister lane, Duncan took a corner that morning too fast, causing his front foot peg to dig into the asphalt, which caused the bike’s rear tire to spin out.
Duncan crashed and was airlifted to San Jose Medical Center where he would spend the next 26 days in the hospital – the first three of them in a clinically induced coma.
After leaving the hospital, he couldn’t walk or move at all and had to spend his time in a wheelchair for several more weeks while his body slowly healed.
Today, Duncan doesn’t remember anything from the accident that resulted in the severing of his right wrist, braking of his foot in several places and the cracking of a handful of vertebrae on his spinal column.
And he doesn’t remember getting the one injury from that accident that permanently changed his life. That injury occurred when three of the five major nerves that control arm movement were severed in the crash, leaving his left arm permanently paralyzed.
What he does remember is what he first said when he came out of the coma.
“I need to get a boat,” Duncan said. “That’s what I told everyone. I fished a lot as a kid and never sold my gear. So I used my insurance money from the crash to get a boat. Somehow, fishing was on my mind.”
Ironically, Duncan bought his first motorcycle, a Honda 919, with the money he made from selling his first aluminum boat that he had been using since he first started fishing when he turned 12.
After getting his first permit shortly after turning 15, fishing quickly took a backseat to tinkering with his motorcycle and thoughts about racing it on tracks in the area.
Prior to the accident Duncan also knew that he wanted to work with his hands in some sort of capacity and was working for a company that installed home sound systems.
In the few short years before the accident, he would legally race his bike whenever he could. He especially liked riding on the two-mile track in Buttonwillow, which is located off I-5 near Bakersfield.
“Going to Track Days was a way to go fast legally,” he said.
Today, without the use of his left arm to work the clutch those dreams of motorcycle racing are over, but he’s found a way to perfect his fishing skills.
He and his brother Will enjoy taking out Robert’s 21-foot Pro Craft 210 Super Pro tournament bass boat about four times a week to fish all the local lakes, creeks, and reservoirs.
“We usually go to San Justo or Anderson,” said Duncan, who recently reeled in a 10.8-pound large-mouthed bass out of San Justo.
“That had to be in the top 25 biggest bass that has ever been caught there,” said Will, who is a senior at San Benito High. “He knows how to get the big ones. They say that every 250 hours of fishing will get you one five-pounder. I’ve probably fished 1,000 hours and my biggest is a four-pounder. Four is big but it isn’t a 10-pounder.”
In the fall Robert and Will plan to start competing in tournaments.
“It’s the most popular sport in North America,” Robert said. “It’s what I want to do. I like bass fishing because you don’t just cast out and sit there and wait. You have to do something to catch a fish.”
That something is to cast out and reel in – keeping the fish-like lures moving to attract the bass.
While that’s a simple task, for Will and any other bass anglers it is a challenge for Robert, who has to cast and move the rod and reel with his right hand only.
Instead of holding the rod with one hand and reeling with the other, Robert has to do both with one hand, which can be a huge challenge and take a lot of time to get a prized fish from the lake to the boat.
“He’s lost a lot of fish that got away because he can’t reel them in fast enough,” said Will. “But what he does is amazing. I couldn’t reel in a fish one-handed.”
What is even more amazing to his brother is Robert’s proficiency at getting the lure on the line.
“He’s tying all of these complex knots with one hand that I can barely do with two. He’s as good as or better than me at all of them.”
Although Robert doesn’t need Will’s help to land a big fish or put on new crank bait, Will does help his older brother get the boat on and off the trailer and into and out of the water. The two work as a team.
“Sometimes we get into it, but he’s my best friend,” said Will.
The brothers also catch and release all of their fish.
“It gets to the a point where you’re just tired of cleaning the fish,” said Robert.
So far the Duncan’s team record catch is 48 fish in one day.
“I guess I like the competitiveness, battling against the fish most,” said Robert. “I also like the aspect that you always have to learn something new to catch them, like the different spots to go, how weather systems can change their moods. It’s usually best about one hour before a rain storm.”
Although times can get difficult and frustrating with a paralyzed arm, Duncan is just happy to be alive.
“I have some movement in my hand and some feeling,” said Robert. “Sometimes I get shooting pain from the nerve damage. I can move all of my fingers, but I only have feeling in the middle, ring and pinky. I can’t move my arm or elbow at all and one half of my arm feels like it’s dead.”
Robert’s just glad he’s not.
“I get frustrated because I used to love to work on my bike and trucks,” said Robert. “When something breaks and I can’t fix it, that’s the worst. But I’m fortunate.”
When not fishing for bass, Robert works in San Carlos as a data checker for Nektar Pharmaceutical. He also attends Gavilan College.
