I am a Texas ranch girl that fell in love with catfishing in a pond as a child. After my first year at Texas A&M I realized that my summers would be “better spent” fly fishing the Colorado River out of Vail, CO, where I ended up being the only female fly-fishing guide in the Vail Valley. Upon graduation I joined the World Billfish Series as their Project Coordinator… this is where I fell in love with pelagic fish and billfishing! That addiction has taken me all over the globe fishing and competing with some of the best teams in the world.
In 2011 my husband was offered a job running a boat in Quepos, Costa Rica. Realizing the country’s need for marine service companies, my brother and I launched Premium Marine. Our company started out repairing propellers with Prop Scan Technology, which then led to the development of digital shaft inspection and repair equipment and full-service fabrication. We now service and repair all running gear for yachts and sport-fishing boats through-out Central America.
Year after year I have been blessed to fish in almost every billfishing tournament in Costa Rica. Each year I see a steady increase in the number of women competitively fishing, or just leaving the dock on charter boats. This is why I have created the Pescadora Billfish Championship. (The only ladies billfishing event in Central America). Women from around the world have played significant roles in conservation, but few are aware of the tagging and conservation aspect of fishing. Not only will we be crowning the world’s top lady anglers but we have developed an excellent platform to educate women on the importance of generating this powerful data and the urgency of funding needed for the research. We need to guarantee that our future generations can experience the love of fishing as we do now.