Tracy English

I am a 51 year old divorced mother of two daughters, 23 and 26 years old with a granddaughter who will be one in 2 weeks and another due on April 10th! I lost myself in a 23 year marriage and have now been divorced for the last 5 years on the journey to find myself again!

I've been in the construction industry for 25 years, first working in single-family residential for 7 years, then multi- family for 14 years and finally landing in the commercial setting for the last 4 years.

I discovered my love for fishing about 4 years ago. I have never felt the peace I feel when I'm out fishing. The rest of the world just disappears. Even if I'm out for 8 hours and catch nothing, it's a great day. I still consider myself a newbie to the sport but can't get enough! I have mainly done lake fishing for bass and catfish.

My first deep sea fishing experience was in 2012. I got a hook through my finger and spent the rest of the 6 hours seasick. I swore I'd never go again. Fast forward to 2021, I went to FL with a group of guys from work to try deep sea fishing again. Since I love lake fishing I wanted to give it a shot and it was a free trip! All I caught were three barracuda but I was IN LOVE!! I was fiercely competitive with the guys on the trip. They didn't think I could do it but I showed them!

I went channel fishing in Mt. Pleasant, SC in 2022 and felt a bigger rush catching some great red drum, a stingray, a puffer fish and a few others. I went back to Mt. Pleasant two more times in the last two years. It wasn't deep sea fishing but it was the next best thing.

At the beginning of 2024, I found myself going through a difficult breakup. My coping mechanism? Plan a trip! Let's go big this time!! I found a post from Tracey Tito who runs Fishing Trips with Skip about a trip to Samoa in November. I had time to save the money... so I reached out to her. I wanted more info since I was going to do this solo. We spoke via video chat and she got me pumped up for the trip. I suffer from extreme anxiety and panic disorder. This was WAY outside of my comfort zone. I did a solo trip just after my divorce but it was to AZ; this was clear on the other side of the world!! I was excited but terrified! As the trip grew closer, the more anxious I got. I was traveling 38.5 hours via 4 flights. I had a 16.5 hour layover in Fiji, BY MYSELF! But I made it.... the last leg was just a short flight to Samoa..... to meet 8 strangers all from Australia. Would they like me? Would I like them? My very jealous coworker warned me that the South Pacific was much more harsh than what I had ever experienced. Could I do it? I came equipped with some prescription motion sickness patches. I was GOING TO DO THIS.

From the moment I met Tracey aka Skip, I knew I had a lifelong friend. Over the next few hours I met the rest of the group. Over the next week I had the most AMAZING experiences. The first day of fishing, I caught nothing! I caught them but they were lost.... so, that was a bummer but I still had an amazing time. Day 2, I caught two sharks!! That was AMAZING! The next day, I went snorkeling for the first time with giant clams and the most beautiful fish. I'm not a good swimmer so that was a great moment for me! Day 4 and 5 were the best! I caught barracuda, a yellow fin tuna, a dogtooth tuna, and what I considered my prized mahi mahi. We had her for dinner that same night and WOW, she was delicious. I don't even like to eat fish, but this!! Maybe part of it was that I actually caught it? I don't know.... but it was so empowering. This entire trip changed my life. THIS.... FISHING... this is what I want to do. This is what I love! Now, I just have to figure out how to make it happen!!! I didn't want to leave Samoa.... or the new friends, now like sisters to me. These women who have the same passion that I do. But.... home was calling. My girls, my grand.... I'm now counting the days until the next trip.....I need a marlin!!! I came back a different woman than the one who left. More confident, empowered and happy! I found myself!