Port Lincoln local Kaleb ‘Rigzy’ Bryant remembered a month after his death

The family of a young Port Lincoln fisherman have remembered their caring and fiercely loyal son who survived cancer twice before his tragic road death.

Kaleb Bryant was “addicted” to fishing before he could even walk, and was nicknamed after his life’s greatest passion.

“He came out of the shed one day when he was a young boy and said ‘Hey dad check this new rig out’, and I said ‘That’s it mate, your nickname’s Rigzy’, and it just stuck,” Kaleb’s father, Darrin Bryant said.

“A lot of people didn't know him as Kaleb, they just knew him as Rigzy, and that was it.”

The 21-year-old was changing fishing spots when his Nissan Patrol rolled on Snapper Hill Rd at Kellidie Bay, near Port Lincoln, just after 9pm on January 28.

The Port Lincoln local died at the scene.

Speaking nearly a month on from his death, Nicole Smith and Mr Bryant told of their son’s love of fishing from age seven months.

Kaleb 'Rigzy' Bryant with his dad, Darrin. Picture: supplied.

Kaleb "Rigzy" Bryant. Picture: supplied by family.

“He had a fascination for crayfish and other sea life straight away, and he loved the water, his passion just got stronger over the days and years, he was just addicted to fishing from a very young age,” Ms Smith said.

The family home soon became a crash pad for Kaleb, between his work as a deckhand and fisherman.

“He put a sign up (on his bedroom door) that said ‘beware, foot protection must be worn’ because we’d go in there and there’d be hooks on the ground,” Ms Smith said.

Kaleb “Rigzy” Bryant and his brother, Raydon. Picture: supplied by family

Kaleb and his mother, Nicole Smith. Picture: supplied

Kaleb worked for various skippers across the town including catching salmon, leather jacket, prawn, tuna, crayfish and more.

His calming, happy and caring nature never wavered, even after his battles with health – having been diagnosed with aggressive Leukaemia twice at age five and six.

Chemotherapy, radiation and bone marrow transplants eventually assisted but Mr Bryant was never told he was in remission.

His family has remembered Kaleb as calming, loving and fiercely loyal.

“He would always stop and give you a hug to make sure you were OK because just his presence and his touch, it was calming,” Ms Smith said.

Kaleb Bryant's ashes were scattered at one of his favourite fishing spots, Point Donington on the Eyre Peninsula. Picture: Supplied

Kaleb and his brother, Chace, when they were younger. Picture: Supplied

Ms Smith said her son was very protective of his two younger brothers, Chace, 16 and Raydon, 18.

Kaleb was remembered in a funeral service in Port Lincoln on Monday, where fishing hooks were brought in replacement to flowers.

His ashes were scattered at one of his favourite local fishing spots, Point Donington.

“It’s given us peace knowing that he wasn’t suffering, he was just doing what he loved (fishing) right up to the very last second,” Ms Smith said.

“It’s just good that he’s out at sea again.”