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Trip News

12.4.20 The final push through the Southwest

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The final stretch through El Paso, Las Cruces and Phoenix… then the greater Los Angeles area.

Sunday 11/22 – 550 + miles

We knew that we would gain an hour in El Paso so we opt\’d for an extra hour of sleep and started the day a little later than the last few days. We made the short haul to El Paso where we would stop to grab more dry ice, fuel up and grab something to eat.

Joe had taken the reins on making decisions on where we would eat. Normally I wouldn\’t trust anyone else with my food… but Joe is different. That dude can sniff out a good meal anywhere on this planet. It is a true gift and we will follow his nose anywhere. His latest recommendation took us to this incredible place that makes gorditas… not the Taco Bell kind. This place smelled like fresh tortillas, smelled of grandma\’s delicious stews and meat goodness and no one spoke English. La Gorda… WE ARE AT THE RIGHT PLACE!

After figuring out which meat concoction we wanted to sample… we placed our orders and watch them go to work. A few minutes later we had our gorditas and the three (3) of us started a familiar cycle of sounds and sayings…

\”This is bomb\” – Pop\’s

\”Holy shitballs this is good\” – Me

\”Joe, try my meat\” – Also me

\”Only sounds and no words\” – Joe

\”Thanks Joe\” – Pop\’s and Me

After we finished stuffing our faces… we pushed on to New Mexico where we would make a pit stop literally to get gas and to drain the main vein and low and behold… we find the firework motherload.

Like two (2) little kids with their parent\’s credit cards… Joe and I loaded up on some fireworks. The people that worked there were so helpful and encouraged our bad financial decisions. The next time the earth shakes… it was probably us.

From there we just kept pushing until we hit Glendale Arizona, part of the Phoenix Metropolitan area. My Dad left his toiletry bag at the Best Western on our way out and wanted to get it back (it was my grandfathers bag). Luck was with us and they saved it for him. We un-hitched the trailer for the night and grabbed some dinner at Bobby-Q\’s again. The first time we came was such a hit that we had to do it again. We avoided a lot of restaurants on our trip back due to high COVID risks… so it felt good to enjoy a proper dinner.

Monday 11/23 – 360 miles

Our final run was our shortest run… so we slept in. We were highly motivated to get home and see our families but with any true California story you have to mention something about the traffic. Heading into the Coachella Valley we hit some \”put the brake on and turn off your car\” traffic. Of course… we are so close.

Fortunately it was about an hour delay… once we got past the obstruction we understood why. A semi was overturned with hazardous materials and no more to go. It looked bad… we could only hope that the ones involved were OK.

Some fuel and breakfast stop later… we were on the final run to my house in Diamond Bar. I got a bit emotional thinking this whole #shitshow was coming to an end. I loved just about everything we did… all the good, the bad and the yummy. What a treat. This will NOT be our last road trip as we loved the discovery aspect of it and the opportunities it provided us.

Keep an eye out for a full trip recap with intimate details about our trip and what I got out of it…

Trip News

12.3.20 Time to head home

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It sucks to think that the adventure was coming to a close… but all good things must end at some point.

Friday 11/20 – 400 miles to Houston, Texas

We took our time to pack up and say our good-bye\’s. Not only did we not want to pack everything back up… we just didn\’t want to stop hanging out either. Rob and I were heading the same direction and started planning out lunch stops. The guy couldn\’t get enough of us.

It took us a bit of time to get out of the state of Louisiana as we had multiple stops to make including a quick business meeting, a stop to pick up 50 lbs. of dry ice and a stop to pick up boudin balls and chicken crackling. Cuz once you have dem boudin balls and chicken crackling… boy you ain\’t the same. YA HEARD!

We pushed on through to the greater Houston area and stopped for the night. We wanted to get home within three (3) days because we were starting to get home sick, Thanksgiving was coming up and we were exhausted. So my Dad and Joe finally had Whataburger… our lives did NOT change forever however we were not dissatisfied either. One thing is for sure… Buc-cee\’s is coming up on Saturday!

Saturday 11/21 – 600 + miles to Van Horn, Texas

This haul was a doozy. If we wanted to get home at a decent hour on Monday… we needed to put down some serious miles on one of our full day trips. So we bit the bullet early and used Saturday as our day to drive many, many, many miles pulling a 24 ft. cargo trailer. But first we hit Cracker Barrel as my Dad AND Joe had never been. As suspected… we all fell into the trap that is their country store. But hey… we are contributing to the economy right? Once again… my Dad (Pop\’s) proclaimed \”THIS IS BOMB\” while mowing down some biscuits and gravy. More on \”This is Bomb\” coming soon.

