What is there to say about this year but crazy? I think we have all been trying to grasp on to a little bit of normality in our lives right now. Back in August I took some time to go to my sister’s wedding. It was a breath of fresh air to get away from the chaos of tourists flooding from up north to the south once restrictions had been lifted. I loaded up my Subaru and shot up to New Hampshire for a bit of family time. The big day came and to watch my sister get married made the year for me. Watching her marry her best friend really filled my heart with joy in a time of uncertainty for so many ..read more

You might wonder why a group of guys from Eastern North Carolina, who practically have redfish in their backyard, would pack up their trucks and boats and drive 960 miles across six states to catch the same species of fish? I am going to try to put into words why I think Southern Louisiana is such an amazing place. Yes, there’s the Redfish, but there is so much more! Last week marked my 6th trip, and our little Mauser Fly Fishing family’s 4th trip to THE MARSH. I think using bold type and all capital letters is the only way to describe the habitat down there...because it is massive! And start ..read more

It is hard to ignore the elephant in the room.  We are all putting aside different normality’s in our lives to keep ourselves and our family’s safe. It’s a tough time for all of us and in this moment, I think it is important to reflect on our lives and question if there is anything we can work on. The world is giving us an opportunity to work on ourselves. I am taking this time to look internally and work on myself and my dreams for the future. I have observed a few things during these crazy times and it is humbling and eye opening at the same time. There are so many people out and about ..read more

We are running a campaign to help some particularly important people, and this blog post explains exactly why and how we plan to do it. Years before I got the idea for Mauser Fly Fishing, I started a guide service here in coastal North Carolina. I still run it and it has been a hugely rewarding experience. Being a guide can take both a physical and mental toll on you, but the rewards of educating anglers, helping them catch fish, and sharing our love for nature is such a rewarding experience. We get up early, work before we meet our clients, and continue to work after we part ways, but most of ..read more

What’s the first thing most people do when they test out a new 8, 9 or 10wt saltwater fly rod? Strip out about 40ft of line, and shoot it. Then they peel off another 20ft, and shoot that. …and if they succeeded… They strip out another 20ft, and shoot it. …and if they managed that… Strip out that final 20ft until they see the “magic mark of manliness”...the backing knot. And they make that final cast, carrying way too much line in the air, ugly loops, hauling like crazy, and they shoot it all.  And if all is right in the world, they watch every bit of that running line come off the groun ..read more

The number one question I get when someone books a redfish trip with me, is what flies they should tie. I get it, they’re stoked about their upcoming trip and want to catch a fish on a fly they tied. The second question usually has to do with rod wt, tippet size, or something similar. The truth is, all that stuff only matters if you can put a fly in front of a fish when he’s willing to eat. If you can’t make that happen, then it won’t matter if you have 16lb tippet vs 20lb tippet, or a one prong weed guard vs a two prong weed guard. Below are the 15 things that I feel are most important for ha ..read more

“It sucks.” Probably the best way to describe everyone’s current situation in the least amount of words possible. Unless you are living in a cave, Covid-19 has rocked everyone’s world the past few weeks. Or possibly months, depending on where you are reading this from. The fears and possible reality of most of the planet catching the same virus, the stock market plummeting, businesses going under, more patients than hospital beds and respirators, and the loss of loved ones has most people in a full out panic. Five minutes scrolling through Facebook is enough to make you sick, before you even g ..read more

The easy road or the hard one, which do you choose? I am grateful that we have chosen the path of most resistance. Business is never "easy", but we could have chosen an "easier" route. We could have had someone build our rods for us from start to finish. We could have sold cheap products that would have helped grow the company quicker. We could have chosen the easier path on a hundred other options to make things quicker, more profitable, and less work. But we've made a conscious decision to choose the path of most resistance on every decision. Because we figured something out. The str ..read more

Whatever it takes... Justin and I left the New Jersey Fly Fishing Show Sunday night and drove straight through the night to get home. Both of us still recovering from some nasty bug that we caught in NJ. Why did we go through all that? Because he had class Monday morning, and I had a fishing charter. After being up for 22hrs, we got home and got a few hours of sleep and jumped right back into gear. This image is me yesterday, trudging through mud and 50 deg water, pushing my clients to a section of creek stacked with redfish. I wasn't going to let a few obstacles keep me from providing t ..read more