Fishing Travel News and Tidbits – February 2022

We know that many of you come here for original hardcore fish stories and gear recommendations, and we try to provide plenty of that, but we also scour the web for fishing-related news every day – and in particular, news that will inspire or help traveling anglers. Here’s a list of links we’ve found recently that might get your ass out of the chair and on the water. 

The biggest travel trend of 2022: Go big, spend big

Apparently bucket list trips are the “in” thing. We’ve been down with that logic ever since we started toting a rod tube. Of course, this new sense of urgency may put a strain on scarce resources, so if there’s a particular place you want to visit and fish in ’22 or ’23, start researching now so you can book sooner rather than later.

6 Most Commonly Asked Questions About our COVID-19 Services

We get asked about travel insurance all the time, and its value and use is murky, particularly in the context of COVID. Here’s a primer from well-respected company Global Rescue about their policies. It doesn’t answer everything, but it’s a very good start.

Frontier, Spirit announce blockbuster merger that would create giant ultra-low-cost airline

I think this is kind of a big deal, the merger of two low cost leaders. We’ve never flown Frontier, and several experiences with Spirit in years gone by led us to swear them off for the better part of a decade. Could this merger fix their perceived customer service faults? I’ll keep an open mind, but with the already deteriorating state of air travel in many instances, I’m at best cautiously optimistic.

Startup applying Airbnb model to fishing trips reels in seed funding

It’s something of a cliché these days that every new product is the “Airbnb of this” or the “Uber of that,” but this startup called Captain Experiences has serious investor power behind their goal to make fishing guides more accessible and transparent. It’s been tried before by companies like Reserve Fishing and FishingBooker, with mixed success. Maybe it’ll work this time.

Anna Simpson and her world of fishing: The Cicero woman keeps going fishing all over the place

This story of a 79 year-old Chicago woman who has lived a great life of family fishing resonates with me, because I have a “29 year-old” Chicago woman of my own who’s following a similar path. It proves that you don’t need to be famous or wealthy to live a great fishing life.

Brazil’s Domestic Markets: Who Are The Top Players?

After three fishing trips to Brazil (and a fourth to Rio when I was a teenager) I’m ready to go back and explore the massive country’s fishing offerings. We’ve flown American and TAM to get there, but within the country there are several other players. Here’s a late-pandemic assessment of where they operate and their current health.

World's Longest Routes: Which Ones Are In Operation Now?

In order to get to some bucket list fishing destinations, we’re likely going to have to take some long flights. After trips to Japan, Tahiti and South Africa, we’ve had some lengthy ones, but these are even longer. We’ll need to use some mileage-aggregating strategies to upgrade to business class for these 15-plus hour jaunts.

Back In The Skies: The South African Airways Fleet In 2022

Our 2016 trip to five countries in Southern Africa exceeded our sky-high expectations in every way, and at some point we want to return to the continent – preferably multiple times to include some new countries. A strong intercontinental and intracontinental fleet of planes, including those from South African Airways, will make that more likely.