J enniferJane Cortes, Maria Maroni, Amber Freedman, Angela O’Neil, Gabrielle Emmett and Ro- berta Hanft are the real deal – they are Long Island’s own damsels of the deep, the Reel Queens.
Each with a different story and from a different walk of life, they share an abiding love of the sea and most specifically, fishing.
“I think I speak for all of us when I say some of the best things in life are cheering on our girl Gabs on as she fights for her catch, watching Maria work with JJ to bring in an umbrella jig loaded with stripers and blues, watching Bertie, small and fierce, bring in a 37″ striper on a boat filled with guys who weren’t getting a bite, and of course, Gab, Bertie, Ang and myself pushing through the seasick- ness to keep fishing” says Amber Freedman.
A few years ago Maria and her husband (Mike Maroni of our favorite Maroni’s Cuisine in Northport) bought a house right on the Peconic Bay with a boat. “A few day trips here and there with different groups of girls and we started realizing a few of us couldn’t handle waiting the undetermined time for the next adventure. We were hooked for a lack of better words. More often than not, we looked for any available time we could get the group out on the water, out on a different boat, out for new catch,” Amber explained.
We couldn’t help but ask who came up with the great name. Well, it was hatched after a late night at work, and the name quickly stuck.
These are some of Long Island’s best dames, “We share memories of fishing trips with dads and family, the first catch, maybe a hook in the hand … We’re not afraid to learn, get dirty, get seasick. We tough it out more than some men do. We want to know the best lures and moon phases for the right catch. We want to be great anglers and we want to do it together.”
“As the fishing season opens this year, we are more ready than ever to get out there and do more, learn more, fish more,” said Amber.
Tight lines ladies, you are doing a fine job! You can find the Reel Queens on Instagram @reelqueens or FaceBook “ Reel Queens.”
