Creating and Nurturing Future and Fellow Anglers

A Mission to Bring People Closer to Fishing

By Capt. Andy Ennis

As a person whose life was saved and changed by fishing recreationally and professionally, one of my advocacies is to get more people into the sport. I have been through a lot as a kid, and when I discovered and developed a love for fishing, my life was never the same again. I want more people, especially young ones, to experience the same thing. 

In reality, fishing has been a very exclusive sport and profession, especially in the United States. To this day, many people still have the misconception that the sport is hard to get into. They probably think you need to have this kind of fishing gear, and you need to get on a good boat. You need to travel far and wide in search of good fish and good water to cast in. So what I try to do as an angler and professional fishing guide is to create a link for people to have more access to the wonderful world of fishing. Aside from hosting guests on my fishing charter boat (and sharing some of their successes on our Facebook page!), this is my source of inspiration day in and day out.

To fulfill this mission of bringing more individuals closer to fishing, one of the things I do on my own is ensured I only partake in responsible fishing for fun and table fare. This protects our precious resources, allowing us and future generations to enjoy fishing. You can’t very well encourage young anglers to fish and then leave them with depleted fish populations and waterbodies in horrible conditions, can you? 

But I don’t just keep my practices to myself. I always make it a point to encourage more people to get involved in responsible fishing. Teach yourself how to take care of the environment and then pass on your sustainable fishing practices to the children in your community. In this way, we’re keeping both the sport and resources alive. I believe it’s our responsibility to nurture more anglers with the right fishing techniques and the proper ways to protect our resources so that we can all enjoy this wonderful tradition for generations to come. This is one of the things I like to impart to young anglers I know and also to anglers who book my charter boat for a fishing trip.

Now, do you need to give all your hard-earned fishing spots and techniques away? It’s absolutely up to you! What I like to do is give people a little bit of intel, just enough to get new anglers into fishing. That’s how I learned anyway. I used to fish with my grandad and uncle, and from them, I learned valuable techniques that I still use to this day — techniques that allowed me to land my first catch and made me fall in love with fishing. This passion I developed stemmed from that early success. And from then on, I was driven by my devotion to learning more about the sport and expanding my techniques to recreate that early success. You can give that kind of start to a new angler, you know. And once they get bitten by the fishing bug, so to speak, they will never forget that first shot that you helped them with. And who knows? That might inspire them to pay it forward, creating a chain and community of anglers helping each other grow in the sport and, most importantly, respecting it.

Speaking of giving and receiving help from fellow anglers, I owe the success of my fishing charter business to the support of the people behind Guidesly. I don’t want to sound cheesy or cliche, but everything they’ve helped me with — from assisting me with my profile, building me a website, and all the other services they’ve offered — has been a life-changing experience like fishing itself. I feel lucky that Guidesly reached out to me with their offers. The booking service is a godsend for fishing charters that do not fish out of a marina, like ours. Before, not being able to fish out of a marina has been a disadvantage for fishing charters, but now it’s becoming a trend in the industry. Hopefully, it will become more of a norm soon so that we can encourage more charters and guides to go into business so that more anglers can make a living out of their passion. I think this is another way to encourage more people to grow their fishing prowess — to let them know that their hobby and passion can become a sustainable livelihood source.

If you happen to be in this part of North Carolina for a quick visit, check out our fishing charter to discover the beauty of fishing in the Outer Banks. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at — my crew and I will make sure you enjoy a safe, comfortable, and productive fishing experience on our boat while making wonderful memories in the water to last a lifetime. Bring your kids, too! I love being a part of a kid’s first catch! I will take you to my favorite fishing spots, teach you techniques to help you land your target (our favorites here include redfish, flounder, striped bass, and sea trout), and give you pointers on how you can improve your skills. I also make it a point to teach sustainable fishing practices to my guests, so I hope you’re okay with a bit of a fishing lesson on the side! If you like to cook your catch, we’ll keep just enough for you to enjoy them fresh with your family. I can even teach you some crowd-pleaser favorites — I know a few as a foodie, trust me.

Please visit my website and Facebook page for more information on our fishing charter. You’ll find our rates, next available schedules, target catch, updated fishing report, client ratings and reviews, and more! And if you have any more questions, contact us, and I’ll be more than happy to talk. See you on your next fishing trip to the Outer Banks!