A FAMILY AFFAIR

When I was 8 or 9 years old, my Dad started taking me fishing off the Long Branch pier in New Jersey for fluke during the summer and at night during the winter for ling and whiting. It was so cold that the nylon line we used would freeze between the water and the reel. The love of saltwater fishing took root as a family affair. When we were in our 30s, Jack Meyer, who owned the original L&H, a 56-foot Monterey, invited me and my future brother-in-law, Frank, to Singer Island, Florida, to go sailfishing.

That was the beginning of my fascination with offshore sport fishing.

After that experience, I took trips to Baja for striped marlin, Tropic Star Lodge in Panama to catch black and blue marlin, a dream week in Quepos, Costa Rica, with my son for Pacific sails and roosterfish, then Bermuda with my family. I’ve caught a spearfish and blue and white marlin in the Bahamas, swordfish off Fort Lauderdale, and Atlantic sails off Singer Island to pretty much fill out my billfish card. Along the way I have had the honor and pleasure of fishing with some of the best captains, including Billy Black, Barry Dudas, Joe Drosey, Greg Bogdan, Big Al Fields and others. From age 10, my son, Michael, and I have spent many wonderful times fishing together—irreplaceable experiences that he will share with his children soon.

I bought my own boat, a 52-foot Viking called Miss Annie, in 2006, and was very fortunate to put together a team that remains together to this day. Capt. Randy Yates, Bogdan, Mark Donahue, Frank Napurano and I have become a seagoing band of brothers. And while we’ve won some tournaments over the years, we haven’t gotten the golden ring in Maryland or Cape May yet, but we’ll be back reaching for it again this summer.

Barry Weshnak, Miss Annie Via email