BTT Welcomes Mike Glinton as First Bahamian Youth Ambassador

We are pleased to welcome Mike Glinton as the first Bahamian member of BTT’s Youth Ambassador Program, created to inspire and encourage the next generation of flats anglers and conservationists. When ten-year-old Mike isn’t fishing, he’s participating in school sports, including basketball and track and field, and serving as student body president at his school on Grand Bahama Island.

A fourth-generation flats fisherman from Grand Bahama, Mike was taught how to fish by his father Meko, who was taught by his father, Stanley Glinton. Mike and Meko spend plenty of time fishing in the pristine waters of Grand Bahama’s East End and North Shore. Mike likes to target bonefish, snapper, and barracuda, but tarpon are his all-time favorite species. He is well versed in safe boating practices and proper fish handling techniques, both of which are simple and effective ways that anglers can help ensure the health of our fisheries for generations to come.

Mike inherited his conservation ethic from his father and grandfather, who taught him that protecting the fish populations and marine environment is important for many reasons. “If we don’t protect our local waters and environment by preventing overfishing and pollution, there will eventually be no fish left to fish for and no waters clean enough to swim in,” says Mike. “And if the waters are polluted, no one will want to visit our beaches. It could also threaten my dad’s job. If he’s not able to make money guiding, he’ll have less money to feed our family. Some people here also depend on being able to catch fish as a source of food. They could go hungry.” 

One of Mike’s favorite stories, which he was itching to share, was the time “…I was snorkeling, and saw a school of bonefish and thought they were barracudas, so I flew out of the water like a dolphin and jumped back into the boat!”

Welcome aboard, Mike!

(Photos courtesy of Meko Glinton)