Today we’d like to introduce you to Chip Michalove.
Hi Chip, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born in Lexington, Ky. My dad always took me fishing on the weekends, I usually got bored so id chased frogs or crawdads while he fished, but the outdoors were in my veins at a young age. When I was 4 yrs. old my parents took a vacation to Hilton Head, SC. They booked a charter fishing guide named Fuzzy Davis. I was intrigued immediately. We ended up catching a 6-foot shark and I was scared to death. By the time we got back to the dock, I thought Fuzzy Davis was a God. Little did I know that shark would change my life. When I got back to Ky, I knew there was nothing else I’d rather do than fish for a living. When I was 9, I put signs all around a lake saying “guide for hire, call Chip”. I never got a call, but I knew I could what I wanted to do. My family moved to Hilton Head when I was 14 and my lifetime goal was now in reach. I bought my first boat at 22 without my parents knowing and started running charters illegally without a captain’s license. When you’re 22 you think you’re untouchable. I finally confessed to my dad, and without a strange aggravating tone, he told me to go to sea school and get my license, that he’ll pay for it… DONE. A year later, I was advertising that if you booked me, we’d catch an 8ft sharks or the charter was free. I was a nervous mess but I ran that guarantee for 3 years without having to refund 1 charter. I discontinued it only ‘cause I was miserable with that kind of gamble each day. I started breaking state records, winning shark tourneys so frequent that they asked me not to fish them anymore. I wanted to catch the first great white ever in South Carolina, people thought I was nuts. They told me there weren’t any here. After numerous seasons, I caught my first white shark. The paper didn’t even print it because they thought it was a fabricated story. Then I got another, and another…I was on Good Morning America, FOX, CNN, newspapers all over the country were calling for interviews. It’s been a wild ride. I teamed up with the world’s top white shark scientists and now I’m satellite tagging the first great white sharks ever in South Carolina. As of last year, I was featured on Shark Week twice and opportunities are now endless. It’s really been a fun journey.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely tough times. The greatest motivation is when someone tells you it can’t be done, so there were a lot of doubters, and as angry as it made me, I thank them greatly now. Just in my head, not physically. If I had a dollar for every time someone laughed when I said “I’m heading out tomorrow to look for a great white” id retire. I had to start to lie when people asked me in the winter what I was fishing for, I didn’t want to hear the smack talk.
Money was tough for the first few years. When you’re 23 years old, and look like you’re 11, who wants to pay and trust you to take them fishing all day?
And this lifestyle isn’t easy. You can’t love the ocean, that’s not good enough. You have to be obsessed to make it in this business. For 6 months a year, I’m on the water 6 days a week. I’ve missed countless graduations, birthdays, weddings, and thanksgivings for this career I chose. The high’s a huge, the lows can wear on you.
As you know, we’re big fans of Outcast Sport Fishing. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I’m a fisherman who catches and releases sharks for a living. I also take customers out to catch and keep mahi, grouper, snapper, etc.
I’m known for finding sharks. The papers here call me the shark whisperer. That’s sounds arrogant admitting but google it, you’ll see.
What sets me apart? I’m obsessed with my job. I love the ocean. I think not having kids and been helpful, as other captains need to get back for soccer practice, a kid’s dentist appt, a baseball game, I’m still out there.
Most proud of? Being the first person to catch great white sharks south of NY. Catching the most great whites ever in the US. Never killed one. It’s been nice using this talent in helping scientists learn more about a shark that they knew/know nothing about.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Just follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Pricing:
- 4-hour charter is $650.00
- 6-hour charter is 950.00
- 10-hour is 1600.00
Contact Info:
- Email: outcastfishing@yahoo.com
- Website: outcastfishing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outcast_sport_fishing/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OutcastSportFishing/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChipHHI
