Would You Rather Catch A Big Fish Or Land A Big Air? - Stab Mag

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

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Would You Rather Catch A Big Fish Or Land A Big Air?

Matt Meola gives us his thoughts— and does both — on Salty Crew’s jungle cruise.

cinema // Apr 18, 2023
Words by Holden Trnka
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Matt Meola might get older every year, but his rubbery feet seem to still think they’re filming for an Innersection part.

The 33-year old can find an A-clip at any given dry-sand closeout, and is currently working on a possible SEOTY entry — granted he gets some clips on his next tropical trip.

Depicted above, Salty Crew decided to put him, Benji Brand, and Kalani Rivero on a trip along Costa Rica’s resource laden coastlines, accompanied by talented local Tosh Talbot and some fishing rods.

The result is ‘Pez Gallo,’ a chronicle of the adventures available to those with a boat in the jungle — set to a quirky Bruce Brown story arc.

Slabs included.

“The fishing really stood out on this trip, but watching it back I realized we actually did get some fun waves,” Matt tells me. “Every trip with Salty Crew is epic, we bring so much gear — fishing poles, dive gear, surfboards. You can’t get skunked, there’s always a way to have an insane time. I never want to go on a trip without my fishing gear again.”

These guys are definitely in the 1% of dating-app fish-pic portfolios.

After all his years of throwing it to the flats, I wonder if Matt gets more excitement from rolling away clean on a big spinner or reeling in a big meal.

“It’s becoming harder and harder for me to get the same excitement from a big air, but when I do get that feeling it’s hard to beat,” he smiles. “It’s my favorite thing ever, I’m still chasing it. Even at home I’ll wait all year for the right section — so when that comes I don’t think you can beat it. But, I’m glad I’ve got fishing to keep me stoked in the meantime.”

The meantime.

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