THREE YEARS INTO LIFE Capt. Tuck WAS INTRODUCED TO THE SALT; IT NEVER LEFT him. he Has SPENT OVER 15,000 HOURS ON A SKIFF HELPING OTHERS HUNT DOWN SALTWATER FISH ON THE FLY, AND NOW is DRIVEN TO SHARE with others WHAT THAT HAS TAUGHT him.
Capt. Tuck has been an Orvis Endorsed Guide in the Lowcountry of South Carolina since 2004, specifically with Bay Street Outfitters in Beaufort. He fishes from a Maverick 17 HPX-S Technical Poling Skiff and uses this same skiff to perform presentations, to share the knowledge he has obtained from time on his home waters, as well as many other saltwater destinations in which he has fished. He runs hosted trips as well as attending trips where he serves as the expert for the group’s equipment, rigging and preparation for what they will experience while fishing. It is most important to Tuck through his guiding and teaching that others catch fish and become better anglers through experience and education about the sport. His own words below express why he feels we spend our time casting the fly in the first place.
“As sportsmen we spend time figuring out ways to test ourselves. One of my favorite quotes I have ever heard was about quail hunting; ’humility is just one shot away.’ A long shot with a bow on a deer is no different. Neither is what my clients do while taking shots at visible fish with a fly rod. That quote is true across so many things we do in the name of ‘sporting,’ with the mission being to get shots that test us. Since we spend a lot of time and money to travel to fishing destinations and only get so many shots, frustration can abound. Therefore we need to be prepared. We need to be better anglers.
So why do we do it? Is it because it is exhilarating? Is it as simple as loving the challenge? Maybe because it is left up to you and you alone when you have a fly rod in hand. I would argue it is because we can’t cheat it. There is no way to cheat at getting a tarpon to eat a fly. So much so that even if we do everything 100% correct the fish might cheat us. ”