RIVIERA, TX — On Baffin Bay, in South Texas, where anglers chase monster speckled trout, you’ll find one of the region’s rarest sights at the helm: Captain Reanna Delacruz. She’s a mother, proud Latina, and one of the only women running fishing charters on these waters.
Across the country, millions of women go on fishing trips every year, but when it comes to who runs these businesses, the industry is still dominated by men. As of 2023, women made up about 9% of the ship and boat captains and operators workforce. The number of Hispanic women is even smaller—a fraction of a fraction.
The 28-year-old Texas native isn’t just out here beating the statistics—she’s redefining them.
Delacruz grew up in Austin and learned how to fish with her family during trips to Lake Travis, Rockport, and Goose Island State Park.
“We weren't rich, we were middle-class folks, and we didn't have much, but we had each other, you know, we were pretty tight-knit and God always provided for us,” she explained.
Fishing wasn’t her first passion. During her childhood, she played golf competitively, landed a college scholarship at Texas A&M–Kingsville, and after graduating she went into sales for a newspaper in Kingsville. But said something was missing.
“I wasn’t happy working five days out of the week, 8 to 5. And just realized, it wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” she said.
That leap wasn’t easy. But with the support and encouragement from her husband, she started small, working for other anglers and saving up until she could buy her own boat.
Today, her business is thriving, guiding three to five trips a week, often with families or first-time anglers who say they feel more comfortable with a woman leading the way.
But the industry hasn’t always welcomed her. “I get looks every time I go to a boat ramp. It’s not common to see a woman—especially a woman of color—backing up or docking a boat,” Delacruz said. On top of the stares, she says she has dealt with social media bullying, misogyny, and even what she suspects was someone sabotaging her boat.
Still, she doesn’t back down. “We have to work twice as hard just to prove ourselves that we're worthy. But I'm hoping to change that for future generations.”
That future is personal. Her five-year-old daughter sometimes joins her on trips, watching her mom command a boat on waters still dominated by men. “A lot of younger anglers message me saying they look up to me. That melts my heart. It means the world,” she said.
Delacruz credits her strength to her roots. Her mother’s family traces back to Apache ancestry and her Mexican-American father, who passed in 2021, worked decades in semiconductor plants and encouraged her independence. “I feel like everything I’ve been through has made me stronger. Being on the water gives me peace, but it’s also where I feel powerful.”
Out on Baffin Bay, when the sun rises and the tide shifts, Captain Delacruz isn’t just guiding clients to fish—she’s steering a course for women who’ve never seen themselves in this role.
