Jackie Smith

Hobie Fishing Team - Factory

Angler: Jackie Smith

Home Water(s): Missouri

Experience:

Growing up in southern Louisiana, Jackie Smith acquired the “fishing sickness” at a young age. Whether he was floating down the Tangipahoa River with friends fishing for Redeye bass, or navigating through the bayous in a “bateau” scouting for redfish, fishing played a leading role in Jackie’s youth. Being brought up in southern Louisiana, Jackie was molded into one of the finest gentleman you’ll ever meet. After high school, he was offered an athletic scholarship to Northwestern Louisiana, where he played football and ran track. In his spare time, he took advantage of the productive fishing waters in and around Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Upon graduating from college, Jackie was drafted by the St. Louis Football Cardinals in 1962 and spent the next fifteen seasons playing tight end for the Cardinals, before finishing his career with the Dallas Cowboys in 1978. In 1994 he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

For the past decade, Jackie has been an integral part of Hobie Fishing. In fact, he was one of the initial pioneers to ever try fishing from a Hobie MirageDrive kayak. Thanks to his passion and drive to grow the sport of kayak fishing, Hobie now has an entire team dedicated to making the best fishing kayaks on the market. You’ll find Jackie traveling around the USA representing Hobie at writers’ conferences, tradeshows, and many other events.

Keeton Eoff

Hobie Fishing Team - Factory

Angler: Keeton Eoff

Home Water(s): West Texas

Experience:

As a child, Keeton Eoff murmured his first word: “fishing” and a lifelong saga unfolded. Every time people in the neighborhood saw Keeton, he was carrying a rod and reel around with him. Growing up in west Texas, Keeton fished anywhere and everywhere that he could. At any sign of water, Keeton would be casting a lure in hopes of pulling out some kind of fish. Stock ponds and drain culverts became his hangouts, which he later referred to as “honey holes.”

Down the line Keeton has turned those simple beginnings into opportunity. He has fished all over the North America using different tactics under different circumstances. Over the past twelve years, he’s worked with industry leaders specializing in sales and marketing strategies, introducing new products to an ever expanding customer base, all the while broadening his angling skills every chance he gets, Keeton has gained a plethora of business and fishing knowledge. Now part of the Hobie Cat Company team, Eoff shares his experiences bringing plenty of new and creative ideas and strategies to the Hobie kayak fishing world.

When asked about working in the fishing industry and how he got there, Keeton says, “My parents let me be a kid growing up…doing what I loved, and I don’t plan on that changing.”

Morgan Promnitz

Hobie Fishing Team - Factory

Angler: Morgan "Roosta" Promnitz

Home Water(s): San Diego

Experience:

Catching his first fish at age five, Morgan “Roosta” Promnitz was born into a lifestyle that has revolved around fishing. The rich waters of his native South Africa provided an excellent learning stage for him to hone his skills by catching bream, grunter, kabeljou and giant sharks from the beach.

In his later years after moving to Southern California, Morgan amassed a lifetime of experience working in and around San Diego’s fishing and kayak industries. If it’s fly fishing for native golden trout in the Sierra Mountains or battling giant yellowfin tuna in the Pacific, Promnitz has done it.

Landing his first yellowtail from a kayak in 2000, and becoming a guide in 2006, he has since had the privilege of watching many of his clients and friends land their first trophy fish from a kayak. After hundreds of hours fishing from Hobie kayaks, Promnitz became a huge advocate for the sport. Today he continues this passion and now works as the Fishing Product Manager for Hobie Cat Company.

Jim Czarnowski

Hobie Fishing Team - Factory

Angler: Jim Czarnowski

Home Water(s): Southern California

Experience:

Jim Czarnowski’s passion for fishing began early on the remote mountain streams of Montana and Wyoming while growing up in Yellowstone National Park. Fast forward 30 years, add a couple engineering Masters degrees from MIT and now, in his tenth year as Director of Engineering at Hobie Cat Company, Jim leads a team of talented and dedicated designers to creating the world’s best personal fishing vessels. He loves what he does, especially when it involves “product testing” in favorite local fisheries such as La Jolla or Bahia de Los Angeles or packing up an i-9 and heading to Alaska to chase salmon and halibut.

Jeffrey Fortuna

Hobie Fishing Team - Factory

Angler: Jeffrey Fortuna

Home Water(s): Southern California

Experience:

A man of few words, Jeffrey Fortuna spends most of his time kayaking with one eye behind the lens of a camera. His kayaking experience includes 52 mile round trip adventures across ocean channels to remote islands where he has camped and fished for several days. Navigating up stream through flowing rivers surrounded by steep canyon walls, is what Jeff enjoys to do. He always has a camera, his camping equipment, and a fishing rod on board. Before capturing photographs and videos as Hobie Cats unofficial photographer, Jeffrey grew up on a small lake in Michigan catching large mouth bass, crappie and other pan fish. As a teenager he began fishing for trout in the streams of Northern Michigan. After high school Jeffrey moved to the Sierra Nevada Mountains where he continued trout fishing and began kayaking.

Enthralled in Hobie Cat Company’s Marketing Department, Fortuna is never without his camera whether he’s out on the water for work or play. Much of his time is spent traveling to kayak shows, events, and tournaments but when he has a free moment you’ll find him fishing Southern California’s coastline for large saltwater species or pedaling his kayak, packed full of supplies, as he embarks on a new adventure.