Gray Taxidermy October Newsletter

Gray Taxidermy Mate of the Month

Congratulations to Captain Jot Owens III. He is October’s Mate of the Month! In the Mate of the Month program, we don’t often pull a winner that is actually a captain doing both jobs (Captain and Mate), so it is with great pride we congratulate Captain Jot for all you do!

Captain Jot was born and raised in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. He has been fishing the waters of the Cape Fear River, Masonboro Sound and the North Atlantic Ocean for twenty years. He began his career at the age of 15, commercial fishing for Grouper and King Mackerel.

After the experience in commercial fishing, he began working as a Mate on a charter boat that specialized in offshore fishing for King Mackerel, Mahi Mahi, Tuna, Wahoo and Billfish.

In February, 2001, he achieved his goal of obtaining his Captain’s license after working as a mate for six years. Today Captain Jot runs his own boat; the (Jot It Down). Captain Jot enjoys everyday he is on the water and brings his passion for fishing to his customers by teaching new techniques and providing knowledge about the many different species of fish found on the East Coast.

The order that was pulled for Mate of the Month - October, was for a 30” Redfish!

The sponsor of this program, Costa Del Mar, is awarding Jot a pair of Blue Mirror 580 Corbina sunglasses as well as a plaque from Gray Taxidermy! Once again, Way to go Captain Jot!! Way to get those orders in! We truly appreciate everything you do!

The determination of Mate of the Month comes from a random drawing of all orders turned in during the previous month’s time.

Gray Summit

While our guys are on the docks talking to new and old captains, it’s been a while since we have opened our doors to let everyone in at once. We believe it is important to get together and share ideas and stories about what’s happening in the charter fishing business. It makes everyone of us stronger! Gray Taxidermy is in the Captain and Mate business just as much as the taxidermy business.

The Gray Taxidermy doors are always open to all of our captains and mates! Please come by for a Captain Open House on Oct 16th at 6:30pm. Stop by and take a tour of the facility and bring your suggestions or stories of what is working for you! One of the Topics up for discussion is: How To Add Charters To Your Business – Daytime Swordfishing. We will have several Captains that have had success in daytime swordfishing, sharing some of their techniques and tips.

We will have food and drinks, top mounting captains as well as mates from our area. We need your RSVP, give us a call at 954-785-6456 and let us know who is coming (don’t forget your mate)!

Captain of the Month

Captain Adam Reckert - Adam owned his first boat at age 12, a 10ft John boat he bought with money he saved from shoveling snow for the neighbors in his hometown of Fairfield, CT. “I am sure I got it from my dad but, from as far back as I can remember, I always fished. I always had a boat. My dad would load me up and drop me off anywhere just to fish.”

In high school Adam was introduced to the Florida waters during a fishing trip with his father on the Sea Legs III with Capt. Kenny Hawkins. The fishing trip was followed by many more and eventually, after graduating college and lasting only 3 months at a desk job, Adam decided to get his captain’s license and move to Florida. He began his fishing career on the Flamingo, a drift boat out of Fort Lauderdale. Soon thereafter, he was hired by Capt. Paul Roydhouse, owner of Fishing Headquarters where he has spent the majority of his fishing career as a charter boat captain.

Captain Adam gets more of a thrill watching his customers reel in their first fish, rather than catching one himself. Whether it is a Mackerel, a Trumpet Fish or a increadible, massive Hammerhead Shark, Adam continues to keep the level of excitement high and knows each fish is worth mounting.
Thanks Adam for all your hard work. We truly appreciate all that you do!

Our sponsor for Captain of the Month is REACTOR watches. Each month REACTOR awards the Captain of the Month with a GRAVITON 2 watch (The Official Watch of Gray Taxidermy). So, Thank-you REACTOR for sponsoring this program for Gray Taxidermy Captains!

The determination of Captain of the month comes from a random drawing. Each month, every order placed with Gray Taxidermy is entered in a drawing. At the end of the month, one name is randomly pulled from all entries. Along with the new watch, the captain will also be awarded a Trophy plaque with an engraved plate from Gray Taxidermy. The more orders turned in, the better your chances. Congratulations Captain Adam!

He’s a Happy Customer….Right?

It was your typical charter; a wife and husband on their anniversary. He always wanted to catch a shark sport fishing and she always wanted to be there when he hooked his dream fish. Typical conditions for South Florida fishing in the summer: warm water, too much current, hot days and afternoon showers. I was actually trying to prepare for how wet I was about to get while watching the clouds roll in when we got the bite.

Yes! A Big Eye Thresher! You could tell just from the bite. It was the type of bite where, for a second, you have to ask yourself whether you’ve hung bottom or not. Then, when “bottom” starts pulling line you know you’ve hooked her.

When the husband finally saw the Thresher (all 13ft) next to the boat after an amazing battle, we didn’t even have to ask whether they wanted to mount the shark or not. We mentioned the option of mounting the fish on the way out and he immediately replied “Yes!” as did his wife. In fact, she was excited as much as he was!