Next stop… Buc-cee\’s. We had to live this Texas experience one more time. We had to walk past rows of ice machines, game feeders and gander at the Great Wall of Candy. In other words… we had to pay our respects to the greatest convenience store known to man. So we used the bathrooms, shopped and contemplated buying things we didn\’t need. $80 dollars later as if I had no will power at all, I walked to the truck with an odd sense of un-warranted pride.

I look forward to doing that again on my next road trip through Texas!

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We drove and drove and drove some more until we just couldn\’t do it anymore. Essentially 12 hours later or 620 some miles later we stopped at Van Horn for the night. Nothing was open but a McDonald\’s so we got McBurgers and McNuggets with a side of McShits later on. We barely finished our food before we started to crash. We got a good night sleep knowing that we had a decent haul to Phoenix the next day. Home was in sight.

Trip News

12.2.20 More Fishing and More Wind

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I wish that I could report that the conditions eventually swung into our favor, but that was not the case. As a matter of fact, most would argue that it got worse. Morale was low for some of the Cali guys as the struggle was most definitely real. Even the seasoned pros were struggling to find the fish and if you could find them… staying on them was the next game that you had to master.

Wednesday 11/18 – 25+ mph winds

We woke up to howling winds, I mean it was ripping. Just about everyone questioned their desire to get up, get ready and fight the wind AGAIN. I will say this; most of the group had a strong will to push on through… I was not one of them on Wednesday. A handful of us decided to stay back and do a bit of work instead of fighting the wind.

However team #nevergiveup continued to grind. The Cali guys started getting on fish. Each respective group reported catches signaling that better times might be ahead. NOPE… mother nature was relentless and kept throwing high winds at us.

At least this time around fish were caught and the Cali boys were finding success. With team fish/catch photos and lots of fish to fillet… this without a doubt boosted morale in camp which led to a lot of whiskey drinking and good eats. Well truth be told… no matter what we did led to a lot of whiskey drinking and good eats.

Thursday 11/19 – 20+ mph winds

Soooo… like out of a story book we woke up at the crack of dawn to low winds which felt like NO WINDS compared to the last few days. All of us were well rested and ready to make the most of our last day of fishing in southern Louisiana.

Once again we staggered our launches and launched all 18 anglers into an area of the marsh that had proven to be successful and full of fish. We quickly spread out and started to get skinny. Everyone found an inlet, cut or pond with the right falling tide conditions and just killed it.

Brian Nelli reported in early with multiple large trout caught and a bunch of redfish. This was the sign that we were about to have a good day. As I drove up an inlet I spotted a small pond with clean water and all of a sudden I saw a bunch of mud come up signaling that there was a good sized fish there. I aimed, threw and missed horribly. I reeled in and re-casted and put it where the fish had no choice but to eat it. And just like that… I had my first sight casted redfish on a kayak. My homie Brooks Beatty was on the scene with the camera and coached me into landing it myself. I almost made the mistake to net the fish before the fight was over… thanks for the advice Brooks! More to come on this! And as I suspected I would… I landed the fish on a Buggs Fishing Beastie Bugg 1/4 oz. (Blue Crab). It was so sweet I had to text Heath Hippel (owner of Buggs Fishing) and say thanks for making this possible. I kept the lure and brought it home for the mantle.

The low winds didn\’t stick around for long, our window was tiny but we took advantage of it. The stupid high winds picked back up and eventually flushed us out of the marsh into a large opening and we all eventually ended up together as if it were planned. A super cool way to end the trip… basically all of us together sharing fish stories and talking about how they sight casted a fish.

Bottom line… our team caught fish. Our team figured out the extremely tough conditions with the help of some seasoned professionals and a relentless desire to catch fish, despite the challenges.

I was surrounded by incredible people that refused to quit… what an honor that was.

Trip News

12.1.20 Days 1 + 2 Tough Fishing, Tough Conditions

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We all came to Louisiana with the same goal in mind… to do as much fishing and eating as possible before our time ran out. Everything in between was just a bonus. Though the in between stuff was pretty damn fun too… let\’s talk about the fishing right now.

Monday 11/16 – 20 mph winds

Soooooo, we may have dodged some quarantines, we even dodged a potentially deadly tropical storm that at one point was expected to hit south Louisiana but what we couldn\’t dodge was the damn wind.

We staggered the launches for our large 18 person group throughout the morning starting at first light. Our floatilla went through what appeared to be a movie set but was really just real southern Louisiana marsh living. An incredible back drop for our day of fishing. The sun was shining, the clouds were scarce, the weather was nice… but the wind was howling. High winds and kayaks make for a challenge… extreme tides with a lot of flushing water doubles the challenges.

