fire up your
summer
Hook, Line and Sinker Wade into a fishing state of mind By ANNA-RHESA VERSOLA Photography by JOHN MICHAEL SIMPSON
anders “J.T.” Tate Jr. has been hooked on fishing since he was 5 years old. By the time he was a teenager, J.T.’s friends were convinced he would become a professional angler. Instead, he worked for 18 years as a teacher and behavior specialist with Durham Public Schools, but continues to find the hobby therapeutic and restorative. “My secret was when I get off work, I’m gonna go fishing and have a cast,” he says. “I think about the students [who] need extra help in the community and leave [my troubles] 52
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on the water so I could come back the next day and be ready to go again,” he says. “If I get a bite, that’s a bonus. Just being out there is enough for me.” J.T. buys bait at Seagroves Supply Co. off Highway 751. The shop is open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.. He frequents Jordan Lake, Harris Lake, Falls Lake, Kerr Lake and a handful of private ponds, creeks and rivers (with permission). Among his favorite fishing spots in Chatham County are Robeson Creek and the pier at Beaver Creek on Jordan Lake. In 2016, J.T.’s grandmother passed away, leaving him to care for an ailing aunt. He left his job with Durham Public Schools and leaned on both fishing and prayers for solace and spiritual strength. By 2022, he felt an overwhelming