Winter 2018
& ANDY
Story by Dan O’Sullivan
CUCCIA
®
Frank’s Tract on the California Delta
Photo Credit: Oleg Alexandrov
more unlikely people in a common effort to share the joy of the sport. The connection of two men, who passed away from the same ailment was one of those.
Conroy Oakley and Andy “Cooch” Cuccia were men who bonded of their love of fishing, and their mutual desire to introduce kids to the sport. They were both unique - and like many of us – somewhat flawed individuals who made up for it with the sheer volume of love they shared with those who crossed their paths.
I knew both of them, Conroy through one of my first true fishing mentors, Nate Lemons, and Cooch through my involvement in ncbf. com / westernbass.com. I knew Cooch better than Conroy, but they are both a part of my experiences that helped form the foundation of my career.
I had played baseball through college, and as an All American, who was scouted by nearly every major league club, I spent most of my youth and teen years focused on that task. After shoulder surgery at the beginning of my senior year of college derailed my plans, I turned my attention, and my passion to fishing.
I began working at Galaxy Marine in Auburn, Calif. for Joe White and Mike Van Wagner. It was there that I met Nate, a fun-loving transplant to Northern California from Arkansas through Southern California. Nate was someone I connected to, and we spent a lot of
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