My 2025 Goals for Hanna
I live with her daily, so sometimes I forget how far Hanna has come as an angler. Twenty years ago, she’d basically never fished before. Now she’s fished on multiple continents, across the United States, and has chased and landed trophy fish across more species than 99% of the anglers in the world.
Moreover, she has worked hard over the past few years to carve out her own place in the fishing industry. That effort has been both helped and hindered by my presence – helped because she gets access to my network of contacts, but hindered because people sometimes mistakenly assume that Half Past First Cast is Pete’s deal rather than a partnership.
If her angling career were to plateau now, she’d have much to be proud of and nothing to apologize for. Nevertheless, part of the purpose behind our partnership is to push each other. We’re typically each other’s biggest cheerleaders and we encourage each other to take uncomfortable risks.
With that in mind, here are my goals for her for 2025:
Catch a Marlin – We think she came close in Guatemala in November, but despite fighting the fish for 40 minutes and getting it to the leader, the fish broke the hook and got away. I know that the marlin has become her “great white whale,” and she’ll have multiple chances to catch one (or more) – first this month in Panama and then near the end of the year in Baja.
Take “That Picture” – Hanna loves photography and has invested substantial time and money in getting better at it, but she’s spread so thin that it hasn’t become a priority. We have thousands of pictures from our many trips, but rather than pure volume I’m hoping that she can take a single pic this year that tells a complete story. It can be the centerpiece of a blog, with or without words.
A Trip Without Me – Hanna has taken several girls’ trips in recent years, first to Kentucky Lake with her Mexico crew, and then to Table Rock with just her friend Samantha to fish with Chad Morgenthaler. I have lots of opportunities to go on media junkets that she doesn’t get (yet) but I hope someone sees fit to offer her one, and she takes it. Alternatively, I hope that she and one or more of her fishing buddies take even a quick trip that expands her fishing knowledge.
More Podcasts – Despite being a talker, Hanna doesn’t have much confidence in her speaking ability on camera or tape. That’s a mistake – I think once she got going talking about the things she’s passionate about any jitters would fade away. I want her personality to shine through as an equal part of our business and only she can make that happen.
Learn to Spool Up Reels – I don’t know why I seized upon this, but it just seems like something every angler should be able to do. I suppose it would save me time before our trips, when I often have to spool up 10-15 reels, but frankly I find that process relaxing.
A New Marketing Effort – Again, we need to get the word out about our awesome trips, and Hanna is certainly the “softer” and more approachable half of our duo. We’ve made some strides in recent years with our local business association and via trade show attendance, but there has to be some other avenue (or, more likely, multiple avenues) to get the word out.
Find a New Bass Staple – Our tackle collection is overflowing, its value rivalling the GDP of some small countries, and I’ve been bass fishing for over 40 years. As a result, it’s hard to surprise me with a new lure. In 2024, she did it, with the Megabass crawler at El Salto. She was so excited by it (as was I) that I hope she can find a way to do it again.
Attend Media Day at the Classic – This one’s already set up, so there’s no reason for it not to happen – her first “real” media event. It’s a chance for her to get some additional name recognition, think creatively, and work on her interviewing skills – maybe even grab some swag. Time to start thinking of it as a job (albeit the most interesting job in the world) and taking advantage of opportunities that fall into her lap.
Obviously, achieving some of these goals will be easier than others. Assuming that she agrees with me that they’re valid, I hope that she remembers that there’s no shame in trying hard and coming up a little bit short.
