I have known “Grampa” Greg McNamara for a few years now. I first got to know him as he is a fellow member of the Connecticut Surfcasters and he fishes many of the same surfcasting locations as I do. When he recently told me that he was to appear on an upcoming reality TV show, I jumped at the opportunity for an interview with him as I was filled with hundreds of questions about the experience. While he had to hold back on a few of the answers, he was quite candid about the experience and I hope that you not only enjoy the following interview, but also the series which is scheduled to debut on Sunday, June 2 at 10:00 PM on Animal Planet.
I have to start out by asking you how the “Grampa” part of your name came about.
As with many nick names it was given to me by a friend back in college. I was on the “10-year bachelor’s program” as they say, and by the time graduation rolled around was an easy 8-plus years older than all of my colleagues. One of my friends started calling me Grampa one night and it spread like wildfire and eventually stuck with me. At first I would cringe each time I heard it but eventually I came to embrace the name.
Ok, so as for Top Hooker, what was the overall experience like?
It was the opportunity of a lifetime that met and exceeded all of my hopes and expectations. The best way to describe it is that it was an opportunity to be with some of the greatest people that I have ever met in some of the most beautiful places while doing what I love to do. Over the span of just a few weeks I had the opportunity to compete against and fish alongside some of the best fishermen and women in the country. We quickly all became one big happy family and we keep in touch to this day. We have plans to get together and fish with each other and have our own private reunions of sorts at each participant’s home turf. The comraderie which developed between us all was a highlight of the experience. No one expected this, not us, not the production staff, no one, but they just went with it. That’s not to say that things were perfect between us all as it was a competition after all. There certainly were times when the competitive juices were flowing high and tempers would flare.
Tell me a little about your background as a fisherman. How did you get started and what is your primary area of expertise these days.
I began fishing when I was just a little kid, but my foundation in fishing is based in the surf. My great uncle Mike would take me down to Stamford Harbor to catch snapper bluefish. My uncle Gary really honed my skills fishing for both large and smallmouth bass down in Virginia. I really have to thank them both for planting the seed which has gown into my love of fishing today.
So you started fishing at a very young age, how about today? Where do you live and generally where do you fish?
I was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, but I spend a lot of time at places like Cuttyhunk, Rhode Island’s south shore, Block Island, Montauk and some of my local waters. Montauk, however, is where I really learned the fine art of surfcasting. While on Top Hooker I set out to represent the surf fisherman and to show the world who we are and what we do. Like Long Island author John Skinner once said, “We are the people who set out to fish when others take refuge from the weather, and we are the people who are just returning from a night of fishing as others are waking up from a night’s sleep.”
Did your background help you in any way?
Well, my skills as a fisherman were definitely put to the test as we were challenged in a wide variety of styles of fishing from fly to spinning and vastly differing locals from mountain streams to the Pacific Ocean. One of the great aspects of the show was how all of the competitors really got along and sought to assist each other in their success. While in the end we were all competing against each other, this did not prevent us from assisting others when a particular challenge catered to one of our individual strengths. When it came down to the challenges with a rod and reel in my hands, I was really able to put all of my past angling skills and knowledge to the test and apply them to the task at hand.
Can you describe the application process?
While I can not divulge the specific details of the casting procedure, I can tell you a little bit about my video submission. So after I heard about the show I sent an initial email to Pilgrim Studios describing myself as they requested. From there they asked me to send some photographs of myself fishing and get into a little more detail in my bio. After a few days had passed I received a call from Pilgrim s late on a Thursday evening. They informed me that they liked my submission so far and requested that I submit a video which showed my personality while also making a pitch for myself. So here it was, Thursday night, and I had to get them a finished video by Monday morning. Now I am not a professional videographer, and I had to work Friday, so my only real shot would be crammed into Saturday and Sunday. I did a little introduction Saturday afternoon, rigged up some eels and set out for the night to hopefully catch a few striped bass and show what it’s like to be a surf fisherman in New England. As luck would have it after my hour-plus ride to the beach I had chosen to fish that night, the sky opened up and a thunderstorm pretty much ruined any chances of filming. I ended up getting caught out on the end of a jetty roughly 200 yards from shore with lightning crashing down around me—I figured I was done for. The next day I went back out for one last chance to get a fish on film and was able to land a decent striped bass with the camera rolling—I had my video submission! So I sent it off to Pilgrim Studios on Monday and sat back to see what would happen. At first I was not that anxious as I was still just having fun with the process, but eventually my curiosity got the best of me and I went on YouTube to see if I could find other applicant’s videos. Well I found a bunch of them and they ran the gamut from professionally produced to obvious first-time attempts. Eventually I heard back from the producers of the show and went to California with a bunch of semi-finalists. From there the eventual 10 contestants which you will see on the show were chosen. For a look at my video submission, you can visit YouTube.
That in itself makes for a great story! Was the show comprised of professional anglers, casual anglers or non-fishermen?
As the name of the program is Top Hooker, the goal was definitely to include people with a strong fishing background from a wide range of genres. They had literally thousands of submissions and from that they narrowed it down to the eventual 10 people that you will see on the show. The premise of the show pits the competitors against each other in fishing-related challenges each week which brings out the natural competitive side in us. The show will appeal to the hard-core fisherman as well as the casual angler in that the challenges were kept fun and exciting while using real fishing techniques and skills. There was really no way to compete if you were not truly a fisherman in the first place.
I have always felt that most reality shows were scripted in some way. Is this the case with Top Hooker?
No, not at all! Everything that you see is real, honest reactions to the challenges and interactions between the contestants. I too always figured that reality shows had to be scripted, and this was one of the main reasons I was always turned off by them. I must give props to Pilgrim Studios, Animal Planet and Discovery Channel for putting forth a solid effort to keep everything real and honest. They did not steer me in any certain direction and simply allowed me to be myself, for better or for worse. We never knew what the challenges would be ahead of time and the reactions that you will see are our 100% honest responses. While we would often times discuss what we thought would come up in the next challenge, at no time did we ever know in advance.
Prior to the show did you consider yourself a fan of reality shows?
No, not at all! Not in any way, shape or form!
So then what prompted you to even try out for Top Hooker?
Well when I first heard of the casting call on Bill Wetzel’s website, my curiosity was peaked. I figured the show would follow some sort of fishing tournament format and I thought I would give it a shot. Boy was I wrong in this assumption! Again, while the challenges are all fishing based, there are definitely some crazy things they made us do and which they put us through.
Where was the show filmed?
The show takes place in California and encompasses fishing in the ocean, lakes, ponds, streams and everywhere in between. Each night we would sleep outdoors in tents and we were really out in the wild. Some nights we would see or hear coyotes running through our campsite, other times there would be warnings about poisonous snakes. There was even a mountain lion sighting just prior to our arrival at one of the campsites!
Anything else that you would like to share?
I can’t express just how much fun we all had on Top Hooker and I hope that it really comes across to the viewers. What blows my mind is that nothing has EVER been done like Top Hooker before! I truly and honestly feel that it will be an extremely entertaining show, so be sure to tune in and see for yourself!
