Clean water means good fishing in the James

Tim O’Brien, president of Tycoon Tackle, Inc., has a passion for the waters he fishes. And he fishes a lot. After all, he came by his passion as honestly as a fisherman could- through his father. In 1935, Frank O’Brien founded Tycoon Tackle in Miami, gear for the era’s renowned sportsmen; sportsmen like Zane Grey and Ernest Hemingway.

“My dad just happened to come on the scene about that time and he developed these fishing rods that…were not breaking, and they started catching these giant fish,” Tim O’Brien said.

Frank O’Brien’s passion was startlingly interrupted in World War II, forcing the company to retool production to stay in business. Making fishing gear took a backseat to making aircraft landing gear. The company resumed making fishing gear after the war with a steady decline over the years due to the advent of mass produced fishing rods.

 All that changed close to a decade ago when Tim O’Brien led the rebirth of a once legendary tackle company producing bamboo, glass and graphite fly rods, and spinning and trolling rods. Armed with a sincere love of the sport and a doctoral degree in fisheries policy from Virginia Commonwealth University, O’Brien is poised to bring history to life. And his goal is to support organizations as passionate as he is about clean water.

In 2014 Tim O’Brien and Pat Calvert, the Upper James RiverKeeper for the James River Association decided to collaborate on a series of James River rods that would benefit the mission of preserving and protecting the health of America’s Founding River.

“Any business that relies on healthy, clean water is a good business in our opinion,” Calvert said.

This October we are proud to see the release of four rods, two spinning rods and two fly rods, specifically designed for use in the historic James River. Proceeds from each sale benefit our mission to preserve and protect the river for future generations. The rods will be custom, built-to-order, co-branded and appropriate for fishing sections of the James River. They will be available online at Tycoon Tackle and in finer outfitters throughout the watershed.