A boy jumps into a boat, where that girl sat, and it set into motion a crazy chain of events: A six hour date, which led to a 4th place $9,000 tournament win, which in turn purchased a plane ticket for a marriage on the beach.

Would you believe that? You might if you know Mark Zona. His offbeat brand of quirkiness may be in the public sphere, but it’s his wife Karin who holds it all together. Check out the story of their marriage and partnership in her words:

HPFC: Can you share the story of how you and your husband first crossed paths?

Karin Zona: Mark and I first met in 1994 when I was up at my best friend’s cottage on Klinger Lake for the 4th of July weekend. We were out boating and Mark came up to us on his bass boat which was loaded with girls in bikinis and his friend who was the drummer in a local band. He jumped into our boat and sat right next to me and said “WHOOO ARE YOU?!” He was wearing a 1970s big collared shirt unbuttoned with polyester bell bottom pants with gold chains!

HPFC: What were your initial impressions or your husband when you first met him?

Karin Zona: That’s a loaded question! I guess my first impression was filled with a lot of mixed emotions! I thought he was super funny, hot -- but also definitely had a slice of crazy!

My friend and I were on a walk around the lake that following year and ended up stopping at Mark’s parents’ house. He came out to talk with us and was super sweet. I didn’t know until later that he looked out the kitchen window as we were walking up the driveway and told his mother “I am going to marry that girl!”

HPFC: Did you know anything about fishing when you first met?

Karin Zona: I had no idea that there was even such thing as competitive bass fishing or even what a bass boat was! I lived in the Chicagoland area and hadn’t been exposed to anything in the outdoors so this was all new to me.

HPFC: What if anything, did you know about professional bass fishing before you met?

Karin Zona: Nothing at all! I went fishing as a child with my grandfather but that was old school bobber and worm fishing.

HPFC: Was there a specific moment or event that made you realize your feelings were more than just friendship?

Karin Zona: Two years after our first meeting I was back up at Klinger Lake for Labor Day Weekend. My friends and I were having dinner at a local lakeside restaurant talking about that time I met Mark Zona and how crazy and funny he was when ironically, he walked in the door. He sat at another table with some friends but then came up to our table and asked if he could talk with me privately. I agreed and proceeded to follow him to his table but said I only had one minute talk because I had to get back to my friends. He asked if he could take me fishing in the morning. I said, “I don’t think so. We have friends up at the lake and are busy.” Then He asked if he could take me scuba diving in the lake. I said “I don’t think I want to go under water with you. I’m not sure I trust you that much yet.” Then he went to his next option and asked if he could show me some romantic paths in the woods near the lake. I replied, “Okay, that’s not happening either! I am not going into the woods alone with you” I finally said, “Why don’t we go back to the fishing option. You can pick me up at 10:00 but I am only fishing for ONE hour.”

He picked me up at 10:00 sharp and what was supposed to be one hour turned into six hours and then continued the next day. The next week. By our third date I was sitting in a tree stand with him. I went back to Chicago that week and told my co-workers how I had helped track a doe and gut it. They didn’t believe me! We were engaged six months later and married nine months after that!

HPFC: How long have you been married?

Karin Zona: This December 8th will be our 27th anniversary. September of 1997 Mark had won $9,000 in a New York Bassmaster Invitational on the St Lawrence River. We used that money and flew to Maui and got married on the beach at sunset, just the two of us. The spring of 1998 we bought a house in Michigan and have lived here ever since, raising our family. People always say “marriage is hard.” We haven’t experienced that. If you marry your best friend you work through the bumps as a team. We came from different backgrounds and were an extremely unlikely match. Friends and family said it would never last. We love proving them all wrong!

HPFC: When you met was he already fishing professionally or did he have another job?

Karin Zona: He was fishing in a regional fishing circuit along with fishing some Bassmaster Invitationals and FLW EverStart tournaments. He was also selling pontoons and bass boats at a local marina.

HPFC: How did the two of you come to terms with him going out and living his dream?

Karin Zona: In 2004 Mark was getting ready to fish professionally full time when he got the call from ESPN to try out for their “Bass Saturday” block. He didn’t want to go to the audition because he had his mind set on fishing tournaments. I told him that he had to go and at least TRY. If they liked him then we could choose what direction we wanted to go. I told him that he could always go back to selling boats and fishing but this might be the chance of a lifetime. Against all odds, since he had no prior television experience, they hired him and here we are now! When he started “World’s Greatest Fishing Show” and “Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show” that became his version of a “fishing tournament.” The stakes were high because he knew he had to come in “first place” every time he taped. That became his competitive fishing but this time he was competing against himself.

HPFC: How do you manage the frequent separation and limited time together due to his on the road schedule?

Karin Zona: When he first started working for ESPN he would have to fly down to Charlotte NC from Thursday-Sunday every week. That was hard since we had our twin boys who were only three years old at the time and had a lot of special needs due to being born prematurely. We handled it and made the best of it. I quit my job to care for them full time along with help from Mark’s parents. The traveling continued when he started covering the Bassmaster tournaments and taping his own show. We would try to travel with him as much as possible so we could see him as much as possible. That became more difficult once Hunter and Jakob got into middle school and high school.

HPFC: How do you adjust when your husband returns home after being away for weeks at a time?

Karin Zona: It was more difficult when the boys were little. When Mark was gone, I had a pretty rigid schedule with them. When Mark came home that went out the window. I think it was hard for him as well because he was on his own when he was traveling. When he would come home and walk into “our” schedule (that hadn’t included him) he felt excluded. We wanted to make sure that when he got home, we focused on family time and having fun. The roller coaster of adjusting to that was stressful but it was worth it in the end. The past 16 years we have also been business partners running Mark Zona Inc. which has kept our communication and goals fluid. We are both part of the business which has made Mark being gone much easier than if we were on different professional paths.

HPFC: Are there any activities or special events that you and your husband enjoy doing when you are together?

Karin Zona: We just enjoy hanging out together whatever that is. Spending time with Hunter and Jakob is top of the list now that they are adults and our time with them is more limited. Other than that, relaxing on the pontoon together, hunting, fishing, really anything as long as we are together.

HPFC: Do you have any pet peeves?

Karin Zona: He likes to make loud screeching noises out of the blue to annoy me. He tapes my reaction and sends it to his friends.

HPFC: What do you think your husbands pet peeves are of you?

Karin Zona: Probably that I am very OCD!!

HPFC: What are your retirement plans?

Karin Zona: Probably to just ride off into the sunset and get away from the stranglehold of social media!!

HPFC: What is something off the wall that no one knows about the two of you.

Karin Zona: We are both actually VERY anti-social and prefer not being in large crowds. Sitting at home watching a movie together or playing PlayStation PGA Golf is our perfect night!