My love of fish and fishing is second only to my love of dogs, especially our dog Rooster. After our last amazing Casa Vieja Lodge sailfish trip we traveled to Lake Atitlan, the volcanic lake in Guatemala and I fell in love -- with the villages’ dogs.

We’ve added a Testimonials page to our website so you can see what our travel companions think about our services. We want to give you the best fishing experience possible — and thought it would pay to hear what we can give from unbiased travelers.

Fishing isn’t just a hobby for us—it’s a culture built on passion, adventure, friendship, and a love for the water. At Half Past First Cast, we celebrate every aspect of it, from the first cast of the day to the last cast of the trip, and we want you to share in the lifetime of enjoyment as well.

Whether you’re trying to hammer some success at Casa Vieja Lodge, Anglers Inn, Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge or Bear Trail Lodge, it pays to dress the part. I like to get geared up for our adventures by painting my fingernails and toenails to reflect my quarry.

The Napoleon Wrasse – also known as the Maori Wrasse or Humphead Wrasse,— haunts my dreams. They live in really exotic places like the Seychelles, New Caledonia, the Maldives and Andamans. I won’t get a shot at one for a while so here are some apparel items in their honor.

I love me some HGTV. Watching the design shows inspires me for our not-so-far-way plan to build our retirement home. I’m constantly gathering home décor ideas. Perhaps I have found some pieces to get us started thanks to Great Blue Heron Furniture of Texas

I’ve been riding in bass boats for over 20 years, but despite occasional short spurts behind the wheel, I’ve generally avoided learning to drive one. Pete is a critical teacher. Finally, I decided that it was time to learn, so I asked the much more patient Chad Morgenthaler to be my instructor. Here’s the rundown – it’s not so hard.

I thought we were the only angling family crazy enough to have an Australian Shepherd (we didn’t learn the first time), but there are several of them out on the bass tours. Here are their thoughts on the breed.

We’ve offered plenty of fishing storage solutions over the years, buy sometimes your pants are the best option around. That’s why I am constantly on the lookout for a good pair of fishing shorts. They must have pockets. My pockets act as my purse while out fishing or hiking.

I already showed you how we “shot docks” for crappie on my recent trip to Table Rock to fish with Chad Morgenthaler. After teaching us how to locate and catch them, the next step was to learn how to get them ready for the pan. As you can see in this video, he made it look easy.

When we're out on the boat on a fishing trip, more than anything else I dress for function over style. I’m mostly concerned with protecting myself from the sun and not sweating to death. However, at some destinations, it feels nice to look a little dressed up in the evening. There’s no dress code, but I like to go to the bar area for a gourmet dinner and look fresh and trendy.

It doesn’t matter where you are in the country or around the world -- on the way to the beach, in the grocery store or driving through Nebraska, far, far from the ocean -- you are almost guaranteed see a SALT LIFE decal on multiple vehicles. Salt Life is not just a brand. It’s not a place. It’s a state of mind. We’re headed on several salty adventures in ’23, starting with Guatemala in February, and I wanted to make sure that I was properly outfitted.

The Fourth of July holiday is just around the corner and we all want to dress to impress – even on the water. I love getting dressed up in red, white and blue. Check out some of the coolest fishing and sosrt-fishing apparel that’ll drape you in those colors from head to toe -- provided by many of the fishing tackle and apparel companies we all know, plus Amazon.

“Die with memories, not with dreams.” That’s one of my favorite sayings – ok, not the part about dying, but definitely the part about the importance of memories. Luckily, with modern technology it’s possible to have vivid photographic evidence of the great moments of our lives. Here are seven individual photos and collages that are among my favorites.

If you like to fish and you like jewelry, why not combine those passions? I’ve picked up fishy pieces (both pricey and inexpensive) all over the world to remind us of our travels and our on the water exploits.

In the Robbins house we are constantly thinking about the next meal, or even the next meal after that. I guess you could call us foodies. We are willing to try almost anything. Of course, some meals stand out more than others. In a year full of great dining, both at home and on the road, here are some of my favorites.

My first question when we returned to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge was whether Chef Eddie would teach me to make his incredible tuna poke. Now you can make it at home with this simple tutorial and recipe.

How will we know if we can live in a 5th wheel six months out of the here? Furthermore, how will we know what features we want in our “home on wheels”? We got to test drive the Morgenthalers’ Grand Design. Here’s my report.

We’ve been thrilled with numerous products from Lakebound, including barrel ends, shirts and mugs, so on our recent trip to Missouri we brought our friends Chad and Debbie Morgenthaler a Lakebound blanket with an image of Table Rock Lake, their home waters. Their marriage may never be the same.

Not only did Dave Mansue harvest a magnificent West Texas elk with the assistance of True Grit Outfitters, but he allowed us to enjoy the fruits of his hard work on a recent trip to Missouri. After enjoying an appetizer of ground elk ravioli, we hit the main course: Steak Diane.