CTF name: Lost Sailor
Real name: Eric Johnson
Age: 35
Current City: Fairfield, CT
Hometown: Essex
Family members: Wife, Debbie, Son, Eric Joseph “EJ”
Occupation: Owner, Westport Outfitters

1. What did you do before opening up a tackle shop?
I would actually like to forget that there was anything prior but it’s hard. I spent nearly 10 years in corporate Product Development and Product Marketing in the field of finance with such firms as Citigroup, Prudential and Skandia. After 9/11 I began to get very anxious to get out. Not so much from a safety standpoint, but rather after coming to the realization that there had to be something better. That day just helped reiterate to me that I was just not cut out for the corporate world. Growing up on the banks of the CT River and always working in one of the local boat yards during high school and college, I never really thought I would end up in a desk job. I have way too much energy to be cooped up like that.

2. What made you decide to open up a tackle shop?
(see above) The shop itself actually was pre-existing, to some extent, at least with a building and a name, but not to the capacity, stock or diversity of services that we now offer today. After completing graduate school I began to look at possible ventures from an entrepreneurial standpoint including franchises as well as some other small businesses. Fishing and boating had always been my passion and I had heard rumor that this space was available. I felt that with my corporate background as well as additional business schooling, I could take it to the next level and apply everything that I had learned in the corporate world and transfer into a small business. This brings up an interesting point, I have said this from the beginning but it’s worth repeating. From day one I never felt that I was entering the fishing/boating business per se, but rather entering into a business that happened to be associated with fishing/boating. Many might not be able to see the difference but I do every day. I think one of the biggest challenges for any small business owner is that many get involved with a passion without having the business sense to run the day to day operations (i.e. budget, marketing, advertising, PR etc.).

3. What differentiates your shop from other shops?
I feel that any retail business comes down to service and personality. Whether fishing or not, people today have hundreds of choices when it comes to where they can purchase retail items. The Internet of course is a huge resource, but it can also obviously hurt small businesses that can’t compete on price. The thing is, is that any business that competes solely on price I feel will eventually fail. Customers will ultimately take their business elsewhere if the only tie is price. If you can take the time to form a bond, a connection, a friendship with customers, that is what will ultimately keep them coming back. I feel over the past 2 + years we have successfully done this and therefore price then takes a back seat. Our prices are as competitive as anyone around, but I feel our service wins the day. I have always been an outspoken guy with no shortage of friends, but after taking on this venture, I feel I have gained hundreds if not thousands of new friends, which has been very fulfilling.


Just some of the great food at the CTF 2007 Western Sound Outing hosted at Westport Outfitters.

One other differentiating point I feel is what we have done and have continued to do within the local communities in and around Fairfield County. We have been very involved in trying to turn a younger generation onto the sport of angling. We are constantly doing events with local libraries, fishing clubs and the various city Park & Rec. departments. Donating our time as well as our experience to give back and get kids excited has been worth its weight in gold and secondarily secures new customers for the future.

From an adult standpoint, Fairfield County is an interesting place. Many of our customers run multi-million dollar companies and to put it bluntly, are very confident in themselves in their day to day jobs and responsibilities. I feel because of this, they are often hesitant to walk into a more traditional tackle store and ask how to do something. At Westport Outfitters, I have strived to make it a warm and welcoming spot as to make customers more comfortable with asking questions and ultimately allow them to learn. To this point, our yearly seminar schedule has been invaluable in helping us to also accomplish this.


Tackleman giving a seminar at Westport Outfitters on St. Patrick's Day 2007.

4. What is the biggest misconception people have about running a tackle shop?
That’s actually a tough question for me personally to answer, since as I stated before, I feel that I don’t run a tackle shop per se, but rather a business. As any small business owner in any industry would agree, it takes a lot of time, sacrifices and commitment. There is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Even during the winter months I am here almost every day, planning, strategizing and reaching out to find new ways to grow the business. Just because there may not be the traffic in the winter, does not mean there is nothing to do. I had no preconceived notions about getting into this venture about how it would be, but rather new only one thing, work harder than anyone else, provide better service and greet every customer personally. It’s been a long few years, but our dedication to these very simple values has really begun to pay off.

5. What are some of the most rewarding things about running your own business?
Freedom! No boss, no BS, no on the job psychology sessions with co-workers, just staying focused on the task at hand. Specifically, what has been very rewarding to me has simply been our growth. Because of my background, I track everything, web traffic, customer contacts, sales growth even how many register tapes we go through as compared to the previous month or from the same month last year. Good old qualitative data! To review where we have come from, which was basically nothing, I can look to some of these variables and conclude that what we are doing is working. Another very rewarding aspect has been referrals. I am constantly getting emails from folks that have fished these waters for years that have never previously been into the store with comments like, “A pal told me that I have to come in and meet you guys and check out your store.” That to me is the ultimate litmus test to what we are trying to accomplish. Personal referrals from customers is key to our future success.



