'Reel Brothers' join Pursuit Channel
Contributed
Two brothers who love fishing Cullen, left, and Hudson Gardner, grandsons of Marion and David Gardner of Horseshoe Bay, will share their passion for fishing in 2018 on “Reel Brothers,” a show on the Pursuit Channel. The two boys hold a fishing record in Costa Rica.
By Richard Zowie
The Highlander
Two brothers who have caught hundreds of types of fish in various locations in the United States and Central America will bring their experiences to television.
Sundays at 2:30 p.m., starting on Jan. 7, 2018 on the Pursuit Channel, 13-year-old Hudson and his 11-year-old brother, Cullen, will star in 13 episodes of “Reel Brothers.” The episodes will run for 26 weeks.
The show will follow the boys in their various fishing adventures.
The Gardner brothers are the sons of Michael Gardner, a lifelong, full-time professional hunting and fishing outfitter, and Holly Mills-Gardner, a former Miss Texas and sports TV personality. They live in Lake Travis.
“We just saw the previews recently,” said Michael, who founded the show with Holly. “It is like a reality show, actually, with hardcore saltwater fishing.”
Among the episodes include fishing in the Bahamas and Costa Rica, along with Florida, Mexico and other “exotic” destinations.
“My husband and I charter a boat in the Bahamas for a month every summer,” Holly said. “We started going to the Bahamas in 1988 on our own boat. They stay on the boat with us and have a 30-foot center console fishing boat and fish and spear lobsters every day.”
The boys are also the grandsons of Marion and David Gardner of Horseshoe Bay.
The boys hold the Los Suenos, Costa Rica “boat record” for being the youngest anglers to have hooked, fought, landed, tagged and released a pacific sailfish.
They’ve also fished in Guatemala, Panama, Bahamas, Texas, Florida Keys, Mexico and other places.
The show’s platinum sponsor is Riata Worldwide Hunting and Fishing. YETI is a sponsor and Hudson plays baseball on the YETI Select baseball team and football for Hudson Bend Middle School. Cullen plays select baseball and plays football for Lake Travis Youth Association.
Michael, as a saltwater fishing and hunting outfitter, founded and owns Riata WorldWide Hunting and Fishing.
“The boys have been raised in the outdoors and in this fishing environment,” he said. “Their message to youth: get off the devices and into the outdoors and onto the water.”
He added the family’s message is three F’s: faith, family and fishing.
