Sitting in his Florida boatyard we discuss how the Rybovich family business got started with a humble AustroHungary immigrant and grew to become one of the most coveted names in sportfishermen.

So much has been written about the Rybovich family and their boats over the years, which made my recent trip to the Rybovich yard for a feature story that much more daunting. As a writer I love the challenge of profiling someone who’s been written about before. Maybe it’s a competition thing, or maybe it's the challenge of finding a new angle or the thrill of uncovering a gem of a story that others have missed; I had a feeling this would be a good one for the magazine, especially since Michael agreed to come on as one of our columnists over a year ago.

Like many of you I’ve been thoroughly enjoying his sometimes controversial, always honest columns in the magazine. Through his writing I started to get the feeling that I actually knew him; I think that’s a skill that great writers possess. I hoped that meeting in person wouldn’t disappoint; luckily for me meeting Michael Rybovich reaffirmed what I thought I knew about him. That he was a hardworking, proud, old school, handshakeismyword kind of guy. And the stories he told, well, let’s just say I didn’t want this conversation to end. I hope you feel the same way when this episode concludes.