6. What are some of the most challenging things about running your own business?
I feel that I never have enough time to complete everything I have plans for. I tend to have a bit of OCD, so everything always has to be just about perfect, whether it’s the cleanliness of the bathrooms or the boats we have on display or having all of our accounts up to date and paid. There is always something that needs tending to. On a lighter note, finding more time to actually fish, which has been a chore, but as the business grows and we bring on more staff, this will eventually work itself out.

7. You recently became a father. How has that experience been for you?
I was actually not a big fan of having kids, but it was sort of part of the deal of getting out of the corporate world and my wife giving me her blessing of starting this venture. I held her off for the initial two years but had to fulfill my part of the agreement to start a family. I guess at the end of the day I was scared about loosing my freedom with the onset of children, especially when fellow friends start talking about that stuff like “your life is going to be over!” However on December 6, 2007, that all changed with the birth of our son Eric Joseph “EJ.” Since then it’s been a wonderful experience. Outside of the obvious, our son has given me perspective, perspective on my life as well as what his will bring. No matter how bad a day you have, when you arrive home to see a smiling child, nothing else seems to matter. I am thoroughly enjoying everything about it and she is already talking about another!



8. What does your wife think of the tackle business and the sport of fishing in general?
My wife, honestly, is a trooper. I am sure she will never read this, but nonetheless I must give her kudos where they are do. She has always been a real supporter of anything that I have tried to accomplish and since we have known each other for nearly 25 years, she truly knows me better than my family themselves. While my corporate career was dwindling down, she was more upset about it than I was and constantly was driving me to find something better. In regards to the sport of fishing, she enjoys it, surely not as much as any of us on this board, but has accepted it as a place in our lives. Because she has known me for so long, she knew what she was getting into and my passion for boating & fishing has always been present. When we are away, fishing is always in the cards, whether drifting around Lake George one summer in a tin row boat while she read and I dropped crayfish down to the bottom or laying on the beach on our honeymoon while I tried to fix the trim on a rental boat to get more speed out of it, most of the time she just looks at me and shakes here head, which is in essence her way of giving me her blessing.

9. When and how did you first get interested in fishing?
I was fortunate enough to grow up near the water in Essex CT and basically grew up on the CT River fishing, boating & sailing all summer long as well as any other free moment I could get. My father was from Brooklyn, NY and he too was always a water guy. He was in the Navy at a very young age and always seemed to enjoy fishing. As a child he took me and friends out on the river in an old Starcraft he had and it was all downhill (or uphill  ) from there.

10. What is one of your most memorable fishing experiences?
I was giving this some thought and this answer may surprise you, but it happened about 8 years back when I had returned home for my best friend’s wedding where I was the best man. We had some time to kill the afternoon before the rehearsal dinner and we actually went back to a stretch on Falls River near our neighborhood where we used to fish almost daily. We used to get an occasional bass, pickerel or pan fish, but the most memorable stuff was just being on the water and fishing with friends. Of course, I had packed all me gear and he, now living in Boston, had pretty much put down the rods. Well, we went back to this spot and began to reminisce about days gone by, marriage, life etc. and threw a few lines in the water to help pass the time. I think he was using a small spinner bait or equivalent and I was fishing a rubber worm just bouncing it off the bottom and she hit…once the fight was over, I had a 8.5 lb largemouth on my hands, by far the biggest fish either of us had ever seen get pulled out of this spot in our entire life. Needless to say, we had to get a picture for no one would ever believe us. Trouble was, his camera was a few miles down the road at a friend’s house. Needless to say he bolted while I held her in the water. What’s weird is the fish did not flinch, as if she knew what was transpiring. Upon his return, I lifted her out for a quick photo, and safely released her as we high fived and she swam away. Since then we have gone back dozens of times with very little to show. It was almost like a thank you from the fish gods of that small fish hole that we had grown up with, on the eve of a very special day. Other than that, I did land a 31 inch Brown Trout on the Big Hole River in MT a few years back on a dry fly and a 5 wt rod, but there is not enough space for me to tell that story as well.



11. Besides bait, what are some of the best-selling items in your shop?
It’s actually pretty well spread out between boats, service, gear and both freshwater and saltwater tackle. We also do quite a bit of fly-fishing equipment.


Eric at the helm off the Norwalk power plant.

