Dave Fladd
Partner, Eye Strike Fishing
Summerville, SC
I was fortunate to spend the summers of my youth on Canandaigua Lake in western New York. My days were spent water skiing behind a Boston Whaler 13 sport, exploring the hills and waterfalls in the area, and fishing for rock bass under the family dock. I got a degree in Optical Engineering from the University of Rochester and work eventually brought me to Charleston, SC as part of a startup team for a new Corning Inc manufacturing plant. That was in 1996 and some may call me a “damn yankee” but I say I’m a southerner by choice, it just took me a little longer to get here!
In the fall of 2006 a neighbor invited me speckled trout fishing, and that led to buying a boat, learning all I could about saltwater fishing and, really, a new lifestyle. I met Ralph in 2011 when I volunteered to serve as IT director for a new fishing club Ralph organized, the Summerville Saltwater Anglers. I’m still not really sure how it happened but we became great friends and, now business partners.
I run most of the day to day operations of the business which includes everything from sales, marketing, product development, accounting, and janitorial services 🙂 If you have interacted with us on social media, you were interacting with me. It’s been really gratifying to get all the great feedback on our products. It’s one of my favorite things about our business. We strive to have great customer service and we hope you agree.
I’ve been very fortunate to have an “apprenticeship” under Ralph’s teaching on fishing (and life) – and I’m enjoying paying it forward. My favorite thing to do is to explore new areas and try to find a new pattern or technique. It’s kind of like applying my engineering skills to fishing. We engineers like to learn and try to understand WHY? And saltwater fishing is a good challenge in that regard, there are so many variables involved!
Conservation and sustainability of our fisheries is important to me, and I try to lead by example – details can be found on our Conservation page, if you’re interested.
Something a lot of people don’t know about me is that I was a pole vaulter in high school and college. I was the 1987 NY state champion (15′ 1″) and inducted into the Section V (western NY) and my high school Halls of Fame in the last few years, and I am a current vault coach at Fort Dorchester high school. My vaulter Tommy was 2018 SC Class 5A State Champion with a height of 15′-6″
I’m proud of my family. My wife, Dr. Laurie works for Achieving the Dream and advises Community Colleges around the country on improving their systems. We will be married 25 years in 2018. I have two sons; Jacob, an Electrical Engineering student at Clemson University, and Ian, a Mechanical Engineering student at South Carolina. Jacob was an outstanding soccer goalkeeper who played for the Charleston Battery Development Team, and Ian was the 2018 Class 5A State Champion in the 800m. Ian is a proud member of the track team at UofSC, running in the SEC.
I fish out of two boats: A 2018 Sportsman Masters 207 bay boat, and a 1966 Boston Whaler 13 sport (just like when I was a kid). If you see me on the waters around Charleston, please stop and say hello!