None of this stopped Jessica Bryant from Mississippi from sticking a \”marsh pumpkin\” as she likes to call them in super skinny water sending a warning shot to all of the boys on the trip. Wind, flushing water or not… it can be done. What a bad ass… that was just the beginning for her.

We (and by we I do not mean me) only picked off a few fish that day before the group was dejected and worn out… by no means was this the start that we wanted, however it is the start we were dealt. We will persevere.

Monday night 11/16 – Bowfishing via airboat

The camp we stayed at Deep Delta Bowfishing specializes in you guessed it, bowfishing charters. Now, this already sounds cool, but let\’s add the fact that they run airboats for their bowfishing charters. This we had to see for ourselves… so we did a thing.

We loaded two (2) airboats up with 11 anglers and went for a scoot across the marsh. Hot diggity damn that shit was fun! You can ask the guys on my boat… I was screaming the whole way \”FASTER\” just like a kid would.

The consensus was… we all loved it, the fish ARE safe when we have bows in our hands and we want to do it again! Not gonna lie… it was satisfying to shoot a fish instead of hooking a fish. I absolutely loved it… cold as hell, but loved every second of it. An unforeseen highlight of the trip.

Tuesday 11/17 – more 20+ mph winds

That 5:00 AM alarm was rough on Tuesday morning considering we had such a long day AND half of the group spent the night bowfishing… all of us were regretting that decision when we were stumbling around to get ready. Not our finest start… OK it sucked. But we did get out.

The winds were freaking relentless. We split up into three (3) groups to try to find marsh with water in it and to get the Cali boys onto some fish. For the most part, this group knows a thing or two about redfishing in the marsh, only a handful of us needed some help in understanding what to look for, how to approach skinny waters, what baits to use, etc. By the end of the second day we had that down… but the winds wouldn\’t let up.

The only blessing was that the groups started to report more fish being caught and then I had my first run-in with a redfish while in my kayak (I caught one on the dock in PAC)… and it was a doozy. Using a popping cork and some friendly advice from Eric Muhoberac from Louisiana Kayak Company I managed to frustrate a 31 inch redfish into biting. Then the hooting and hollering began. She was a beauty. How is it that my first kayak redfish is a fatboy!

As I was worried that my undersized net wouldn\’t get the job done, Eric swooped in and and landed my fish with an appropriately sized net. This moment was incredible, I let out a bellow of a cry and Eric followed with a sweet yell of success. Robert Field felt the disturbance in the force and he knows that sound… he knew that I found my fish and immediately jumped on the radio. Joe was there to film the final moments and snap a few good pics. I can\’t wait to share them with you…

Though the fishing was not on fire… there were signs of life, moments of joy and a glimmer of hope that all of us will get our redfish. We had two (2) more days of fishing to go… WE GOT THIS!

Trip News

11.25.20 OK… We suck at live event blogging

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Jokes aside… our intent was to share some of our adventure with you during our trip and we certainly did that through social media, but fell short in the live blogging category. For that we apologize.

There was just so much to do and we also wanted to be present in the moment. I often get ridiculed for spending far too much time working and not enough time living and there is truth to that… so I wanted to keep the work shenanigan\’s to a minimum.

So… let me catch you guys up:

Sunday 11/15 – 120 miles driven

It was time to leave PAC and join the rest of the circus in Port Sulphur at Deep Delta Bowfishing\’s camp. This place will be the Fish Village South Louisiana Scouting Trip HQ for the next five (5) nights. That is a tall order considering our group is 18 strong. Rex, Buddy, the Action Van and the California #roadtrippin contingent loaded up and got back on the not so smooth Louisiana roads. A few short hours later we arrived at camp where some of the team members were already chilling.

Within a few short hours our group was complete with eighteen (18) people… How the hell did this happen? How did we manage to pull off this group of kayak anglers?

NameState
Brian NelliFlorida
Billy CentroneFlorida
Derrick BentonFlorida
Ivy HarrisFlorida
Brooks BeattyNorth Carolina
Jessica BryantMississippi
Ed HornsbyMississippi
Sean RigbyMississippi
Rex DeGuzmanTexas
Robert FieldTexas (but really a vagabond)
Jesse LandryCalifornia
Paul WilliamsCalifornia
Ryan ArguelloCalifornia
Alex CasillasCalifornia

Plus of course my Dad aka Pops, Joseph Martinez (Head of Marketing), Eric Muhoberac (Louisiana Kayak Company) and yours truly.

