Fish Tales

When commercial real estate pros brag about landing a big one, they're not necessarily talking about a lease or sale. Some of your colleagues in the industry are avid anglers. Here's Charles Dunn Co's Michel Hibbert with the mahi-mahi he caught in Kona, Hawaii, during the annual Charlie's Club trip for the firm's top producers. Michel, who tells us the fish weighed about 30 pounds, recently repped both parties in the separate sales of two non-rent controlled multifamily properties in West LA and Hollywood.

Trico Investments' Nathan McElmurry, who recently joined the firm to run its acquisitions team for a new self-storage fund, caught this 20-pound barracuda down in Belize in December. As Nathan tells it, a group of former ski bums turned commercial RE guys went here to celebrate some 40th birthdays and "reflect on the glory days." Having limited success catching its target species--tarpon, permit, and bonefish--the group took to the rivers and canals in search of some "bonus" varieties when their boat got snagged on an underwater log. The log turned out to be "a very angry barracuda," which ended up as several nights' dinner for the group's guide and his family.

And here's Bisnow's own SoCal director of business operations Frank Sanchez, with the seven-pound calico that he caught off Catalina. Frank tells us he shot the fish in about 20 feet of water free-diving, no tanks. Check out that kelp camouflage wet suit. For their winning fish pics, Michel and Nathan both won a complimentary ticket to a Bisnow event of their choice. As for Frank, he'll have to get in by working there.