While seafood is of course a prime consideration at any water-based trip, we’ve also had some exceptional beef (and “beef substitutes”) in our travels. Here are some of the most memorable ones.

While not all problems can be eliminated, the more seamless you make your journey, the more likely you are to be able to remember the highs and forget the lows. Developing the site has also forced us to think critically about our own practices, and to work to control the things that we can control.

I will never be as famous as Vinko Bogataj for his wipeout featured on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, but my disappointments and failures leave me just as devastated. Anyone who has ever fished knows that while we like to talk about our success, the chatter at the dock is always about “the one that got away.”

While floating down the Chobe River we came across one of the most amazing wildlife sights — you have to see it to believe it. It wasn’t even the most unbelievable part of our three-week trip to Africa.

I’m typically not one to make resolutions but I am very goal-oriented. I also love checklists. I love the satisfaction of crossing off “to do’s” and I will do something that isn’t written on the checklist, then write it down just to check it off. In 2021, I’m accelerating my dreams.

If you’re traveling to catch a new species, unless you’re exclusively a trophy hunter and you’re willing to blank, go someplace where you’re going to get a lot of bites. That may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often travelers disregard it. They’ll go to a fishery that has “some” smallmouths or “some” muskies and target those lesser fish, rather than either targeting the predominant species or going someplace that actually has numbers. Then they’re surprised that they don’t succeed.

We’re headed to famous Lake El Salto in June of 2021 for an offshore slugfest — and there are rooms available if you want to join us.

As I’ve described before, I am the ultimate hoarder of vacation time, using every legal and ethical hack in the book to make what I’m granted go as far as possible. Of course, 2020 was a challenge to anyone looking to maximize vacation. On the one hand, we had forces preventing us from going anywhere (and I hate the idea of a “staycation”), but we needed the release more than ever.

We are headed back to the most amazing part of the United States in the middle of August to chase trout, salmon, bears and halibut. If you have not been, it’s a MUST for the avid angler or wildlife-watcher.

One of the reasons that we’re headed back to Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala is because the sailfish are so incredibly acrobatic. Every one of the 37 we landed jumped multiple times.

I have a lot of fish to consider for the “Favorite of 2020” title, culled from excursions that included 18 days on the water at El Salto and 6 in Alaska. Despite that, and perhaps not surprisingly, my favorite fish came from our newest venue, Guatemala. What might be surprising is that I wasn’t the one who caught it.

Twenty five years ago, when I first went to Alaska, I did not own any Gore-Tex. I might not have even known what it was. This, my friends, is hard for even me to believe. I had some crappy discount hiking shoes, a sieve-like rain jacket. Even if I’d been aware of better gear, I would not have been able to afford it. Despite those deficiencies, over the course of a month with two friends I had the time of my life.

Anglers Inn President Billy Chapman Jr. knows he can’t control the fishing, even on the best waters in the world, so he makes an effort to exceed expectations in any way that he does have control over. He doesn’t tolerate employees who don’t buy into that game plan, and it shows. Everyone who stays around is constantly hustling.

As I anticipated the arrival of my payara mount, I thought back to that amazing trip organized by Billy Chapman Jr. to the Mato Grosso state of Brazil. We caught so many big fish of various species, and experienced things few gringos will ever get to see – especially because the similarly remote regions of the world are shrinking or evaporating daily. 

It took us about two seconds to reach the executive decision to extend our El Salto trip through the holiday (which was about 1.99 seconds longer than it should have taken). As Hanna has written, it’s our home away from home, and the staff have become our second family. Nevertheless, neither of us had ever spent turkey day outside of the U.S. We had no idea what to expect on the “Dia de Gracias.”

Billy Chapman Jr.’s motto has always been: “Service is our focus.” That extends to eating, too. The staff wants you to be well-fed and satisfied. Accordingly, they’re willing to go the extra mile to make that happen.

Despite what some people claimed would happen, the COVID-19 did not abate after election day. In fact, as Hanna and I prepared to leave for Anglers Inn Lake El Salto on the ominous date of Friday the 13th (of November), numbers were surging throughout the United States. Friends and family members expressed concern over our decision to persevere with our planned weeklong vacation, and truth be told we were a bit worried ourselves.

This Thanksgiving Pete and I were supposed to drive to Chicago to cook, eat, relax, eat and eat again on a long overdue visit to see family and friends. We were scheduled to be in Mexico from November 14 to 21, but that wouldn’t give us time to quarantine or get a COVID test, so we made the decision to not make the drive. This will be my fifty-third (!) Thanksgiving and for each and every one I have been thankful to be surrounded by close family and friends.

I figure I’ve been to approximately 25 countries, but my niece, who is almost 15, has likely been to at least as many, probably more. Most of her earliest memories came while living in Tokyo, she spent last summer at Oxford, and she’s made it her goal to visit every country on earth (good luck with North Korea, Yemen and a few others). That may not happen in the post-COVID-19 world, but she’s off to a damn good start.

If you’re flying to an epic fishing trip, in most circumstances you’ll have to check a bag at some point. While TSA does provide some vague guidance allowing for hooks to be in your carry-on luggage, ultimately the US government, foreign governments and individual airlines will interpret the regulations differently. Also, remember that TSA has the final word in America, but when you’re on foreign soil you’re playing by a whole different set of rules.