The Hard-Fishing Women of Half Past First Cast

Despite the fact that the number of women fishing seriously has increased exponentially over the past couple of decades, there are still some impediments to many of them getting involved in the sport. Until Hanna became passionate about it, I don’t think I’d ever fished with a woman who was hard core – but since establishing Half Past First Cast we’ve built a network of angling females who would go to the ends of the earth to chase finned creatures. That’s been one of the highlights of this enterprise, giving Hanna a network of her own as well as giving women a safe and welcoming opportunity to travel the globe.

Obviously, Hanna is my number one when it comes to fishing women. When we first met 20 years ago, she’d never fished at all. Now she’s caught fish in Brazil and Panama and Guatemala and Zambia and of course Mexico. When I go to a Bassmaster Classic without her, people are genuinely sad that she’s not there. Most of all, she’s a tough little stick of dynamite, able to cast a 10XD all day, rip a prop bait in the grueling heat of the Amazon, battle tuna in bucking waves, and hike the tundra to get to remote Alaskan streams. The fact that she didn’t come from an angling background has actually worked to her and our advantage, because she still sees every new situation as an opportunity to learn and to be impressed.

She’s not the only one, though. We’re fortunate to have the following badass women on our list of repeat traveling partners:

Samantha Sukupcak

When Hanna organized a ladies trip to El Salto in 2016, our friend Dan Brovarney told us to get in touch with Samantha. “Everything she does is gold,” he wrote. It turned out to be true. She’s one of the most technical and passionate outdoorswomen we know – she’s killed a black bear with her bow, she has a captain’s license and she’s been with us to Guatemala as well as numerous trips to Mexico. Her husband Mike isn’t bad, either. They’re a two-boat household, which is especially cool in my book.

Jennifer Combs

Most people know Jennifer as the wife of Texas fishing royalty Keith, but she was a serious tournament angler long before they got together. She and her father were a deadly tournament team on the lakes of central Texas, and I actually met her at a redfish lodge in Venice, Louisiana before I’d really worked with Keith. She runs their business and can drop ‘em in their tracks, too.

Kristine Rygas

Kristine’s husband Aaron is a big personality, and she’s not a morning person, so we weren’t sure what to make of her at first, but she’s become a hardcore angler, too – joining us frequently in Mexico as well as on one amazing trip to Guatemala. She balances all of that with being an amazing mama to their spitfire daughter and pursuing an advanced degree that’ll make the world and her community a better place. She puts up with a lot of crap from our group (and Aaron) with grace.

Lisa Vicars

When Lisa and her husband Carl joined us in Panama in 2021, she barely said two words for the majority of the trip. On top of that, she got severely sunburned and seasick. We thought we’d never see them again, until we got to the airport to go home and he asked, “When are we coming back?” Since then they’ve rejoined us in Panama and spent an amazing nine days with us in Alaska – with a return to Panama on the books along with a trip to Guatemala. Lisa is one of the sweetest, kindest, most empathetic people I’ve ever met, able to get along with anyone and excited about every new day.

Lisa and Michelle Skelley

Each of the Skelley sisters deserves her own treatise in this space, but it would also be a shame to separate them, because together they’re more than the sum of their parts. Like Samantha, we met them on the women’s trip to El Salto and they’ve been back with us numerous times, as well as on our 2022 trip to Lake of the Woods. Lisa is the hardcore angler, but Michelle catches just as many with her trusty watermelon Senko (“Why would I use anything else?”). Most importantly, they’re consistently cheerful and supportive to everyone around them. Both of them light up a room.

We’ve also been fortunate that several of the lodges we frequent have amazing women in leadership roles:

Mother and daughter team Nanci Morris Lyon and Rylie Booth are highly-accomplished anglers who keep Bear Trail Lodge humming with amazing daily trips and impeccable service.

Kristen Salazar of Casa Vieja Lodge is a former Division I athlete who keeps up a whirlwind schedule on behalf of the operation while also serving as a doting mother to four young girls.

If your visit to Anglers Inn is flawless, the likely reason is the never-ending behind-the-scenes efforts of Magalhi “Gail” Chapman.

Whether you’re male or female, if you’d like to join us on one of our trips, or need help planning a trip of your own, contact Hanna asap and she’ll fill you in on the details and process.