Sophomore Reels In Billfishing Awards

George Straub ’24 has been fishing since he could talk - off his dock, offshore, and in the Bahamas.

“My dad and his best friend taught me many things about the sport and sparked my passion for the sport,” Straub said. Straub said when he was younger, he would find time to fish everyday. His first foray into billfishing was at the age of 11. 

His passion and skill was recently recognized by The Billfish Foundation who named him Top Overall Tagging Youth Angler, Top Overall Release Youth Angler, Top Release Angler, Blue Marlin - Atlantic Ocean, and Top Youth Tagging and Release Angler in his age group.

Straub’s love for the sport began off the coast of Palm Beach.  He further honed his passion and craft in the Southern Bahamas where he was mentored by Al Fields, “a very well known and respected fisherman in the industry.”

Straub has since traveled the world - from Costa Rica to the Dominican Republic - to fish.

“The billfishing community is extremely large, consisting of people from all over the world. There are many avid bill fishermen all the way down in Australia, Hawaii, Africa, and many other places in the world. And the greatest part about it is that everyone knows each other. Everyone in the large community knows exactly who each other are, where they are, and how the fishing has been where they are fishing. And billfishing itself is much more competitive and the comradery is much stronger than other types of fishing,” said Straub.

Straub explains that billfishing is a million-dollar industry that requires a team of experienced and skilled fishermen in order to compete in tournaments. While it can be difficult for him to juggle billfishing and school, he tries to fish at least once a week and plans to continue pursuing the sport throughout college and his adult life.

“From now until I graduate college, I hope to become a great angler and meet more people in the industry so that I will be invited to fish on other boats until I work long enough to hopefully buy my own boat,” said Straub.

Head of Upper School Fletcher Carr said he is extremely proud of George for both his skill as a deep-sea angler and the work he has done to “pursue what is so clearly a passion for him, yet does not fit neatly into the traditional school schedule.”

“He has had to put a good deal of work into maintaining his academics while rising to the top echelon of world billfishing. His success is a testament to his hard work and the cooperation of his teachers in flexing to help him stay on track in the classroom,” said Carr.