Pete Robbins
Fishing Writer
Pete Robbins is one of Outdoor Life’s fishing tackle specialists and angling travel experts. He has written extensively about the bass tournament scene for nearly two decades. Recently, he’s expanded beyond that niche to include adventure travel and bluewater angling. He lives in Vienna, Virginia, with his wife Hanna (who often outfishes him) and their Australian Shepherd Rooster, who is now banned from their bass boat for pressing too many buttons at inopportune times. The Robbins family calls the Potomac River their home water, but they (minus the dog) have also fished in Africa, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Alaska, as well as most of the United States.
Highlights
- Expertise and interests include tournament fishing for bass, popping for saltwater species, traveling to off-the-grid locations, and niche tackle.
- Enjoys tackling new species and helping other anglers understand that you don’t need to be a billionaire to occasionally travel like one.
- Affinity for Japanese bass tackle and a growing addiction to high-end swimbaits and glide baits.
Experience
Robbins is a practicing attorney who found a second, concurrent career as a writer almost by accident. He has since become one of the most trusted and heavily-published scribes in the world of bass fishing. He is a Senior Writer for Bassmaster and has blogged for Gary Yamamoto’s Inside Line for well over a decade. He has also been published in Texas Monthly, Goat Rancher Magazine, and on the website of a pet crematorium. His latest project, undertaken as a partnership with his wife, is a website called Half Past First Cast that’s dedicated to promoting and simplifying fishing travel.
Education
Robbins received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College in 1992, and a JD from Columbia Law School in 1995. In his “day job” he specializes in Federal administrative law.
Words of Wisdom
I can’t decide if the best fishing advice I ever received was “Start early and stay late” or “Get the best rain suit you can afford,” but in hindsight, I see that they’re inextricably linked. Despite what the “great sunrise” folks will tell you, a huge part of fishing satisfaction comes down to landing fish. You can’t catch fish if you don’t put in the time, and you can’t put in the time if you don’t have the right gear to stay comfortable. I’m a cheap SOB, but when it comes to fishing gear, I’ll spend what I must in order to gain an edge.
Notable Work
- Best Bass Lures of All Time Outdoor Life
- River2Sea Whopper Plopper: Review and Fishing Tips Outdoor Life
- Best Smallmouth Lures Outdoor Life