When the Whistle Stops: Matthew Golden’s Escape to the Water

Matthew Golden's Sundays are built on speed. Cut a route, separate from coverage, make the catch – that's the version of him most people know from Green Bay's offense. But long before football became his profession, fishing was already a part of his life.

Fishing wasn't a hobby he picked up to fill downtime. It’s where he first learned that waiting isn't wasted time – it's part of the process. It taught him patience, focus, and the value of slowing down and enjoying the moment.

Today, with the demands of professional football filling much of his schedule, that time on the water means more than ever.

Earlier this year, that lifelong pull toward the water turned into a partnership with Crestliner. But for Golden, it's about more than owning a boat. It’s about having a place to unplug, slow down and find a little quiet away from the noise.  

Where He Finds His Reset

An NFL week doesn’t leave much room to just sit with your thoughts. Between practices, meetings, workouts, travel, and game-day preparation – something is always next. It’s a schedule engineered for output, not stillness. 

Fishing is the opposite of that. 

When Golden gets on the water, the pace changes. The constant noise gives way to quiet, and the focus shifts from what's next to what's happening right in front of him.

Most anglers chase the early bite – that first-light window before the heat and the boat traffic show up. Golden goes the other way. He prefers fishing after dark, once the lake empties out, the water goes still, and the day's noise finally has somewhere to go. Lake Conroe is where he does most of it – not because it's flashy, but because it's familiar. The smooth water and peaceful surroundings create the perfect setting to unwind.

That's a sharp contrast to game day, where the entire point is amplified energy – crowd noise, adrenaline, a soundtrack built for intensity. Off the field, Golden's said that energy doesn't just vanish. Fishing gives it somewhere quiet to land instead of somewhere loud.

And often, he's out there alone. He'll joke that he catches more fish without company – which, fewer people, less noise, less movement near the boat at night, isn't entirely a joke. While he enjoys spending time outdoors with friends and family, solo fishing trips offer something increasingly difficult to find in professional sports: complete peace and quiet.

Football and fishing don't look alike on the surface, but the instincts underneath are closely related. A receiver reads leverage and coverage before the play even starts. An angler reads current, light, and structure before the first cast hits the water. Neither rewards guessing. Both punish rushing. Even the rhythm lines up – a play is a few seconds of controlled chaos followed by a huddle to reset, while a cast is a burst of action followed by a long, quiet wait on the line. Same pattern, completely different clock speed.

The real difference is what each one asks of him. Football is collaborative by nature — coaches, teammates, and a stadium full of people counting on him to deliver. Fishing, done the way Golden does it, strips all of that away.

For a few hours, it's just him, the water, and the next cast.

Making the Most of Every Opportunity

Free time during football season is scarce, so when it shows up – a couple hours after practice, an open afternoon in the offseason, a weekend that isn't already spoken for – Golden doesn’t want to spend it on logistics. He wants to spend it on the water. His Crestliner Fish Hawk makes that possible, giving him a boat that’s ready when he is. 

The first thing that stood out when he stepped aboard wasn't a spec sheet detail. It was space – an open layout that gives him room to move comfortably while still making it easy to bring others along when the occasion calls for it. He’s not forced to choose between a “serious fishing rig” and a “boat you can actually bring people on.” That flexibility matters. Plenty of boats built around a single use case start feeling cramped when plans change. Whether the day is focused on fishing or simply spending time on the water, this versatility fits a schedule that shifts by the week. 

Another feature that quickly became a favorite was the Lowrance electronics. Access to structure scans, waypoints and real-time water temperature was new for Golden, and he’s enjoyed learning how to use the technology. It provides another level of confidence and information while helping him get even more out of every trip. Worth flagging for anyone eyeing similar electronics: the payoff is real, but there's a genuine adjustment period before you're using the tech instead of just staring at the screen. Once it clicks, though, it changes how efficiently you can fish water you don't already know – which matters more on the road than people assume.

But at the end of the day, the equipment is secondary. The real value comes from where it takes him.

More Than Fishing

Take away the NFL angle and the boat brand, and what's left is straightforward: someone who found something that mattered to him long before anyone was watching. Fishing taught Golden patience and focus before either word meant anything in a playbook. That kind of grounding doesn't disappear just because the stakes – and the audience – got bigger. 

Even with the spotlight that comes with professional sports, those values haven't changed.

The water remains a place where he can step away from expectations, reconnect with himself, and enjoy the simple things that first made him fall in love with fishing.

Wherever his career goes from here, it's a safe bet he keeps finding his way back – a quiet night on Lake Conroe, a line in the water, no reason to hurry.

Because sometimes the best place to reset isn’t on the field. It's on the water. You just need a little time outside, a boat you can count on, and a reason to go.

FAQs: The Crestliner Fish Hawk

What sizes does the Fish Hawk come in? The Fish Hawk lineup spans three hull sizes – the 1750, 1850, and 2050 – ranging from about 16'9" to 20'6" overall length, so there's a meaningful jump in interior room and capacity as you move up the line.

How much horsepower can it handle? Depending on the model, HP capacity ranges from 115hp-150hp on the 1750, 150hp-200hp on the 1850, and 250-300hp on the 2050 – giving most owners enough flexibility to dial in the right balance of performance and fuel economy based on how they fish.

What's the fuel capacity, and how far can you realistically run on a tank? Fuel capacity ranges from 27–50 gallons across the lineup, with 27 gallons on the 1750 and 50 gallons on the 2050—providing plenty of fuel for long days on the water.

Does it have a livewell, and is it big enough for tournament use? Yes—all lengths and configurations come with dual livewells: a 12-gallon aerated bow livewell and a 28-gallon aft livewell. This provides plenty of capacity for tournament and serious recreational fishing without needing an aftermarket upgrade.

How many people can it seat? Most Fish Hawk models are rated for 6 people, which makes it workable as a dual-purpose boat – serious enough for a fishing trip, roomy enough to take family or friends out for a non-fishing afternoon on the water.

What's the hull made of, and how durable is it? Crestliner builds the Fish Hawk on its all-welded aluminum "AP-X" hull – four pieces of aluminum welded rather than riveted, with a full-length extruded keel and a wood-free transom. It's backed by a limited lifetime warranty on main-seam welds and a three-year warranty on most other components, which is a meaningful consideration for anyone comparing riveted vs. welded aluminum construction.