TYLER, Texas — Valentine’s Day conjures up images of romantic dinners and flowers but in this week’s Hooked On East Texas, we meet a couple who found love at the lake.
Joey and Jennifer Hanna grew up in the same town but when Jennifer first met Joey, let’s just say she wasn’t hooked.
“I mean, I was, gosh, a lot younger. So of course, at first, I didn't like him," Jennifer recalled.
Joey was the outdoor type. Jennifer was more of a brainiac.
“It was a long time before I can get her in the boat," Joey said. But when she got in the boat, she didn’t touch a fishing rod.
“Well, I did just read a book for the first few tournaments," Jennifer confessed.
She saw how much Joey loved fishing, so Jennifer gave fishing a chance.
“It took a little while, but you know, at first, I just went you know, because he was going all the time. And I might as well try it," Jennifer said.
She tried it and liked it, and soon the Hanna’s were fishing couples’ tournaments and winning.
“She got female big bass, I got male, big bass. And when we went to get our checks, she was like, well, how much of that to mine. And I was like, well, half of it. And since then, it's been, it's been on," Joey recalled.
The Hannas have fished competitively for about half of their 24 years of marriage. They’ve raised three kids and even a seven-year-old Labrador.
That takes a lot of patience. But so does fishing.
“You know, if you can spend eight hours in the boat with a woman, you know, you gotta love her, if you can get along for eight hours in the tournament," Joey said.
Joey is slated to fish more Bass master events this year. So, any day like this on Cedar Creek Lake is a good day for Joey and Jennifer.
“It's good, we have a good time, you know, just catching fish and hanging out. You know, at the tournaments, we get to go out and eat dinner, and we spend a lot of good quality time together," Joey said.
But ask Jennifer to describe her perfect date and you get.
“The perfect date it will be my goal is catching a ShareLunker one day It's on my bucket list. Yeah, that's my that will be the perfect date,” Jennifer said.
Joey and Jennifer will be celebrating Valentine’s Day at a fishing tournament in Hot Springs Arkansas and wish them many happy years to come.