From The Boca Raton News article by Cedric Harmon
January 3rd, 1990

Irish Fisherman Tackles New Life in Boca Raton

McConnell lives dreams on South Florida waters.

   Ray McConnell left the bloodshed and turmoil in his native Northern Ireland three years ago for his future in South Florida. McConnell allowed his fingers to do the walking one day, searching for a tackle shop and fishing advice, and wound up meeting his future fishing and business partner, Ken White of Gold Coast Custom Tackle in Boca Raton.
   “When I first came here from Ireland, I used to fish on the piers. I opened up the yellow pages and there (Ken’s Ad) was a half page ad,” explained McConnell. “it just so happened at the time he was opening up his shop. He got fed up with the (accounting firm) he had upstate, just as I was upset with Ireland. It seems that I was destined to be in this business. It seems that everything has just fallen into place.”

Fishing in Northern Ireland

   McConnell wasn’t a complete novice as a fisherman prior to meeting White. However, he noted, teaming with White has greatly expanded his fishing knowledge. The personable angler has been fishing since he was five years old in Northern Ireland. There, he and his father would travel 65 miles to the coast to fish for mackerel.
   “We would get up at four in the morning, and we would have a truck with a mattress in the bed so we can sleep until the fish started to come.” McConnell recalled. “Six months later, I was catching them four at a time. A year later I am selling them to the people on the pier. That mackerel helped me buy my tackle and my first fishing reel.”
   As an adult, McConnell found fishing was a way to relieve tension, amid the upheaval in Northern Ireland.
   “To get away to a quiet stream was unbelievable,” he said. “The amount of fish that was there for the very few people that fish was unreal.”

Long Hours of Fun

   The long hours McConnell puts in at Gold Coast and with his own charter boat are fun not work. “To me, working here is not a job. It’s a way of life,” he said.
   Since his arrival in Boca Raton, he has met an interesting cross-section of customers. Some seek advice. Others want to exchange information. A few need a 20 minute crash course on angling before they set out.
There is no limit on what McConnell and his patrons talk about using to land fish: copper wires, thick dental floss, ect.
   “I don’t feel there is a secret to catching fish,” he said. “It’s an axiom that 10 percent of the fisherman catch 90 percent of the fish. And if the people were willing to try a little harder they can do it. People have got to be willing to take advice and listen.”

The One That Got Away

   Like most anglers, McConnell talks on the ones that got away. After he landed his first sailfish, he released it. And there was one cath he was glad got away – an eight foot hammerhead shark- while fishing off Pompano Beach.
   “We were fishing by the moonlight. I was using live ballyhoo, and the line began to scream. I had never had this happen before,” he said.
   “It was that shark tugging on the line, and it was massive. We got him 10-15 feet from the boat, and he jumped out of the water like Jaws. He took the bait off the line and then circled around the boat. He took the bait again and went back out to the sea.”
   But now the student has become a capable assistant. He’s in control of his own destiny.
   “When I think of where I’ve come from -  that to now having my own charter boat (the Jonathan Livingston) – I’ve come a long way. When I can remember, I always wanted to be an American. I always dreamed of coming to America.”