For as long as I can remember, I have spent breaks and summers traveling across parts Florida and Cape Cod searching for trophy fish. Whether it’s gliding across the flats of the Florida Keys in search of acrobatic tarpon, or scanning the churning Atlantic waters for monster striper, I’m happiest when I’m on the water. My obsession with fishing began as a child when I would take my Spiderman fishing rod to my grandfather’s pond trying to catch bluegill that weighed less than a pound. The older I got, the more my obsession grew, and I was no longer content fishing ponds in rural Alabama. Instead, I upgraded rods and decided it was time to improve my skills and start fishing in the ocean. Growing up in Atlanta, opportunities to fish are limited, so I spend rainy days in my basement tying various fishing knots, or designing new lures to target certain species. My first experience in a boat was a traumatic one: getting seasick on a party boat called the “Finding Nemo”. Determined to not let this trip deter me, I continued to pester my parents to allow me to go deep sea fishing, and my addiction was reignited when I caught my first king mackerel in Destin. Since then, trips to Jacksonville and the Florida Keys have allowed me check new species off of my bucket list such as Mahi Mahi, barracuda, striped bass, tuna, and even a blacktip shark from the beach. Nothing brings more excitement or gives a greater adrenaline rush than seeing line scream off the reel from a fish that realizes the squid it thought was eating was just a pink tube with then end cut in strips. In the future, I will continue to travel across the country in order to check more fish off my list and build even more memories with my friends and family on the water.