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Angler's Profiles
by Mike Lanni
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| A series of articles introducing RISAA members to the rest of the club. |
| (From the June, 1998 Newsletter) MARGARET "Peg" HANLEY |
Most RISAA members know Margaret "Peg" Hanley as club treasurer or through
her work as chairperson of the fishing committee. We all know what
a good job she does preparing reports, handling our money, and keeping track
of the fish we catch during our tournaments. Her organizational skills,
trustworthiness and dedication make her the ideal person for these positions.
But how does she rate as an angler, you may be wondering? Can
she fish? You bet she can!The first time I fished with Peg was a few years back when we were with another club. We were night fishing the Quonset docks in my Pro-Line with a mutual friend named Pat. Anchored up and fishing whole squid, the three of us were sitting in the cockpit, engaged in quiet conversation. Suddenly, Peg got up off her seat, pointed her rod tip down, took a few turns on the reel, and set the hook. Within a short time she had a nice bass to the side of the boat. In the next hour or so, she repeated this procedure twice more for two more bass. I was really impressed with the way she handled those fish. When it came to setting the hook, her timing was perfect every time. She played those fish with composure and never attempted to "horse" the fish to the boat. It was apparent to me that night that when it came to fishing, Peg really knew what she was doing. Peg was born and bred a surf angler, and fishes almost exclusively with conventional gear. Her favorite reeel is the Garcia 7000, and she posesses the educated thumb that is required to consistently cast a conventional without backlashing. She builds all her own rods, and anyone who has seen her work would certainly take note of the quality and craftmanship that goes into them. Any club members that are in the market for a well-made custom rod, would be wise to consider Peg. She builds them the old-fashioned way - one at a time and no two alike. Recently, Peg has been doing more fishing from a boat than from shore - namely with friend, 
Harley Benton. Harley is a legendary bass fisherman, and we will introduce
you to him in a future "Angler Profile." Harley has helped Peg to reach
a new level as an angler, and it seems that every year she is catching bigger
and bigger fish. Her personal bests are a 33 lb. striper caught with
Harley in his boat, and a 17 lb. bluefish caught from shore at Conimicut
Point. There's a funny story that goes along with that bluefish - after
she hooked the fish, the gears in her reel decided to quit! She brought
the fish into the shore by backpeddling up the beach!The thing I admire most about Peg is that whatever she does, she does it to the best of her ability. Whether it be fishing, rod building, cleaning her house or even baking cookies for the monthly meeting, Peg tries to do the best job possible. I think that's why she was chosen as club treasurer, along with her unquestionable honesty and integrity. As dedicated as she is to RISAA, she is equally dedicated to her son, Jan, and her dog, Max. That dog may as well be human, because that's the way he is treated in the Hanley household. Peg is a caring mother also, and her proudest moment in life was seeing her son graduate from college. She's always there when you need her, and personifies the word "frienship." If there is one thing that the RISAA needs more of, it's ladies like Peg Hanley. So, if any of you know a female that would like to give angling a try, but might be a little hesitant due to the fact that this has been a male-dominated sport in years past, tell her about the RISAA and Peg Hanley. |
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PROFILES
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