Measurements and photos were taken, and the shark swam off effortlessly. Everyone celebrated and cheered the entire way back to the dock, and then the paperwork was properly filled out. It was a special day for us all!

When we returned to the dock, the husband and wife stayed for an extra hour sharing their story with the local spectators and telling everyone how excited they were to receive their catch-and-release, trophy, Big Eye Thresher Shark.

Monday morning is when the Gray Taxidermy Team received the call. The husband who caught his fish of a lifetime (the day before) was experiencing “buyer’s remorse.” It is important to understand that “buyer’s remorse” can happen to any customer regardless of who is the captain or mate. It is not something necessarily associated with a “pushy” captain or “pressuring” mate. I know many of you may be thinking, “This doesn’t apply to me. I never push the mounts too hard and my customers are always happy when they leave the boat.” Yeah, well... I said the same thing. That was until my happy customers whom I took fishing, called Gray Taxidermy the day after their trip to cancel their order. After asking a series of questions to determine what happened, the customer’s needs and concerns were identified. The customer who was extremely happy on the boat and excited to get his mount, turned into, “I’m not sure what I just signed up for?” “I don’t know if this is even going to fit in my house.”

Most people simply don’t understand the entire taxidermy process, and in the heat of the moment, those questions don’t come to mind, until the day after… But that’s where our trained Gray Team steps in and brings your customer back to that exciting day. We go to great lengths to explain the entire procedure, and remind them of what a fabulous trophy they just purchased.

Don’t be afraid to tell your customer to stop by and take a tour of the Gray Taxidermy facility if they can or feel free to give us a call. In almost every case, the customer just doesn’t understand where their journey goes after they leave the boat.

I have always prided myself and our Gray Taxidermy Team on how much we care for our captains and mates. This time, I was out of the office and on the water running my own charter with my own customers. Now, I was on the other side of the fence and really needed Gray Taxidermy to look out for me as a captain. I was relying on the Gray Team to preserve the order as well as keep the potential repeat customer happy.

I can now personally testify (as a captain and mate myself) that Gray Taxidermy will honorably represent the captain and mate as well as be sure the customer is left feeling excited with their purchase. Our goal is to not only make sure the customer is happy with their decision, but also that they understand the taxidermy process.
I want to thank Gray Taxidermy for all they do to make sure that our customers are happy with their trophy fish and will continue to fish for years to come. I am proud to be part of such an awesome team.

A Successful Season - Thank you North Carolina

From: Scotty Thomas/Field Specialist

As the 2012 season comes to an end, I would like to thank all of the North Carolina charter boats and marinas from the Oregon Inlet to the Hatteras Inlet for a great season and for being so welcoming. From the first person I met, Danny Graves, the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center Fuel Attendant, to my first ride along on the Smoker with Captain Brenner Parks, I knew it was going to be a fun journey!

When I first arrived, I quickly came to find out that taxidermy had been out of site and out of mind for many years here. I can't begin to tell you how many crew members had to dig to find their Gray Taxidermy kits and literally brushed the dust off before handing them to me. As the season started to ramp up, the phone started ringing with mounts ranging from Bluefish to Big Eye Tunas right off the bat. I knew it was only going to get better from there, and it did, with Wahoo’s, Mahi's, Billfish and more! As the season progressed, there were new boats every week submitting their first orders and getting a feel for the simplicity of the added income at the end of a grueling 12+ hour day (4:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.). With a little guidance, many quickly began to learn that the stickers, plaques and t-shirts don’t mount fish― you have to actively talk to your customers about making a fish mount a lifelong memory.

It didn’t take long for many Mates to realize that instead of worrying about tip money, get the mount and you are set for the day! There were numerous captains and mates this season with $1,000 plus days when it was all said and done. Great job guys!

Mates Helping to “Get it Done” in North Carolina

Mike Bradshaw Harpers Folly Teach's Lair	JD Payne Release Hatteras Harbor	William Spence Osprey Oregon Inlet	Catlin Peele Hatteras Fever II Hatteras Harbor

Although charters slow down through the winter here, I am still excited for those who learned and took advantage of mounting fish this summer. I know that they will be putting their techniques to work in the off season as well, and continuing to make good additional income throughout the year. Good Luck to all!

So with the season coming to an end, I must say that along this journey I have met some of the best people you could ever hope to meet. I truly look forward to being able to continue to grow this market with the charter fishermen of North Carolina next season!

My next stop will be the Panhandle area for the next couple of months, then on to Costa Rica! I am always just a phone call away for any questions or if you just want to say “hi”! Give me a call at 954-621-6913 or my e-mail is scotty@graytaxidermy.com.

Thanks again to all my new friends in North Carolina for a Great Experience!

Scotty,

It’s Good to be a Gray Taxidermy Captain or Mate

We are always looking to team up with top-quality companies that have the drive and passion to look out for our Captains and Mates.

Thank-you so much for your support!

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