Our fishing trip was a success this year!
By Debbie Hanson
Jul 11, 2016
Fish on the line! These were the electric words being yelled all day by first mates of The Worm, Bob and Tim. The annual RBFF team fishing trip was a success as we all had an eventful day fishing for rockfish and striper, out of the Chesapeake Bay.
Being the newest member on the crew I was the first one up to hook a fish. My goal of catching the biggest fish of the day was shortly cut down when I reeled in a 20 inch fish for my first catch. Now that I had the first catch out of the way the rest of the office took turns reeling in fish after fish as I was anxious to get another try.
After everyone had caught their first fish it was finally time for me to redeem myself and catch a fish that would land headlines in the local newspapers. Bob handed me the reel and said, “You’re on.” I quickly began reeling in what I thought would be a trophy fish, however when I got it on the boat It turned out to be another small fish beating my first fish by just one inch. I was second to last on the office leaderboard and was kicking myself for not showing up and being competitive with the rest of the office.
As the mates were reeling all the lines in after everyone on the boat had caught two fish, Tim noticed one of the rods not yet reeled in take off! He grabbed it and handed it to me and said, “It’s a big one.” I quickly started reeling in, praying something huge was on the other end of the line. With my arms burning and what seemed to be a thirty-minute battle (realistically only a three minute battle) I finally hooked a nice size striper. I knew it was a good sized fish because Bob had to use the “big net” just to get it in the boat. I was ecstatic to end the day with a 28 inch striper to go on the office board.
Our teammate, Johana single handedly beat the office with a monstrous fish measuring in at about 32 inches. Holly might have had the rarest catch of the day as she hooked up with catfish swimming around in the bay, which Bob said he had never seen in all his years of fishing the Chesapeake Bay.
I was thrilled to receive my “rookie” award at the end of the trip and could not have started working with RBFF at a better time! Who else gets to fish all day with their co-workers! I will look forward to fish tacos at a weekend barbecue as I’m sure they will complement each other well. And if I have one take away from this trip it is to form a partnership with Johana next year!
After everyone had caught their first fish it was finally time for me to redeem myself and catch a fish that would land headlines in the local newspapers. Bob handed me the reel and said, “You’re on.” I quickly began reeling in what I thought would be a trophy fish, however when I got it on the boat It turned out to be another small fish beating my first fish by just one inch. I was second to last on the office leaderboard and was kicking myself for not showing up and being competitive with the rest of the office.
As the mates were reeling all the lines in after everyone on the boat had caught two fish, Tim noticed one of the rods not yet reeled in take off! He grabbed it and handed it to me and said, “It’s a big one.” I quickly started reeling in, praying something huge was on the other end of the line. With my arms burning and what seemed to be a thirty-minute battle (realistically only a three minute battle) I finally hooked a nice size striper. I knew it was a good sized fish because Bob had to use the “big net” just to get it in the boat. I was ecstatic to end the day with a 28 inch striper to go on the office board.
Our teammate, Johana single handedly beat the office with a monstrous fish measuring in at about 32 inches. Holly might have had the rarest catch of the day as she hooked up with catfish swimming around in the bay, which Bob said he had never seen in all his years of fishing the Chesapeake Bay.
I was thrilled to receive my “rookie” award at the end of the trip and could not have started working with RBFF at a better time! Who else gets to fish all day with their co-workers! I will look forward to fish tacos at a weekend barbecue as I’m sure they will complement each other well. And if I have one take away from this trip it is to form a partnership with Johana next year!
Debbie Hanson is an award-winning outdoor writer, women’s sport fishing advocate, IGFA world record holder, and freshwater guide living in Southwest Florida. Hanson’s written work has appeared in publications such as Florida Game & Fish Magazine, BoatUS Magazine, and USA Today Hunt & Fish. To learn more about her work, visit shefishes2.com or follow her on Instagram @shefishes2.
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