White’s Tackle is just about the coolest tackle shop around, or at least I think so. As a native Floridian I have traveled most of the state in search of both fish and game. This journey (30+ years) has placed me in random tackle shops all over this peninsular state we call home.

I have spent countless hours in these shops shooting the sh%% with boat captains, store owners, reel boys, and people that love this state and it’s fishery.  When I moved to Fort Pierce in 2006 I eventually made my way into a small tackle shop with the greatest history ever.

Established in 1925,  White’s tackle opened it’s doors on 2nd street  in downtown Fort Pierce.  It was founded by Buck White while the the Raffensberger family owned and operated the business until it’s 2007 sale to local businessman Scott Crippen. Scott grew up in Fort Pierce and even worked in the store as a kid.  Scott eventually built the current store that can be visited at 1106 S. US 1 Fort Pierce, Florida. WARNING: This must see tackle shop that  has caused several local divorces after unnamed men spent way too much money on really cool fishing and archery hunting gear.

When Scott Crippen bought the store he asked me to design and develop something the store never had before. A web site. It was my 3rd paid job ever and I was just starting my business. Whitestackle.com went live and my phone almost immediately started ringing. Scott and his crew really pushed my name and before long I was cranking out designs for numerous fishing related businesses. I quickly found myself in the middle of a major outdoor network and was able meet all kinds of people and work on all kinds of awesome marine projects.

The above photo shows the interior of White’s Tackle.
It features 4000 square feet of fishing and archery gear.

The Lost Arrow Ranch

As I grew busier, I maintained my relationship with Scott Crippen and White’s tackle. Scott even had me design his fishing guide service web site entitled www.fortpierceflatsfishing.com.  This entire site was designed with sketches at a 500 acre ranch in Fort Drum while drinking Modelos and eating fajitas.

Here’s a tip: The best business trips involve hunting, beer, fajitas, and sketches. Yes in that order

I remember one trip to the ranch when Scott looked at me and said “We are going to be building skiffs”. I listened as Scott told me about his old school buddy Chris Ivey and this amazing skiff that he built at his house and wet tested in his pool.  At that moment I think I laughed, but wanted to hear more.  That night Scott gave me all the dirty details and before I knew it, the skiff was brought to Fort Pierce in absolute crap weather conditions. Scott and Chris ran this skiff across a white capped Indian River lagoon, when they got to the other side, Scott and Chris both looked at each other while realizing either of them had any salt water on their sun glass lenses. At that moment Scott said to Chris Ivey ” We are going to start building these skiffs. No matter what.”

Within weeks Scott Crippen and Chris Ivey sat down with Paul Ellig of Treasure Coast Boatworks and discussed the skiff. After going over all the details, Skull Island added Paul to the team.

Paul is a truly talented boat builder and agreed to retool the original skiff to correct some minor details. Paul worked for Maverick boat company for 11 years and was intimately involved in the design, testing, and tooling of the infamous Marverick HPX. Paul’s involvement in the Skull Island Skiff project has been instrumental in the development of this awesome little boat and he continues to work closely with Scott and Chris as they are about to amp up the production level.

The above photos were all taken in 2009.
These photos represent the early stages of design and construction of Skull Island Skiff Works hull number one.

The Skull Island Skiff

If you are still reading this blog post then you will start to realize that on that nasty day in the Indian River Lagoon Scott and Chris formed a partnership. Skull Island Skiffworks was born. Well, not actually. A boat company was formed. We began working on company names almost immediately and I found myself texting back and forth with Scott and crew. Hundreds of texts later, Skull Island Skiffworks came up after talking about a fishing spot in Vero Beach that Scott and Chris frequented together as kids. We all liked it and it was in keeping with that edgy hard core angler driven small skiff market. After all, we are all part of it, and love it!

Before long, the logo designer was hired. I was ecstatic to hear that Brian Sylvester (another hard corps angler residing in Costa Rica) was to be working on the brand. Brian is not only an amazing illustrator and artist, he is a good friend.  I met Brian through my best friend Josh Smith and his wife Jenna. Jenna and Brian are brother and sister and are truly great people and friends. If you wanna see how rad Brian’s work is, visit bsylvesterart.com.

As Brian was sketching logo mach ups  in Costa Rica. I was capturing screen shots of his work and coming up with web concepts . Fast forward two years from when Chris began building this little skiff in his backyard and we are about to launch this new site in the next thirty days. Concepts have been approved while final sketches, content, and photo shoots are being finalized.

Hull number one has left the mold and hull number two and three are getting ready to “pop” and it appears three or four more may need to be built almost immediately. I am delighted to have been apart of all of these projects and am truly excited about this skiff and what it has to offer. I can’t give away too much now, but this skiff’s marketing points are based on supreme fit and finish with a price point that gets a lot more anglers out on the water. It is a technical poling skiff that doesn’t require a second mortgage.  It is 16’ x 50”, super light, super quiet and polls like a dream. This boat is awesome, and on my 2012 list of things to acquire!

Before I “fire up” Photoshop again, I wanted to leave you with this video from Skull Island Skiff works. It features Captain Christian Yergens (shallow water expeditions)  and Captain Scott Crippen  tearing up the Snook  in Fort Pierce on the front side of the mullet run.  Enjoy!!!

Keep checking back soon for more updates on this and other Magnetic Media projects. Thanks for reading!