After all of the unpacking, hand shakes and hand sanitizing… we got straight into the fishing program with a few opening words from me to the group expressing my appreciation for their company and trust in Fish Village. And then Captain Harris, aka Urban Legend aka Ivy Harris was kind enough to give a short speech to the group about his appreciation for being a part of Fish Village… so him and Derrick Benton of 85th Day partnered up to create an incredible fishing rod that looks more like art than a rod. It was an incredible surprise that meant a lot to me. What a nice way to start the week with this group of people.

From here we handed out our tackle packs that were made possible with the support of Z-Man, Matrix Shad, Buggs Fishing just to name a few. These packs were put together with the idea that every angler would be outfitted with the same toolkit. These toolkits were comprised of highly successful lures, spinnerbaits, swimbaits and more providing each angler with the tools necessary to land these redfish. These kits were well received by our group. Seeing everyone go through their boxes and checking out the goodies was pretty cool to see. This paired with everyone rocking their fresh Fish Village shirts and hoodies made me damn proud. Rex killed it!

A special thanks to all of our tackle and accessory partners… without all of you this trip would have failed to live up to the Fish Village name.

As the night progressed we geared up for our first day of fishing in the marsh. We knew we would have to contend with high winds and flushing water… the Cali boys were about to get an education about marsh fishing for reds. Stay tuned to learn how our first day went!

Trip News

11.17.20 Getting to Louisiana and finally seeing PAC

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The haul from California to Louisiana was definitely half of the fun of this adventure… considering we ate our way through the country and visited good friends along the way.

As we crossed through from Houston into Louisiana, we could see the destruction left behind behind from multiple hurricanes and it was hard to see. It was hard to see because we know people are suffering… blue tarps everywhere, trees down, roofs ripped off and rubble piled high.

As we marched towards New Orleans we started getting pretty excited about the notion that this party was about to take off. It is mind boggling that we could assemble this incredible crew during such a challenging time. We have all kinds of fishing talent, photographers and videographers making for incredible content, great Field Trips episodes and so much more.

Our first major stop in Louisiana was PAC aka Point Aux Chene aka PAC Kayak Rental. Within the kayak fishing community PAC is well known for one of the best kayak launches in America. Not just a launch, but a community, a vibe, a place to have a cup of coffee AND a place to call home when travelling through.

We were fortunate enough to spend two (2) nights at PAC before moving to our main destination. This short window was just enough time to rest, learn about an incredible fishery, fish until 3 AM, meet the locals, spend time with Mr. Eddie and Ms. Lisa and enjoy a large community fish fry. What an incredible place… I will remember this place as the first place where I saw the marsh and caught my first redfish and speckled trout. (off the fishing dock). I connected with it immediately, simply said… this place is gorgeous. I will be back (FOR SURE).

More updates coming soon… I apologize for the lack of updates recently. There has been quite a bit to do, long fishing days and ummmm bowfishing from an airboat at night.

Trip News

11.12.20 El Paso to Houston, Texas is BIG

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We have been at it for almost four (4) full days and we are STILL not out of Texas… why? Because Texas is f\’n big. You hear the that Texas is big and that everything is bigger in Texas… well IT IS.

Wednesday 11/11 – 600 miles driven

We knew that we had to put down some miles on Wednesday in order to keep the trip on schedule and to make an impromptu stop. So we decided to start the day early to ensure that we didn\’t have to drive into the wee hours of the night… and we are glad that we did.

So we hit the road at 7:00 AM and started the push… we only made a few stops along the way mainly to fill up the gas tanks. We kept it simple.., snacks, protein shakes and whatever other shit we bought along the way.

Our strategy paid off as we rolled into San Antonio right about 6:00 PM. We had a dinner date with two (2) very special people to my family. We had the incredible privilege to visit my second mother, my after school watcher and one of two of her daughters who was my childhood friend. this opportunity would NOT have been possible if we didn\’t get out there and live. This 2.5 hour dinner was something that I will remember for the rest of my life. This is why we travel… such an incredible opportunity.

Sure COVID is ramping back up and is something that we have to take seriously and we are by no means taking that lightly… but with the right precautions and respect for one and another, we can make this work. The good people of Texas are largely participating in social distancing, wearing masks and following guidelines which is incredible to see.

Thursday 11/12 – 300 miles driven

Today we have a short drive to Houston where we are going to meet Rex DeGuzman @ Blood Bros. BBQ at high noon for some epic Texas BBQ. We have been thinking of Texas BBQ for months and today is the day!

Holy shit!!! We were hooting and hollering about every piece of smoked goodness that touched our lips. This place is FIRE. They have the classics with some twists on cultural dishes and I couldn\’t have been more impressed. The team that works there was nothing but courteous, fun and informative making the visit that much better.

