08/15/2007

Ladies love fishing too
By Don Klein

Gigi St. John loves fishing so much she has a crew run her boat, Size Matters, so she can spend all her time fishing. "I found I enjoyed fishing more than running it (the boat)." she said.

Actually Ms. St. John has two boats. "The first Size Matters is a smaller 45-foot Cabo Express which I use in the Chesapeake Bay for rockfish" she said. That vessel's name was changed to Findango now that the bigger vessel is called Size Matters.

The second and larger Size Matters, currently docked at Sunset Marina in West Ocean City, is a luxurious 65-foot Spencer with a skipper and mate. "I always wanted to fish off shore and finally got a chance when I entered the 2000 White Marlin Open."

Ms. St. John, from Frederick, MD, just completed the 2007 version of the White Marlin Open and will be back for two more fishing events in Ocean City before the end of August. She has invited a group of women friends to join her this weekend, August 16 to 18, at the Poor Girls tournament.

"It's a fun tournament and a chance to get away with friends who don't go fishing too often," she explained, adding, "My friends will join me two days of the three and I'll probably go out one day all by myself."

Then she will be back for the Mid-Atlantic Fishing Tournament during the week of August 20 for another series of three competitive fishing days out of five.  In between fishing Ms. St. John manages 1.5 million square feet of commercial real estate. Her company, St. John Properties, Inc., Baltimore, is a family-owned business with her father at the helm which in total runs about 12 million square feet of commercial property.

The company buys raw land, develops it into offices and warehouses and manages them. "We keep them." she said, "We try not to sell the property. We hold on as landlords." 

But she would rather fish than do anything else. "I do as much fishing as my work allows," she confessed. "It's so relaxing to get away from the phones and other distractions and when you are out there," she said pointing to the ocean, "it's just beautiful."

She admits she is out fishing as much as 75 to 100 days a year, "Every weekend, if I can." Sometimes fishing in tournaments can be a strain but that does not reduce Ms. St. John's enthusiasm. During the recently concluded White Marlin Open she and her fellow fishing partners started at 4.30 a.m. three mornings out of the five days of the meet.

"We pull out (of Sunset Marina) by 5 a.m., arrive in the fishing area by 8 or so, put our lines in until 3:30 p.m. when all lines are pulled up and we head back arriving at the marina at 6:30 or 6:45 p.m.," she explained.

It is a long day and although Size Matters has a kitchen the crew brings dinner on board from the marina restaurant and eats on the vessel. Size Matters sailed with four anglers even though a maximum of six is permitted during the tournament.  Ms. St. John describes the whole experience as "exciting."

There are not many women in the White Marlin Open. But one, Patricia Ann Rodriguez of Dover, DE, is a regular aboard the fishing boat Par Five. She has been fishing for 33 years and says, "The 'Par' in the vessel's name" are her initials. She does most of the angling on the boat which is also used by her husband, son, two daughters and their husbands.

"I was voted Lady Angler of the Year in 2005 and 2006 by the Ocean City Marlin Club," she said with a big smile, "and I only fish from July to September." The designation is won by the lady angler who catches the most fish during the year.

Ms. St. John, who said her father paid for her boats, says she pays for operations and maintenance. "It's a barter system," she explained, "I make a lot of money for the family company and he helps with the boat costs."

What would make Ms. St. John's day memorable? "My ideal day would be on the Chesapeake in the morning catching the maximum rockfish I am allowed and still have time to make kickoff at the Ravens football game."   

She added: "When on the water and a game is on I always have the TV tuned into the Ravens. I love fishing and I love football. "

Watching the Ravens sometimes is a problem when Size Matters moves to Florida in the fall during which it makes regular fishing trips to the Bahamas. The last two years they docked the vessel in a Mexican port not far from Cancun.

The relative fishing proficiency of the genders always comes up when you talk to a woman angler. Ms Rodriguez was quick with her answer: "Women are better anglers because they are skilled at technique. They cannot depend on, as men do, brute strength to land a big one."

She always catches more fish on Par Five than any of the men who are aboard, she claims.