On Saturday night, with an entourage that included both Deion Sanders and Lil Wayne, Travis Hunter claimed the 2024 Heisman Trophy. As far as I know he became the first winner to mention fishing in his acceptance speech when he said: “Coach Prime, I’m going to whip you on that lake tomorrow.”

I love hosting fishing trips to great places because it gives me a front row seat when anglers – experts and novices alike – make their catches of a lifetime. I was fortunate to see a bunch of them in 2024, and here are some of my favorites.

On Tuesday evening we got the awful news that David Salazar – owner of Casa Vieja Lodge, world renowned captain, devoted husband to Kristen, and father of four young daughters – passed away unexpectedly.

Pete initially wanted to work with Lee Livesay because of Lee’s incredible skill catching huge fish. I immediately liked his wife Taren because we both have red hair – but I knew there was more of a story than that, and I wanted to figure it out. Fortunately, Taren was ready to spill the beans about how they met and the details of their life together.

Officially, Jeff Gustafson won the 2023 Bassmaster Classic but if you ask Matt Robertson he won the best trophy – his wife Kolleen. He’s a distinct personality, so I figured I’d go right to the source to find out how they met, and to get her unique insights on what it’s like to fish with one of the characters of the Elite Series.

We've fished with exceptional guides across the country and around the world. The ones we like best are those who have a passion for their native soil -- like Louisiana's Greg Dawsey.

I met Dennis Tietje at his camp on Toledo Bend in either 2001 or 2003, when he hosted a crawfish boil. I was one of the few interlopers there amongst the Hall of Famers. Until a recent trip to Grosse Savanne we’d never fished together. It turned out to be just about a perfect outing.

Alligator hunting at Grosse Savanne exceeded all possible hopes. If anything it was over too quick. Fortunately, we’ll have some tangible memories of our trip down the road – we don’t know exactly what. Clint Hebert of Mark Staton LLC was there to explain the products that his family business produces and the process for getting them done.

Felicia Shryock has been supporting her high-energy partner Hunter, a former supercross rider who became a pro angler, since their first date which apparently never ended. Here’s the story of how they met and how their relationship progressed over the course of the last decade.

Dave Mercer is a lot to handle -- but his wife Sarah, who he's known since Grade 5, makes him a better person. Here's what goes into Life With Mercer.

Randi and Darold Gleason met as kids in small town Louisiana and eventually departed the "friend zone" to become a winning pair. There's golf, fishing and lots more to their very busy lifestyle.

When Jennifer Combs told me her parents had her in a crib on their boat when she was still in diapers, I thought she was kidding. That’s taking fishing a little over the top. On this year’s El Salto trip I finally got to ask her father, Roy Reid — It turns out that it was 100% legit.

When we headed out for a trip on the Chesapeake Bay with Bryan Schmitt, we knew it would be a great day, but we didn’t expect his 10 year-old son Dylan to be such a skilled and dynamic angler. He’s also a raconteur and educator, able to explain complicated fishing concepts and techniques in simple terms.

While fishing is not yet an Olympic sport, plenty of Olympians love to fish – possibly to feed their competitive spirits or alternatively as a way to decompress from the stressors of training and competition. Twenty-seven year old gymnast Simone Biles – all 4’8” of her – is among that group.

On our recent trip to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge we met the nicest father and son, Jim and James Farwell. Each day they seemed to be having the best time together – TRULY BONDING – as they told stories of the big fish they’d been catching.

Tammi proved to be a great addition to our May 2024 trip to Panama. She’s remarkably enthusiastic about fishing and the outdoors. She also made a new connection with another lady angler on the trip when they tag-teamed a monster yellowfin tuna.

If you know anything about Mark Zona, you know that it takes a strong personality to keep all of that energy in check. Here’s how his wife Karin keeps the train on the tracks.

Our May 2024 trip to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge was filled with big fish…really really big fish. Our new friend Greg Evers singlehandedly tamed a yellowfin tuna that pulled the scale down to almost 250 pounds. Greg is a big guy, but still, no one would have blamed him if he’d asked for assistance.

Anna and Clark Reehm have a romance defined by fishing, LSU and their love of son Ash. Check out their story.

We were saddened to hear that longtime Anglers Inn Lake El Salto guide Lacho Anaya passed away this week. We’d fished with him on several occasions and he was an integral part of the exceptional guiding crew at the lake.