Vienna residents Pete and Hanna Robbins spend most, if not all, of their free time traveling and chasing the next bite. In addition to domestic travel, they’ve fished the Amazon tributaries for peacock bass multiple times, they’ve conquered tigerfish in the Zambezi, and lately they’ve picked up the saltwater bug with trips to Guatemala and Panama.
Pete is a Board Member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame and a Senior Writer for Bassmaster magazine. He has also written for other publications, including In-Fisherman, Field & Stream, and Gary Yamamoto’s Inside Line. He also consults for a number of fishing tackle companies. Despite those credentials, Hanna often catches bigger fish.
They will join PRSC for the June meeting to discuss “bucket list” fishing opportunities both abroad and domestically. The theme of their website, www.halfpastfirstcast.com, is making “the most of your remaining casts,” and they are anxious to introduce anglers of all budgets and travel appetites to new ways of catching more fish and having more fun while doing it. It was their trips to Anglers Inn International’s properties at Lake El Salto and Lake Picachos, both near Mazatlan (Mexico) that really jumpstarted their travel bug, but they feel that by experiencing all of the things ancillary to fishing — scenery, food, and most of all, the people — they’ve learned to appreciate every day on the water quite a bit more.
While Pete is a semi-insider in the industry, Hanna didn’t catch her first gamefish until she was in her late 30s, yet she’s picked up the ball and run with it. That experience has taught Pete patience (!) and it has taught both of them the thrill of seeing someone learn to love the sport. In fact, Pete and Hanna rekindled the excitement by taking up fly fishing on trips to Montana and Alaska (another expensive hobby!). While exotic trips are nice, the important part of the experience is to “find your bliss,” and that can take place in the creek in your backyard.
Bring your questions about specific locations, special opportunities for female anglers, and the best ways to budget your disposable income and vacation time to maximize the bite.
When: Wednesday, June 30th at 7:30pm – ‘Doors’ to the meeting will open at 7:00pm for socializing.
Where: On your computer, tablet, or smartphone using Zoom.
RSVP on our Meetup page for the link to the meeting. Link is below.