The Fishing Trophy

Our basement is filled with old trophies from our childhood. Most hail from my husband’s baseball career, starting at t-ball and ending with college, with countless teams in between. Some date back to my high school track days, though most of those are ribbons and medals which live in a box I keep tucked away.

The famous trophy, 20 years later.But there is one trophy that actually has received the honor of living in our house. Yes, that’s right. This one’s not from baseball or softball or even soccer. But fishing.

Dating back to 1992 and presented to me by the Milford Striped Bass Club for my 1.6 pound flounder – the biggest catch in the under 10 division –  it is easily the biggest trophy either of us has ever won. Back at the time, it was also the most exciting. It was presented in front of the entire fishing club, in the wood paneled room of an old restaurant that at the time felt exotic and different from anywhere I’d ever been.

The room was filled mostly with men. Only a few kids. And I was probably the youngest to get a trophy. Definitely the youngest girl.

Which is probably why my husband insists that this trophy stays out of the box. And why it always felt natural to write about fishing.