By Elliott Stark
Long famous for its knives, Bubba (www.bubbablade.com) has launched an array of fishing accessories and apparel. In homage to the brand’s iconic non-slip rubber knife grips, Bubba’s plyers, gaffs, knives and net handles all feature red handles. To tie all of the efforts together, Bubba launched the “Ultimate Lifestyle” campaign. With a vision of providing everything necessary to take your favorite fish from water to plate, Bubba launched their campaign in the form of a media trip in Charleston, South Carolina in November. From a waterfront house on Foley Beach, the plan involved a trip offshore to provision the kitchen for Chef Cosmo Goss.
The schedule originally called for a day of wahoo whacking and grouper duping on a 40’ Freeman with Penalty Box Charters. Winds of 35 knots, as they are known to do, decided that Plan B—chasing Charleston redfish and speckled trout might be the way to go.
Photo by Jeremy Clark
Captains Jamie Hough (Flat Spot Charters) and John Benson (Big Tide Charters) put their experience and expertise to work locating inshore action.
After whacking some trout, redfish, and catching some river shrimp (in 30’ of water with castnets outfitted with parachute tape to keep them open at depth), it was back to the house for surf fishing and more of Chef Cosmo’s artistry. Chunks of mullet slung on fish finder rigs produced three bull redfish and a couple of sharks in the surf over the course of two afternoons.
Chef Cosmo Goss is one of the rising stars of the culinary world. With high end restaurant experience in California, New York and Chicago, Goss currently runs a restaurant in Ensenada, Mexico.
He also consults for a variety of restaurant interests around the world—including the Zancudo Lodge in Golfito, Costa Rica. In addition to his culinary prowess, Goss is a passionate angler who has fished far and wide (after the Bubba event, he spent two weeks in Africa catching a pile of tigerfish). Goss frequently works with Bubba at events (at the 2019 ICAST Show he carved a whole bluefin tuna into sushi for the booth attendees).
The menu over the two plus days included low country boils, oysters, roast chicken, squash and grouper… it was wide open. Around here, we tend to be better at describing fishing and blue marlin than the taste and experience of food… but it was really, really good to a level not often achieved. To ensure that nobody died of thirst during the event, Bubba brought in cases and cases of Bubba Beer–a blonde ale brewed by one of their partner breweries in Charleston.
Before dinner on the second day, Charleston-based photographer and fly fishing guide Capt. Jeremy Clark hosted me on a flood tide redfish jaunt. The wind was blowing pretty good, but the scenery was incredible. Tailing redfish, with their heads in the mud searching the flooded marsh grasses, are perhaps the most iconic image of the Low Country’s inshore fishery. Jeremy finds them.
After dinner, drinks and an evening of talking fishing, it was back to the barn. Bubba’s apparel is quality. Their approach to fishing, eating and the lifestyle that surrounds all of it is quite a bit of fun too. When it comes to lifestyle branding, and the ways in which fishing products and apparel are produced and marketed, it is a great company to be associated with. Charleston’s Groundswell Public Relations played host and handled logistics for the trip. These are some nice, good folks too. We appreciate the hospitality.
For more on the the expansion of Bubba and it’s full line of products and apparel, please visit: www.bubbablade.com .
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