On the water with Toni: Never Say Never
Written by Toni Battle
If you'd told me years ago that I'd love fishing, I probably wouldn't have believed you.
Fishing was always my husband and son's thing. As our son became more involved in fishing competitions, I realised that if I wanted to support him, I needed to become more involved too. That meant learning to tow, launch and retrieve our boat, something I never imagined I'd be doing.
When I first started, I had a lot of reservations.
I thought the smell of fish would stay on my hands forever. I worried about the fish itself, the pain it must feel being dragged through the water by its lip, whether it would die, and I honestly wondered if I'd get bored waiting for a fish to take the bait.
As it turns out, none of those things stopped me.
I even discovered a product called Smell Ya Later, which gets rid of any lingering fishy smell!
Learning to launch and retrieve the boat was another challenge altogether.
I was so nervous.
My husband taught me on the private jetty at our fishing club so I could learn without anyone else around. It took me a while, and there were moments when I was ready to throw it all in because I just wasn't getting it.
But I knew how much my son wanted to fish and compete.
So I put my big girl pants on and kept going.
Eventually, it all clicked.
These days I'm confident launching and retrieving the boat and don't get flustered if people are watching.
When I first started fishing, I wasn't keen on baiting hooks or taking fish off the line either. I'd often wait for one of the boys to help me.
Then one day I decided, "No... I'm going to do this myself."
Now it's just another part of fishing.
Looking back, I think the moment everything changed was seeing how excited my son became whenever I caught a good fish.
His excitement became my excitement.
Somewhere along the way, I discovered a competitive streak I never knew I had.
Winning the Ladies Biggest Fish competition for the first time was such an exciting moment.
Winning it again the following year was even more special.
Now...
I want to win every one! 😂
Fishing has taken me completely by surprise.
What started as a way to support my family has become a passion of my own.
If my journey has taught me anything, it's this...
Never say never.
If you’d love to follow Toni’s journey, you can find her on Instagram.