I’ve never been big on motivational speakers and literature. While I’m sure some of them are very valuable and insightful, for each useful example I’m sure there are tanks full of snake oil. Whenever I see someone post something on social media like a meme about “the hustle,” I assume they’re either trying to signal some sort of virtue or convince themselves of their own work ethic.

Throwing a 10XD all day is a full contact sport. Don’t believe me? Try it yourself.

Although I was previously aware of his starring role in the Tackle Tour empire, I first met Dennis “Cal” Shew at the 2007 ICAST show in Las Vegas, at which time I also took possession of a coveted yellow JDM Daiwa Pixy finesse baitcasting reel. Dennis immediately offered to upgrade the gears on that reel to turn it into a “Pixzilla” and I knew that I’d found someone with a whole lot of knowledge who shared my values.

On our recent trip to Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala, we fished on the Finest Kind, a gorgeous 40’ Whitcar captained by Nicho Alvarenga. Each day the captain had us either at the top or near it in terms of the number of fish landed, and that’s a credit to his skill and understanding of the waters. But he wasn’t the only person who helped us to 37 sailfish in three days, including 23 on the first day on the water. Our mates Daniel and Tony were also critical to the process.