Los Angeles Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert has put his skills on display for the entire NFL to see. What many fans don’t know, however, is that the quarterback is also an avid fisherman.
The sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft was named the permanent starter for the Chargers recently after impressing head coach Anthony Lynn. Through his first three games, Herbert is 77-of-107 passing for 931 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. One of Herbert’s best qualities is his patience – something he learned by casting line after line into the pond on Coburg Road in his hometown of Eugene, Oregon.
Herbert enjoyed fishing so much that he and a former teammate, Ryan Phillips, started a fishing club at their school. Phillips’ father, Les, was also a football coach at the school.
Herbert played three sports, “but people were kind of more interested in the fishing club than anything else,” Les told the Daily Emerald, the University of Oregon’s student newspaper, in 2016. After high school, he stayed in his hometown and played quarterback for the Oregon Ducks from 2016 to 2019, where he was named MVP of the 2020 Rose Bowl.
Herbert even served as president of the club while in high school. The club shared a tweet after Herbert made his first start in the NFL in September.
Taking Justin Herbert fishing
Back in March, Herbert took a fishing trip with former USC wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. Pittman and his girlfriend, Kianna Galli, took Herbert to the Huntington Beach Pier, in Huntington Beach, California. The two soon-to-be draft picks spent an hour hooking bait while Galli filmed the couple’s YouTube TV show (which now has more than 299,000 followers). Pittman was drafted in the second round by the Indianapolis Colts.
A few weeks ago Herbert said, “I’ve come to realize that there’s nothing else that I’d rather be doing. Playing football for the Chargers is something that I’ve dreamed about. If I go out there and do everything right, study and work hard, good things will happen.”
Nevertheless, if there was one thing he’d rather be doing, it seems that one thing would be fishing. Herbert was beaming ear-to-ear after reeling in a 22-inch halibut.
“I’m gonna have trouble getting that thing up Mike. I’m gonna need your help,” Herbert says after reeling in the flatfish.
Not that Herbert needed any help to lift the fish – he was just hesitant given that halibut have teeth. Despite reeling in the biggest one of the day, the 6’6″, 235-pound quarterback didn’t seem to want teeth chomping at his million-dollar fingers.
