Broad and Reel

Over to the left is Justin, my fishing buddy and best friend. I suppose I’m more of his fishing buddy but whatever.

Basically everything I know about fishing, Justin taught me.

He’s a great teacher and that’s because he is very patient and he is absolutely obsessed with fishing…he actually gets grumpy when he doesn’t get to fish.

Any type of fishing works for Justin…he owns fishing gear for fly fishing (both freshwater and saltwater), shark fishing, catfishing (it’s true he had special set ups for fishing for catfish in Pittsburgh),  surf fishing, pier fishing, trout fishing, steelhead fishing…I don’t think he owns any ice fishing gear but I’m sure he would if we lived near ice. He also owns several rods and several reels used for distance casting.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say fly fishing is Justin’s favorite…he really excels at it. He’s been fly fishing for over 10 years. He started with Family Tyes and even built his own rod (which I learned to fly fish on). Family Tyes taught him the basics of fly fishing and tying flies. Over 10 years later Justin still ties his own flies and he’s pretty darn good at it…he even taught me. He has educated himself in all aspects of the sport…including entomology (bugs that trout eat for food).

Shark fishing is another one of Justin’s favorites. He’s crazy! Once he lands a shark, he’ll straddle the shark to pull out the hook. Last summer he caught a six foot tiger shark near Myrtle Beach by kayaking a small shark out into the ocean in the pitch black.

Justin has big fishing plans for the future including fishing vacations (bonefish in the Bahamas) and hopefully his own fishing charter company or guide service.

Not only do I benefit from my fishing buddy’s expert advice but Justin refuses to fish with junk or crap. So… I reap the benefit of really nice hand-me-down tackle:) It’s a pretty sweet deal.

Oh ya…Thanks for everything Justin;)