Orvis
Consistently as a guide since 2004 Capt. Tuck has had Orvis gear and tackle in his skiff. Over the years he has had choices and during those years he has watched anglers on the front of his skiff cast the Helios rods better than the ones they brought along. As a field tester for Orvis, Capt. Tuck has experienced the process which shows, first hand, how much effort Orvis devotes to building the gear they produce based upon results from testing it in the most demanding situations. “I will never forget what happened with one of the reels I was testing through two different prototypes, and we didn’t have any issue with them during that year. Then production started on the reel and my client and I found an issue while fishing in my skiff. The response could have been that it was a one in a million issue and roll on with the reels already made, but instead they chose to fix the problem, redesign a part of the reel, then completely restart production.” -Capt. Tuck That is a company who is building gear that they want to last and that gives you, as an angler, a tool that you can trust in the heat of the moment.
“Every boat is a compromise,” you hear that all the time. It is true, you aren’t going to go purchase a bowrider and plan to fly fish for bones out of it. A technical poling skiff though shouldn’t be a compromise in any of the things you need it to do. Maverick is a company that hasn’t been afraid to push the envelope. They don’t change things for sake of changing them but they will change them when they realize they could be doing something better. They embody exactly what Building Anglers is all about. Our mission is that we don’t want fly fishermen to stand still in their sport. We want them to get as close to perfecting their craft as possible. Sometimes being and staying the best means you have to redesign or even build something completely new. The skiff Capt. Tuck runs, the Maverick 17 HPX-S, is a result of finding ways to get rid of compromise and build the most versatile skiff on the market for everything shallow water sight fishing encompasses.
Yamaha Outboards
If you ask Capt. Tuck what the best engine out there is you will hear him respond with “is there more than one option?” Yamaha is the only engine Capt. Tuck has ever run as a guide. Some have had upwards of 2700 hours on them and even then the engine still ran flawlessly. Specifically, Capt. Tuck has become very familiar with the F70; it is lightweight and fuel efficient, though neither of those descriptions do the F70 justice. The F70 is a truly amazing and perfect power source for the Maverick 17 HPX-S. Tuck will be writing blogs on maintenance and care of keeping his F70 running in top condition.
Power-Pole
The first Power-Pole Capt. Tuck ever had was on a Maverick 17 HPX-V and it changed how he fished. The results spoke for themselves, providing more shots at fish, and so obviously there has been one on every skiff he has commissioned since. Power-Pole is a company that stands behind their product with a level of customer service that is truly second to none.
Edson
“To be honest before I had one, I would have said ‘come on it is just a steering wheel!’ It is so much more than that. The Edson is comfortable to use, the balance is perfect, and the knob for one handed operation is silky smooth trip after trip.” -Capt. Tuck The wheel is your connection to your skiff when under power, this is a place where only the best should be used.
Bay Street Outfitters
Bay Street has been home base for Capt. Tuck since 2004, and as the head guide he is proud to be part of an amazing team of Orvis Endorsed guides that fish the Beaufort, SC estuary. This team and retail experiences in the outfitter has been essential to making Tuck a better guide and instructor.