Every fisherman (and fisherwoman) knows that you have to be ready to fish at any time, in any place.
LIV Tour member and PGA Tour defector Cam Smith is familiar with that rule, and always has some sort of fishing pole nearby when he’s out on the golf course. And why not, right? There are plenty of ponds and bodies of water out on golf courses, and while golfers try their best to avoid them during play, you KNOW there are some big fish out there just waiting to nibble on a line.
Just ask these PGA Tour caddies who went viral last year for ripping lips at the Players Championship:
Funny side note, Cam Smith won the Players Championship in 2022, but wasn’t allowed to come back and play in the tournament in 2023 because he had moved over to the LIV Tour. Since he couldn’t play, Smith decided to pass the time by fishing a couple of miles away from TPC Sawgrass (where the tournament is held every year).
I won’t get into the politics of the LIV Tour, but I can confirm that they appear to be more “fishing friendly” than the PGA Tour. The tour’s 2024 season is teeing off in Mayakoba, Mexico at the El Camaleón Golf Course, and it’s there where Cam Smith pulled out his fly fishing rig to try and rip a few lips mid-practice-round.
The pro golfer was likely going after a tarpon or bonefish after another person in his group spotted one swimming in the water by the course. It was as if Cam Smith had been waiting for this moment all day, because as soon as he was alerted of a fish being spotted, he pulled his collapsible fishing rod out and got right to it.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that Smith was successful in his pursuit of a fish, even after it took him a couple of minutes to just get the pole put together. But with fishing (and sometimes also golf), it’s not always about the end result. Those that really love to fish realize they won’t always reel in a big one, yet they manage to enjoy the experience anyways.
Cam Smith happens to love fishing and golfing, and manages to put the two skills together every so often, like how he did in this video below:
