Gray Taxidermy Newsletter
AN EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATION FOR FISHERMAN, BY FISHERMEN

Issue 47, November 2014

Captain of the Month – Mike Short - Get Hooked Charters, Texas Gulf Coast

Congratulations Captain Mike Short. He turned in the winning order (a spinner shark for a fellow Texan) that was pulled for Captain of the Month. For this prestigious honor, Captain Mike will receive a new REACTOR watch and beautiful plaque fromGray Taxidermy.

Captain Mike Short grew up fishing the Texas Gulf Coast, mainly Galveston, TX and loved every minute of it! He spent these early years soaking in everything he could learn about the fishing in these waters and it became his life’s dream to make it down here to stay one day and be a professional fishing guide.

In 2007, after more than 30 years of fishing in his spare time in Galveston, he left the 9-5 corporate world, moved to Galveston with his wife and 3 daughters and put everything on the line to make a go of the dream he had held onto since childhood. Get Hooked Charters was started by Captain Mike Short and wife Melody Short with one boat and a lot of dedication and has grown into one of the largest private charter company in Galveston with six boats and six full time captains operating year round.

Captain Mike always says “There is no better feeling in the world than putting smiles on customers face’s everyday while putting them on the fish and creating memories that last a lifetime”!

The stories we hear from our captains around the world are priceless. We are so fortunate to work in this industry and have been overly blessed with people we get to work with. We will never get tired of saying it – Gray Taxidermy will always support our Captains and Mates and we will always go the extra mile to protect this great industry. Way to go Captain Mike.

Species of the Month – Cownose Ray

We are always blown away with the many varieties of trophy mounts that are turned in each month. This month’s draw was the Cownose Ray. Yes!!! It’s an awesome mount that turns into a real scene stealer on your customer’s wall. The winning order was turned in from Destin Florida. The Mate on the order that wins the new pair of Costa Sunglasses is Ben O’Connor. Way to go Ben!

Info on the Cownose Ray as Google and Wikipedia see it...

The Cownose Ray is a species of Eagle Ray found throughout a large part of the Western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England, USA to southern Brazil. The Cownose Ray is 11 to 18 inches in width at birth and grows rapidly. A mature specimen can grow to 45 inches in width, and weigh 50 pounds or more. There is some controversy over the size that a mature Cownose Ray can reach. A Ray reaching a span of 84 inches has been recorded.

A Cownose Ray is typically brown-backed with a whitish or yellowish belly. Although its coloration is not particularly distinctive, its shape is easily recognizable. It has a broad head with wide-set eyes, and a pair of distinctive lobes on its subrostral fin. When threatened the Cownose Ray can use the barb at the base of its tail, called a spine, to defend itself from the threat. This spine has teeth lining its lateral edges, and is coated with weak venom that causes symptoms similar to that of a bee sting.

The Cownose Ray feeds upon clams, oysters, hard clams and other invertebrates. It uses two modified fins on its front side to produce suction, which allows it to draw food into its mouth, where it crushes its food with its dental plates. Cownose Rays typically swim in groups, which allows them to use their synchronized wing flaps to stir up sediment and expose buried clamsand oysters.

Cownose Rays may be seen in selected zoo aquaria and are often featured in special 'touch tanks' where visitors can reach into a wide but shallow pool containing the fish which have had their barbs pinched or taken off, making them safe enough to touch.

These Rays make a beautiful mount and an unforgettable scene when used in a multiple marine trophy wall. Don’t forget to talk to your customer to find out all their needs when it comes to mounting their trophy catch.

Mate of the Month – Chad Kieswetter, Hawaii

Mate of the Month takes us all the way to Hawaii. Congratulations this month goes to Chad Kieswetter from Kona, Hawaii.

We at Gray Taxidermy know how hard our guys/girls on the water work, so it has always been important to us to make sure recognition is given to all our supporters. Giving backto our people and this industry is always our goal. By teaming with industry leaders such as Costa, we can continue to do so. Costa is awarding our Mate of the Month a pair of blue mirror “Fisch” sunglasses as well as a plaque naming him Mate of the Month.

When we reached out to Chad to let him know of his new found fame, this was his response; “I really appreciate the recognition! It’s really pretty neat to win something for fishing”! “

I grew up fishing with my Dad. I moved to Kona 4 years ago and started fishing on board the Camelot. Captain Robert Hudson and Captain Chris Hudson took me in and taught me big game fishing. I am very lucky to get to fish Kona's calm waters everyday with big blue marlin always lurking.”Way to go Chad and the entire Hawaii team!

We as fisherman have come accustomed to using the word “legend“ towards a truly great fellow fisherman. The real definition of a Gray Taxidermy legend is more than that. We recognize in a fast paced world full of changing times, one thing special to us is a dedicated professional to the industry we all love with a proven track record as a quality fisherman, customer service specialist , consistent-top mounter as well as a member of the Charter boat industry for at least 25 years.

This is no small feat as we have all lived the drastic rise in cost of doing business as a boat owner as well as the rising cost of getting clients to the boat while all the while going broke! The only thing in our business to not go up is the fee collected to get off the dock! We are truly proud to launch this promotion of Gray Legends and will always proudly support the charter boat Captains and crews as partners in a great industry.

Gray Taxidermy is proud to honor our first Legend Captain Stan Saffan

By Captain Stan Saffan:

“I started out fishing at the age of seven in the mid 1960’s with my father and brother, both on fishing piers and on drift-fishing boats at Haulover Beach here in Miami, Florida. I then started working on the all-day drift-fishing boats as deckhand and then as first mate on the weekends at the age of thirteen. By that time I had experienced catching just about everything that swims and bites. Customers thought of me as a human fish because I could just about predict everything that would happen each day.

I continued working every weekend, holiday and summer, learning more about the art and skill of fishing these Florida waters. During the summer I worked seven days a week and knew that I was on my way to an exciting career and someday would be a captain of my own fleet of charter boats. During college I worked at sea every afternoon and weekend on local sportfishing boats. Within a few years I started working full time on the first “THERAPY” and built my first charter fishing boat in 1976. I then built a second deep sea fishing boat and now I have just finished building my new 2010 THERAPY-IV that is about the most amazing fishing boat that anyone could ever think of building. Not only does this fishing boat have all the amenities one can ask for, it has state of the art electronics to match.”

Captain Stan has been a pioneer in marketing his business in every way. He’s 100% dedicated to the Charter Fishing industry. His real passion is entertaining and interacting with people. Captain Stan has a true gift for making all he touches feel special. When meeting Stan you immediately feel you have a life-long friend! Captain Stan always adds a personal touch for his friends and clients from birthday cards, anniversary cards to yearly calendars and more, that personalize his business to where all involved feel part of the Therapy IV team. Along with his life-long passion for the Charter Fishing business, he shows endless support of our troops overseas and at home, as well as his rose garden that he shares every week with the girls at the Gray Taxidermy Home office. Captain Stan is that 1-in-a-million!

We are honored to have Captain Stan as our friend!

As proud supports of our Legends, we have teamed up with SIMRAD to bring our captains a Simrad HH36 Handheld VHF radio as a “Thank-you” for always supporting this great industry. This radio is a feature-packed handheld, Class D, DSC marine VHF radio loaded with the latest technology, integrated GPS, loud and clear audio and navigational features that leave other handheld VHF radios in the shade. Great for use on any sized boat, for professional or leisure use.

Your Facebook Campaign

By working together we can provide an even better Facebook experience for your existing customers as well as thousands of potential customers! We can post your fishing adventure photos, and you get the opportunity to advertise your company directly to people that love fishing and in return you will receive added exposure for your Charter business. IT’S THAT EASY!

Send us your fishing photos to photos@graytaxidermy.com and we will post them to our growing audience of 140,000+ fans, exclusively for Gray Taxidermy Captains and Mates. Make sure you let us know the Charter Business name, the Captain and mates name along with your location. Feel free to include your logo, website and phone number.