12. What is one of the most unusual things you have experienced while running a tackle business?
I don’t know if it’s unusual or just something that I am not a big fan of, which is the lack of friendly competition. The marine/tackle business as a whole seems to be very closed, when in essence we are all in this together. I would love to see more cooperation as well as referral type business when one shop can’t fulfill all of a customer’s needs, as well as an outlet to bounce new ideas off of, advertising successes etc. This is something I often do with Gary up at CT Outfitters, which is refreshing to say the least. Having said this, I was able to recently form a strategic partnership with one of our rival competitor’s down here in All Seasons Marine Works. We will be working together moving forward this summer, cross marketing each others products and services and dishing off what are not core competencies by each firm. This is the stuff that I would like to see more of.


Sea Trout in Punta Gorda in Pine Island Sound.

13. Do you have much time to go fishing?
I still do find enough time to get out at least once week, whether it’s a stream or on the sound makes no difference to me. I really enjoy wading with the fly rod at night; there is something about the peace and serenity as well as the ability to hear just about everything which often does not happen on the boats. At the end of the day, catching is less important to me versus just being in the outdoors.

14. Is there a particular species of fish you have never caught but would like to?
I suppose we could always find another species to catch, but it’s not something I strive towards. Whatever is out there is good enough for me.


Eric at the CTF 2007 Western Sound Outing hosted at Westport Outfitters.

15. Do you have a dream fishing trip or destination?
I would like to continue to break more ground in the mid-west in some of the smaller less recognized streams and rivers. I have the opportunity to fish the Big Hole River each spring during the Salmon Fly Hatch which is a trip I look forward to each year. The river itself is one of the last free flowing rivers in MT and just a wonderful trophy trout stream.


A 31-inch/10.5-pound brown caught on a 5WT fly rod on the Big Hole River in MT.

17. What would you say to a young guy who wants to open up a tackle shop?
Go get another job first. As I mentioned previously, although I left corporate America, my time and the experience that I gained there has been invaluable in running Westport Outfitters. Plus, they paid for my MBA as well. Rarely, will anyone get it right the first time when it comes to careers, you can always change, which I think is an important point, nothing has to be forever, unless you don’t have the confidence and drive to change it.

18. When you're not at your shop, where can you usually be found?
Usually at the Horseshoe Café in Southport for a quick beer and maybe a game of pool and then back home to hang with my wife and son now. I have a hard time sitting still so I am always messing with tackle, the house, the truck, whatever I can do to stay busy. However, let it be known that I am “usually” at the shop.

19. What kind of music do you enjoy?
Ahhhhhhhh music, I enjoy all types, from classical to classic rock and everything in between. Recently I have been listening to more country though, I guess hanging out with the Ranger boys in Flippin, Arkansas has rubbed off on me a bit. Believe or not, I still do collect vintage vinyl as well, there is something about the process of flipping over a record to hear the other side versus hitting shuffle on my I-pod that I do enjoy.


Ranger Boats CEO, Randy Hopper, Eric and Ranger Boats founder, Forrest Wood.

20. A guy is fishing the Norwalk Islands area for the first time. What are some of the tips you would give him?
Hold on…let me go get Elser (Striper Sniper)…no, seriously, the Norwalk Islands are a very unique place. By no means am I the expert since I have only fished down this way for less than 11 years, but I do feel that every year I get a bit more accomplished in understanding them. One of the biggest things about fishing the Norwalk Islands is to achieve enough confidence that you don’t have your face glued to your chart plotter since you are so nervous about hitting one of the hundreds of monster rocks that often sit just below the water even at low tide. If I were to say one thing to them, it would be find the lowest moon tide you could and venture out for some reconnaissance. Bring a note pad and take lots of notes to where all the hidden structure is. We all know bass love structure, so if you can get a good handle on that, you will catch more fish. Second would be to understand the basics of current and how it affects a fish’s behavior in the islands. When we are out, as a rule of them, we always want to focus on fishing the lee side of the current, where bass and other fish will find refuge form the stronger current, as they await their next meal. Although a simple point, more often than not, we see boats fishing the opposite side where the current is stronger and fish normally don’t hold. The last thing would be to keep it simple, I feel we often complicate our lure/fly selection as well as line tackle and end up spending more time fussing with gear than wetting our lines. Fishing the Norwalk Islands in general definitely is more technical than fishing my old home waters around the mouth of the CT River, but usually the added time and skill necessary is worth the reward. Some very big fish have been caught in the waters out are back steps. Lastly I would say, don’t follow the pack. Here at the shop, we are not big fans of “hot spots,” but are rather out of the school of thought that if you know what makes a good spot from a current and structure standpoint, the spots themselves are limitless, so do your homework. And if all else fails, come into the store and ask for the Striper Sniper!


Eric and young angler Pamela P. at the CTF 2007 Western Sound Outing hosted at Westport Outfitters.