The Nutty Fisherman
Eight hours without a fish. And then a late bite. Eric tells the story of the win—and the name on their scorecard.
When you think back to your Schoolie victory, what scene comes to mind first?
Eric: “We did not catch our first fish until 2:15 p.m. that day. I caught only five all day. I caught two on back-to-back casts in a rip. Both were pushing 28"+, but I didn't think we had a chance.
“Then my partner caught another one in the same size range and I rounded us out with another one in the mid-20s. Then at 3 p.m., they shut off.
“We had about a 1.5-mile walk out. We submitted our scorecard and started the walk out. We had no clue if we were in the running.”
Tell us about the fish from that weekend you still think about most.
Eric: “The other story from that weekend was my daughter.
“She had just got into fly fishing and had been wanting to catch her first striper. Well, she had something come up with school and could not come down.
“The night before we left, I told her, ‘Hey, if Uncle Mark and I win, you're my partner next year. OK?’
“‘Deal Dad… you guys win, I get to go to the Cape for stripers.’
“So we are on the drive home watching the awards ceremony on YouTube heading up 95 north of Boston and they get to the winners. We see Nutty Fisherman announced as the winner…
“Five seconds later my daughter is calling my cell phone.
“Not—congratulations Dad or anything like that… nope, ‘WOOOHOOO, I get to go to the Cape fishing next year…’
“‘And I get a new rod….’
“Yeah—she claimed the T&T rod I won. I use a spey rod for stripers. And she has been my partner ever since…
“Sorry Mark.”
What went wrong—or nearly went wrong—before things came together?
Eric: “The wind… That day was sunny, but the wind was insane. We had to find a bluff we could hide behind to cast. That wind was beating us up all day.
“We got there Thursday afternoon to pre-fish. My partner got one blue that night. We got nothing on Friday scouting out a couple of regular spots and a couple of new spots we had been meaning to try.
“Saturday morning, we both hooked up early in the dark—this was the one time the Cheeky was in the fall, so we walked out using headlamps—but lost both fish. Then nothing for the next eight hours…
“It was by far our worst fishing on the Cape up until that point.”
What did your partner bring to the win that they'd never brag about themselves?
Eric: “He got one of the fish we scored and he kept his rod in one piece.
“The year before, he snapped his 9-weight on a 15-inch schoolie and we were a good 1.5 miles-plus from the car. There was no way we were making it to the car and back with the time we had left.
“So he proceeded to catch another dozen fish that year with an eight-foot 9-weight instead of a nine-foot rod.”
What fly or pattern do you remember most from that weekend?
Eric: “I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you… :) It was a custom pattern that I tie up myself. I have handed some out to friends but never told them it's the fly that won the Cheeky.”
What did winning Schoolie mean to you in the moment—and what does it mean to you now?
Eric: “The team name—Nutty Fisherman—is an homage to my father. It is his boat's name. He taught me about fishing at a very young age and got me into competitive fishing when I was a kid.
“The name of the boat came from his neighbor's little girls on Winnipesaukee. Every Sunday morning they would see him come in from salmon fishing and would tell their parents that ‘Here comes that Nutty Fisherman’… so he named the boat because of them.
“After he passed, we decided to use his boat name as our team name.
“So the win partially goes to him. He would have been happy for us.
“What does it mean now? It was a great accomplishment. The Schoolie Tournament brings in some of the best fly fishermen from everywhere. And for one day I was lucky enough to be the best of the bunch.
“I always go into that day looking to have fun and what happens, happens. But all that work that I have put into my life to be a decent fly fisherman came together for one moment that I get to enjoy.”
What would you tell someone fishing their first Schoolie that has nothing to do with catching the biggest fish?
Eric: “Two things: you are going to suck and equipment doesn't matter.
“The fish are temperamental on the Cape. You need to figure out what tides work at what spots, what flies and colors work, and how much weight you need in your line to get your flies into the strike zone.
“You're gonna suck the first couple times. Took me three years to catch my first striper on the fly in Maine and now I won the damn thing.
“And you don't need a $1,000 rod or fancy waders and boots. I won using an $85 spey rod I picked up at the fly show in Marlboro that year.
“Bring what you got and have fun.”