When you’re a small fishing company, there is a question customers have every right to ask: why should I trust you?
Ebb N Flow Outdoors isn’t one of the biggest names in fishing. We don’t have decades of brand history. We don’t have products hanging in every tackle shop in America. We don’t have an enormous engineering department, a massive pro staff or millions of dollars behind the brand.
We’re building this company from the ground up.
But the company being young doesn’t mean the experience behind it is. And if you’re considering spending your money on one of our products, I think you deserve to know the difference.
Ebb N Flow Outdoors Is New. I Am Not New to Fishing.
My name is Dave Erdly, and fishing has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. But my background goes beyond being someone who loves to fish.
I studied Natural Resources and Environmental Management with an emphasis in fisheries biology. I’m also a licensed U.S. Coast Guard captain. Professionally, I’ve spent years working inside the fishing and outdoor industries, including sales, product development, retail, distribution and working directly with anglers and businesses throughout the industry.
I’ve had the opportunity to see fishing products from several different perspectives: as an angler. As a salesman. As a retailer and distributor partner. As a product developer. And now, as a manufacturer and business owner.
Those experiences matter. Because building a fishing product and catching a fish on one are two very different things.
Fishing Experience Doesn’t Automatically Make a Good Product
This is something I think the fishing industry occasionally gets wrong. Catching a lot of fish doesn’t automatically make someone a great product designer. And being a great engineer doesn’t automatically mean you understand how anglers actually use a product.
The sweet spot is somewhere between the two.
You need to understand fishing.
You need to understand the customer.
You need to understand manufacturing.
You need to understand why existing products were designed the way they were.
And then you need enough curiosity to ask: could this be better?
That’s where I believe my background has helped Ebb N Flow Outdoors. I’m not designing tackle from behind a desk and then hoping anglers figure out what to do with it.
I’m using it. I’m breaking it. I’m changing it. I’m handing it to other anglers. And sometimes they’re showing me ways to use it that I hadn’t even considered.
That’s product development.
Our Testing Ground Doesn’t Have One Species
One of the things that has shaped The Upgrade family is that I don’t want these products trapped inside one fishing category. I’ve spent time chasing freshwater and saltwater species across very different environments.
Bass.
Crappie.
Stripers.
Speckled trout.
Redfish.
Flounder.
Snook.
Walleye.
Sheepshead.
And plenty of others.
Those fish don’t all eat the same way. They don’t live in the same habitat. And anglers don’t target them with the same techniques. That’s incredibly useful when you’re developing something that’s supposed to be multi-purpose.
A jighead that performs well swimming a plastic for bass might expose a completely different strength or weakness when you’re throwing it in current for redfish. A hook that seems plenty strong in freshwater might tell a different story when a big saltwater fish decides to leave. A keeper that works with conventional soft plastic may behave completely differently with modern TPE or ElaZtech-style materials.
You learn those things by fishing.
The Anglers Testing Our Products Matter Just as Much
There’s another part of Ebb N Flow’s experience that doesn’t belong to me. Our customers.
This might actually be one of the biggest advantages a small company has. I get feedback directly.
Someone catches a fish on an Upgrade Jighead and sends me a picture.
Someone discovers a different rigging method and tells me about it.
Someone catches a species I never specifically designed the product for.
Someone finds a problem.
Someone wants another hook size.
Someone wants another weight.
Someone asks, “Have you ever thought about doing it this way?”
I listen. Some ideas don’t work. Others become prototypes. And occasionally a customer points us toward something that eventually becomes part of the product line.
That’s why Keep Communicating has become more than a sign-off for me. It’s part of how we’re building the company.
Made in the USA Matters — But Not for the Reason You Might Think
We’re proud that our Upgrade jighead products are manufactured in the United States. But there’s another advantage to domestic manufacturing that doesn’t fit neatly onto a package: communication.
When you’re developing a product, being able to communicate with the people actually producing it matters enormously.
A tiny adjustment can matter.
Hook selection matters.
Weight placement matters.
Keeper geometry matters.
Paint matters.
Eyes matter.
Consistency matters.
And sometimes you don’t know what needs to change until you fish it. Being able to take what we learn on the water and communicate that back into manufacturing is a major part of the development process.
Made in the USA is something we’re proud of. But being connected to the process is equally important to me.
Are Our Products Perfect?
No. And I don’t think you should trust a fishing company that tells you theirs are.
We’ve had manufacturing issues. We’ve changed things. We’ve tested ideas that didn’t work. I’ve opened boxes and found things I wasn’t happy with. I’ve also learned that what looks perfect on paper doesn’t always behave perfectly underwater.
That’s part of building physical products. What matters is what happens next.
When we find a problem, we address it. When customers identify something that can be improved, we listen. When I think there’s a better way to build something, we test it.
The word Upgrade creates a pretty high standard. We have to be willing to apply that same philosophy to ourselves.
So, Is Ebb N Flow Outdoors Credible?
I don’t think credibility is something a company gets to declare about itself. You earn it.
One customer.
One product.
One fish.
One problem solved.
One mistake corrected.
One conversation at a time.
My education gives me a foundation. My U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license adds another layer of experience on the water. My career in the fishing and outdoor industries has taught me how products move from manufacturers to retailers to anglers. Thousands of hours fishing have taught me things no classroom ever could. And building Ebb N Flow Outdoors is teaching me something new almost every day.
But none of those things individually mean you should automatically trust us. Our products still have to perform. That’s the standard.
We’re Still Learning — And That’s the Point
One of the worst things I could eventually do as the founder of Ebb N Flow Outdoors would be to decide that I know enough.
Fishing changes.
Techniques change.
Electronics change.
Soft-plastic materials change.
Manufacturing changes.
And anglers continually discover new ways of presenting a bait to a fish. I want this company to remain curious enough to change with them.
That’s ultimately what The Upgrade is supposed to represent. Not that we’ve figured everything out. But that we’re willing to keep asking whether something can be made better.
And then go fishing and find out.
Keep Communicating.
— Dave Erdly
Founder, Ebb N Flow Outdoors