About Us

Our Mission

To develop brands that inspire outdoor enthusiasts through exceptional service and product education.

"Every day, anglers from around the world seek expert product advice from TackleDirect to help them be more productive on the water. Our team of fishing veterans takes our tagline of business from a customer’s view with each interaction. I could not be more proud to work with the people I do."

Patrick Gill
Founder & CEO, TackleDirect

Our Story

We were an internet start-up, long before internet start-ups were cool. Actually, in the fishing industry, even mentioning the internet was very uncool at that time and many people and brands initially turned us down. The Gill Family had long operated a marina in Ocean City, New Jersey when their son, Patrick, then a university student, brainstormed with his father the idea of creating an online catalog that sold fishing equipment. Working with limited heat in a tiny bait and tackle shop over the water at the marina, Patrick and their first employee, Wayne Nicholson, built the first version of TackleDirect.com over winter break from college. It was 1998, and almost 20 years later, TackleDirect now boasts over 80,000 products from more than 800 manufacturers shipping to over 200 countries internationally.