Ben Simmons Talks to Men's Health About Possible NBA Comeback & New Fishing Venture Ben Simmons has been out fishing in the waters southeast of Miami since 6:15 a.m. on a humid May day, his 53-foot boat pushing away from the marina with a waning crescent still hung in the sky. The 29-year-old has spent most of the morning up on the bow of his boat, casting and reeling, waiting, scanning. “Any moment, something can happen,” he says. A few hours in, not much has. He caught some bar jack, a wahoo that he’ll keep to eat later, and a mahimahi that was so small it had to be tossed back. So he finally takes a seat inside the air-conditioned enclosure on the deck of his boat and puts his bare feet up. His hands rest in his lap. “There’s nothing there besides what’s underneath,” he says, gesturing at the glassy ocean, when I ask what he likes about fishing. His answers are short at first, becoming more animated the longer we talk. He keeps a watchful eye on Captain Ray (“Cap” to Simmons), who takes him on many of his fishing excursions, and exits the enclosed center console to grab a rod. Simmons finds fishing peaceful, but he also likes the “surprise factor,” that at any moment, anything can happen, and you have to be ready for that. Just a few minutes later, right on cue, he sees Cap’s line catch. “Oh, he’s on!” Simmons says, and in one motion, his lithe 6'10" frame is up and through the enclosure, his powerful arms taking control of the rod. He gets the fish in easily. A barracuda. Not terrible for eating, but it runs a high risk of causing ciguatera, a type of food poisoning. Plus, it “smells like shit,” he says. (Fortunately, I didn’t get a chance to confirm.) So it lives another day, and Simmons returns to his seat, clearly reinvigorated by the rush.#philadelphia_76ers #ben_simmons #montverde_academy #sport_fishing_championship #south_florida_sails_angling_club
