by Steve “Tuna” Tornovish
In March of 2011, country singer Trace Adkins released a song called, “She Thinks We’re Just Fishing,” a song written by Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell, and Ed Hill. The song ended up being a top 10 hit for Adkins. More importantly, it welded an immediate bond with so many fathers who related instantly to the song’s video of Adkins fishing with his daughter Trinity, who appeared to be about six years old at the time. My daughters were 14- and 11-years-old when that this song was released. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the song played loudly in my head every time my girls and I hit the ponds or the beaches. A quick YouTube search for this song results in an endless collection of heartwarming father- child fishing videos. It’s a beautiful rabbit hole to fall into, unless you’re trying to complete an article on deadline day. And here we are…
I don’t think that the vast majority of people truly understand the importance of fishing. At the risk of devolving this into a trite “If you know, you know” conversation, let me try to fill in some blanks for those of you who don’t know. Or, better yet, let me encourage you to ask one of your knowledgeable fishing friends to take you out fishing just once. I suspect that the connection will be made!
My buddy Tyler O’Brien posted a great picture on Facebook recently. It was his daughter Natalie on her 17th birthday. Natalie was wearing her waders and a thick sweatshirt, holding her spinning rod, prepared to fish the North Head of the Hummock Pond in a howling wind. Yesterday he posted a picture of the 11 different fishing awards that he and Natalie won in 2024. To paraphrase the last line of the Adkins song, they ain’t only fishing. That father-daughter team shares a bond that was built over hours on so many different shorelines and in every kind of weather, and it’s simply beautiful.
I have a quote hanging on my wall from the Texas poet and musician Ray Wylie Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard’s sage words are included in a little drawing that he did for me to celebrate a sobriety anniversary. His artwork serves to remind me that on the days where my gratitude is higher than my expectations, well, I’ll have a pretty good day. So true, Ray Wylie! So on days like today when I’m dragging, I know that it’s time to get busy on my gratitude list. To start off, I’m extremely grateful for the wonderful Nantucket fishing community. There are folks that I’m really close with, such as Dale Gary, my number-one nighttime striper fishing buddy. I’m grateful for every chance that I get to fish with my brother Billy, even though he tends to crush me on the fish count whenever we’re together. I’m grateful for my fishing clients who make me laugh and help me appreciate what we have here on this island paradise…I’m feeling better already!
One of my absolute joys when fishing is unexpectedly meeting up with other crazed fishers on the beach. The more remote the location, the better, particularly if the other party is someone I hold in high esteem as being a hard-core fisher, and that is exactly how I would describe the awesome Tim Sullivan. Tim is currently a senior at Nantucket High School, playing mid-field on the Whalers lacrosse team. Tim will attend Mass. Maritime Academy next year: a perfect fit for this young man who loves the water. I’ve run into Tim at a bunch of my favorite pond and surf fishing spots at all times of the day and night. Tim is so good that it serves to make me feel like I’m on the right track if I’m where he’s fishing.
I’ve known Tim almost since he arrived on Nantucket. Tim was adopted from Kazakhstan by John and Marie Sullivan. “I didn’t know any English at all. I spoke some sort of broken Kazak language,” Tim told me. “It was rough in the beginning.”
Tim ended up as a student in my Krav Maga classes when he was six or seven years old. He was as intense then as he is now. Tim took to island life, thriving whenever he got to swim in the harbor or dig quahogs with his parents and his sister, Hannah.
“He was immediately all into it. He was always fishing or digging for clams,” Tim’s dad John recalls. John is a partner owner at Nantucket Marine. Tim grew up working and playing on boats. Fishing soon followed. “In no time, Tim had rod holders on his bike, riding to Miacomet Pond!”
John told me that Tim’s big jump in terms of fishing came after he read Matt Reinemo’s book, Fishing Nantucket (highly recommended, btw!). “He read it over and over! That was when I saw his fishing game start to change.”
Tim is appreciative of the many Nantucket fishers that helped to show him the ropes. Dan Holmes and Tammy King were very generous with their time. Tim was an apt student, applying the lessons that he received from Dan and Tammy. Tim wanted to do it all, too. He was given an old fly fishing reel. Tim modified it to fit a broken spinning rod that he had.
“I met Chris Brown (one of Nantucket’s leading beach fly fishers) at the tackle store. He taught me how to cast and he gave me some flies that he had tied.” With this instruction, Tim was off and running. “I remember being on the west side of Miacomet Pond in the late spring. I caught this big pickerel and was shocked that I actually caught something! I was amazed at how effective fly fishing was.”
Tim gets the most out of his Nantucket life. Aside from fishing, Tim has become a serious bow hunter. Jason Zinzer, Scoutmaster for the Nantucket Boy Scouts, mentored Tim in this activity.
“Tim can’t sit still. Gets bored easily. Gotta be outside doing something. Or inside doing something related to the outside. Tim has basically been the third boy in our house. Friends with Ben (Jason’s son) forever.”
Tim and Ben Zinzer, along with Eli Holland, have all earned their Eagle Scout rank in the past year. “Tim is a model Scout, just a really good Scout the whole way through. He would listen and then apply what you told him. Then he went on to teach the younger guys what they needed to know. For five years, one kid couldn’t get the fishing merit badge. Tim said, ‘We’re going out tonight.’ And that was that. Tim would simply ask, ‘what do you need me to do?’ That’s his attitude. He had to kick it into high gear to get to Eagle. He’s a real respectful guy.”
Tim traveled with the Zinzer family back to Regina Zinzer’s home country of Brazil. Of course Tim had to check out the fishing in this new environment. Jason told me, “When we finally got to the farm, Tim immediately had to go to the fishing store. Tim is testing the line, looking at all the gear, figuring it all out. Took him an hour but when they got to the river he caught fish! We went with the fishing guide. Tim caught a 24-inch golden dorado, the king of the river, on his first cast. That’s the one that everyone targets! He caught all five species that day! The next day, Tim and Ben tell me that they’re going out to catch an alligator. Call an hour later – “yeah, we got one!”
Tim has recently taken up fly tying. He jumped into some online classes hosted by fly tying expert Jack Larizadeh. Tim dove into this art with a passion. “I love it – it’s pure imagination!” The normally shy Eagle Scout has posted some cool videos of himself tying up a variety of flies at his fly tying bench (follow Tim on Instagram @timsullivan_23).
Tim likes to stay busy. He worked last summer for the Nantucket Harbormaster: “I ran the Headhunter pump-out boat.” He also served as the first mate on the charter fishing vessel Topspin. Tim is excited about his future at Mass. Maritime and whatever the future holds.
Jason Zinzer sums Tim up as follows: “Tim is a highly adaptable kid. Whatever situation he’s in, he perseveres. He’ll be good whatever he ends up.” No arguments here! Go get ‘em, Tim! And remember – it’s never just about fishing.
Steve “Tuna” Tornovish is a Nantucket native who has spent his life fishing from the beaches of his beloved island. He loves to introduce clients to the joy of fishing with his Nantucket Island Fishing Adventures: stevetuna.com