Smoked brisket fried rice paired with some perfectly smoked brisket and ribs plus SO MUCH MORE. Let\’s just say that dinner was not required, but incredible cubano espressos WERE required to remain conscious for the remainder of the day. What a freaking treat! My smoke game ain\’t got nothing on these guys.

I skipped over one key milestone today… we got to see Rex\’s shirt and sweatshirt prints in the flesh. That means we got to see OUR new Fish Village apparel for the very first time and we could not be more happy. The prints look amazing, the new bait school design looks even better in person and the simple logo design shirts make us proud. Soon, you will have a chance to pick up your own Fish Village gear… we just have to get back home first.

So then we headed for Buggs Fishing where we would meet with owner Heath Hippel to learn about his operation, how to fish his gear AND to pick up a personal package of his amazing lures. This guys makes the coolest looking lures (in our opinion). Cool? What does that mean? Well, he basically ties flies like a traditional fly fisherman would, but they are designed for conventional fishing. His baits imitates mimic shrimp, crabs, mullet and more. He took the time to speak with us about how his products work and we will be able to share that with you soon.

From there we took the rest of the day off and did some work, uploaded photos, wrote a blog, started editing, spoke to Rob Field, Ivy Harris, Rex and Brooks about the final details. Tomorrow we ride to Louisiana with Rex and his pal Buddy… PAC, here we come. I will have a hard time sleeping tonight… IT IS ALMOST TIME TO FISH.

Trip News

11.10.20 CA, AZ, NM and now TEXAS

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We have been charging eastbound on I-10 for nearly two (2) days now and we are still not quite half way to our final Louisiana destination… but that is OK because we are having a blast.

Pops aka Mr. Steve Ponce is leading the charge by pulling the 24 ft. trailer with Joe and I shooting anything and everything that looks interesting. Our Canon\’s are getting a workout.

Monday 11/9 – 380 miles driven

We started a bit late due to some unexpected complications, fortunately it was a minor delay and we didn\’t have much of a schedule planned for the first day. So instead of making it to Tucson on night one, we only made it to Phoenix… this is largely due to the massively awesome dinner we had at Bobby Q\’s in Phoenix.

We just couldn\’t help ourselves… and we are so glad we stopped there. All we talked about in the car is where are we going to eat next… if you know my Dad, Joe or myself… then you know that we signed up for this road trip as a means to eat our way across America.

Tuesday 11/10 – 450 miles driven

We started our day around 7 AM searching for quality coffee for my Dad… Best Western had instant coffee and my Dad wasn\’t having that. So Joe found a Starbucks around the corner and the problem was solved… onward.

We traveled thru the rest of southern Arizona and crossed over into New Mexico by noon. We knew at this point that we could make it to at least El Paso before the day was over… we are officially back on schedule.

I spent a tremendous amount of time in Arizona in my twenties… but never anything east of Tucson. This road trip is providing the three of us the opportunity to experience the southwest and parts of the southeast together for the first time. We are thoroughly enjoying it.

Joe is our resident internet finder of things and he has yet to lead us astray. We were initially discouraged because a lot of restaurants are closed in this area on Monday\’s and Tuesday\’s, however this lead to Joe\’s discovery.

We had a very casual dining experience at Chala\’s Wood Fire Grill in the neighboring city of Mesilla just outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico. This dinner was not only fantastic, but light on the wallet.

  • Amazing smoked sausage w/ New Mexico green chili
  • Quality beef (rib eye and NY steak)
  • Compound butter
  • Fresh goat cheese
  • Farm fresh organic produce
  • Crisp, fresh iced tea
  • + cinnamon sweet tea for my Dad

Everything we had at Chala\’s was incredible… from the simple fresh salad with quality greens and a zesty citrus chili sauce to the giant rib eyes that had my Dad singing.

The three (3) California fat dudes went to town and came out on top with a small bill, full belly\’s and a happy driver!

After dinner we drove another hour to finally cross into the Lonestar state with our sights on El Paso. 40+ miles later… I was able to grab a hot shower, share some Basil Hayden bourbon with Joe and write a blog post. Not a hard day, but a long one.

Tomorrow we hit the road hard to try to cover some ground… From El Paso we will easily hit 500 + miles before we call it a day. From there we have to charge to Houston because we have a date with Bugg\’s Fishing and our boy Rex of ActionHat. Rex has some fresh off the presses, red hot, brand new Fish Village apparel that we GOTTA get our hands on.

Lastly, Tropical Depression/Storm ETA… PLEASE GO AWAY! You are f\’n with my vibe!