Industry Insights: Meet Kade Gewanter
It can be hard for even avid anglers to understand the depth and breadth of the fishing industry and the jobs that it holds. Many young people want to work in something related to their passion, but don’t know how to go about it, or what options exist. I started thinking about this one day as I spoke to Kade Gewanter, my connection for all things Shimano, G. Loomis, Jackall and Power Pro, and decided that his story might help others get a toehold in the industry – and besides, he’s a serious fish head like us. Here’s more about him, in his own words:
HPFC: We met you through your work for Darby Communications. What does the organization do in general, and what do you do for them in particular?
KADE GEWANTER: We’re a PR agency located Asheville, North Carolina, and we specialize in the hunt and fish side of things, general outdoor adventure. We have a few other segments, but those are the two biggest areas that we play in. We specialize in earned media for brand, so a lot of what I do is to work with media on stories highlighting gear and pro staff as well as handling new product releases. We also coordinate trade shows and media events.
HPFC: Were you already an angler when you started the job?
KADE GEWANTER: Yes. I’ve been a fisherman forever, as far back as I can remember. I got fortunate – I played football in college and ended up taking an extra year to finish up because we lost a year due to COVID. That allowed me to get my masters and that helped me to connect to Darby to get involved in the fishing industry that way.
HPFC: How would someone go about finding a similar job?
KADE GEWANTER: I think if you’re trying to get into the PR space, you need to really have a good grasp of the general media landscape. I didn’t really grow up in a super-fishy family so a lot of what I learned was from people like Jimmy Fee and Pete Robbins and David Brown. Media guys basically taught me how to fish so I was in tune with what was going on in the media. It helps to understand the business side of things, too. There are a lot of different parts to the fishing industry and it helps to think about how to help a brand move forward. I knew at an early age that I needed to find a non-traditional way into the industry – I can’t catch ‘em like some of these guys – so I needed to be a little creative and figure out a place to fit in.
HPFC: Before you got there, what type or types of fishing did you pursue mostly?
KADE GEWANTER: I like just about everything. I’m from Western Massachusetts. We’re about two hours to the coast so I did a lot of saltwater fishing, especially striped bass fishing. We’re pretty close to Lake Champlain and some of the really good fisheries in New York, so that got me hooked on bass fishing. I spent as much time on Champlain and the Finger Lakes and the St. Lawrence River as I could. One of my first passions, though, was ice fishing. We have just enough elevation that we can depend on having a really good ice fishing season. I did some of that around the house, as well as in New York, Vermont and Maine. That all worked together – I like to think I’m a well-rounded angler. I’ve done a little bit of everything.
HPFC: Has the job provided you with some new fishing opportunities?
KADE GEWANTER: Yes. Absolutely. I’ve been fortunate to do some Florida inshore fishing with the Old Town watercraft team. That was something I’ve always wanted to do. I caught my first snook, which was exciting. I also got on the Harris Chain of Lakes, too. I’m a big bass fishing fan so I’d always heard about that place and it was cool to check it out.
HPFC: What are some experiences that are still on your young man bucket list?
KADE GEWANTER: I want to go out to Pulley Ridge in Florida and catch a Queen Snapper. Also, I’d like to check out the Venice, Louisiana yellowfin tuna bite – that seems super-special. On the freshwater side of things, I guess I’m kind of a weirdo. I’d like to get up to Canada and catch some of those humongous burbot that they have up there. Burbot are some of my favorite fish. I’ve also never caught a pure strain musky. It changes every day. I see and article or hear about something and I say, “I need to go do that.”
HPFC: Who are the clients you help for Darby?
KADE GEWANTER: I work with all of the Shimano brands – Shimano, G. Loomis, Jackall and Power Pro. I also work with Old Town watercraft and a couple of hunting brands Tactacam – they make cellular trail cameras.
HPFC: Obviously your career is still young, but what have been some of the highlights so far?
KADE GEWANTER: I’ve had a ton of moments like that. I’ll never forget the first time I was on an email with Doug Stange. That was pretty cool. One of my favorite things about the job is not just working with the products, but also getting to know the people behind the brands and especially the pro-staffers. With Old Town and Shimano, there are guys I’ve known about my whole life – Carter Andrews, Jeff Gustafson, those kind of people. You learn a lot about people doing interesting things. There’s a woman on the Old Town pro staff named Wendy Biles down in Florida. She’s really hard at work with the Women’s Fishing Federation, getting more women on the water kayak fishing, inshore fishing, offshore fishing and bass fishing.
HPFC: What are your career goals?
KADE GEWANTER: I want to keep on growing in the fishing space, keep making as many connections as possible. I’ve found that to be super-valuable. I’ve been doing quite a bit of freelance writing so I’m focused on that, too. I love putting stories together. But it’s all about trying to grow in the PR space, finding new ways to help my clients and stay on the cutting edge. Stuff is changing so fast – between social media, YouTube, affiliate links – it takes work to stay ahead of everything. That’s a big part of it, staying ahead of the curve.
HPFC: What else do people need to know about you?
KADE GEWANTER: As much as I love to fish, I’m also super-passionate about cooking. That’s another area that really helped me get into fishing, how much I like to eat fish.
HPFC: What is your favorite fish to eat, and what is your favorite way to prepare it?
KADE GEWANTER: That’s tough. My favorite eating fish – obviously tuna, sashimi, is very high up there. I also love to eat burbot. A good burbot fry is always good, so that’s kind of a weird spectrum.
Here are Kade’s can’t-live-without products:
“Whether I’m pike fishing, inshore striper fishing, casting big baits for bass, that is my favorite reel for big nasty fish.”
“I use it for a million different things – finesse stuff, jerkbaits. Now that I travel quite a bit to fish it’s all about bringing gear that you can use for multiple things.”
“Before I ever started working here, I save up for a long time to buy one of those. I still love them. There are SKUs for everything from panfish to huge lake trout.”
“I use it so much down here – it’s super easy to move. I use it before work, after work, it helps me get out on the water as much as I can.”
