The People Who Inspire our Adventures
Through fishing we have met some unforgettable characters, and we want you to know them, too.
A Prime Time Bassing Reading List
Deion Sanders, AKA Coach Prime, believes that he could have been a three-sport superstar — with bass fishing as the third platform for excellence. Here’s some of his fishing history.
What’s Your Favorite Fishing and Travel Website?
How do we know that we’re doing a good job of leading you to your best fishing life? We’re aware that we’re biased, so we consulted an independent panel of experts to find out their favorite fishing travel website. Here are the unfiltered results.
Reuben Hastings – KING Guide at Bear Trail Lodge
Reuben Hastings has been guiding at Bear Trail Lodge in Bristol Bay for 13 years — and we’ve been lucky enough to fish with him on the Naknek as well as on several flyouts. He’s an amazing person and enthusiastic angler.
Cooper Neblett – Unknown Neighbor Becomes Our Bear Trail Lodge Guide
We traveled across the continent to Bear Trail Lodge and ended up fishing with a guide who hails from 90 miles away from our house. Cooper Neblett made our return to Bristol Bay exceptional. He has a great future in the fishing industry.
Working With Your Partner at El Salto and Picachos
After over 20 trips to Lake El Salto and Lake Picachos, Hanna and I have a solid routine in the boat. We understand each other’s tendencies and while we’d rather catch the big ones ourselves, we still celebrate when the other succeeds. We’ve recognized that in the long run working together produces far better results for everyone than competing with the other person.
JP DeRose – What’s Your Lane?
JP DeRose is a tournament angler, educator, and well--known TV hos. He was born raised in Ontario , and still lives there, but it’s hard to contain one of or favorite multi-species anglers. Check out the conversation he and Pete shared at this year’s Bassmaster Classic.
Kent Brown’s Best of the West
While I’ve fished in many places with the US as well as internationally, I’ve never fished on the west coast. It’s on my bucket list, and when I finally make it there I want to fish with my friend Kent Brown. Pete and I made sure to see our friend at the 2023 Bassmaster Classic to catch up and ask him about what’s happening on the waters of California.
Paul Fisler’s El Salto Personal Best Largemouth
Check out the video of our good friend Paul Fisler catching his PB from the back of MY boat. How does it feel to catch a ten pounder?Let’s hear it from the horse’s mouth. Here’s Paul’s story, in his own words.
Regrets, I Have a Few – Fishing Travel Edition
I’ve been on the shores of numerous great fisheries where I’ve somehow failed to make a cast. Some I’ll be able to visit in the future, but two in particular stand out as missed opportunities.
Marc Shoenfelt – Half Past First Cast Bringing Friendships Back Together
We met Marc Shoenfelt in 2010 at Lake Mateos. We kept in touch, but we never got together again until our most recent trip to Lake El Salto. That’s when Marc traveled on his first, but not his last, HPFC traveling adventure. After 13 years of waiting, Marc finally got the opportunity to fish with “the infamous pescado writer Pete Robbins.”
Keeping it Real With Mr. Phoney
After fishing with Daniel Jones and learning what a Phoney Frog glidebait could do, I knew that I had to have one. I knew that owner Jason St. Mary would be at the Classic Expo in Knoxville, so I hunted him down, credit card in hand. Even better. I got him to spill the beans on how he makes sure each one is perfectly tuned.
Bless Your Heart – How Southern Belle Jennifer Maguire Fell for the Salt Life
Salt Life team member Jennifer Maguire — AKA, Southern Belle — shares her story and explains her love of kayak fishing. If you’re looking for a female angler role model, start here.
Deacon Sebela’s Lake Picachos Experience
Logan Sebela of California took his son Deacon to Anglers Inn’s Lake Picachos outpost for Deacon’s 13th birthday. It was a trip that neither one will ever forget — take a kid fishing!
Mark Davis: Big Waters, Big Fish, Big Personality
If you’ve ever seen Mark Davis on the Outdoor Channel’s BigWater Adventures and thought there’s no way he could always be “on” the way he seems on the tube, let me clear things up for you – whether he’s eating chicken wings, dragging a tube for smallmouths or pulling on thousand-pound marlin, the dude is revved up. He carpe diems the hell out of every day he’s alive.
Steve Parks Enjoys a Raging Good Time Fishing in Mexico
Steve “Big O” Parks, inventor of the Rage Tail, is one of the few people who have fished for bass in Mexico more times than I have. In fact, he’s been there so often that I’m surprised he doesn’t have dual citizenship. Since we’re always looking to improve our already-substantial success, we quizzed him about his thoughts, preferences and opinions.
You’ve Found the Sailfish – Now What?
Even when fishing side-by-side certain captains and certain boats tend to produce more raises, bites and releases than some others. It can’t be dumb luck. As with everything in fishing, getting the sailfish to commit is part art and part science, and few are better at it than Captain David Salazar.
Swimbaits 101 With Wayne Campbell
The swimbaiters have been a welcoming bunch, but I still have lots of basic questions, and I figured that many of you might be similarly situated. Fortunately, Swimbait Universe administrator Wayne Campbell was kind enough to sit down and answer some questions, and provide his typically thoughtful responses.
The Venice of My Dreams – With Mike Frenette
If you want to go redfishing in South Louisiana, Mike Frenette is a living legend and his Redfish Lodge of Louisiana is high on our bucket list.
David Salazar’s Sailfish Location Strategies
We’ve now spent a total of 12 days on the water at Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala, and we’ve released over a hundred sailfish, I don’t necessarily know much more about how to locate them. Every day CVL owner David Salazar, needs to work with his team to locate or relocate the billfish. They work collaboratively to narrow things down, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Rylie Lyon: Bear Trail’s Next Generation
Rylie Lyon has big shoes to fill. Not only is her mother Nanci the operator of Bear Trail Lodge and the holder of multiple angling records, but her father Heath is also considered one of the deans of the Naknek River guiding fraternity. She was raised in the town of King Salmon, population <400, although it swells substantially when the commercial fishermen (and visiting recreational anglers) arrive during the brief summertime period.