What do you think would happen if you took a young guy who grew up as a fishing nut in western New York State and transplanted him to eastern North Carolina?
If you said that he would turn into a crazy fishing adult, just in a different place, you would be correct.
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Justin Manners grew up in a small town, west of Rochester, New York, and just south of Lake Ontario. This meant he had access to some of the finest trout and salmon in the East.
“I grew up fishing creek mouths at the lake for king salmon, steelhead, and brown trout. This was seasonal, but definitely what we looked forward to every fall,” Manners said recently.
It was a family experience with everybody pitching in to help each other learn the best way to go about things.
“I grew up fishing with my dad, brothers, uncles and cousins,” he said. “It would be difficult for me to single out one person that was my biggest influence.”
In case you didn’t know, there is a huge variety of fish to catch there.
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“Growing up we would fish for anything that would bite. Depending on the season, we would fish for largemouth and smallmouth bass, catfish, northern pike, carp, walleye, perch, trout, and salmon.”
Of all his family members, Manners said that the fishing bug bit him hardest.
“I am the middle child of five boys,” he explained. “All of my brothers fish occasionally, but I wouldn’t call it a passion for any of them like it is for me.”
Manners moved to Kitty Hawk in 2017 and immediately became enamored of the fishing surrounding his new home on the Outer Banks.
“My favorite fish to target are red drum and speckled trout. I am learning a lot and there are still plenty of other fish.”
Manners relocated to Richlands in 2022 to set up shop for an HVAC business.
“I worked my way up in the trade, from helper, installer and technician, and recently became the regional manager for Pro-Serv Food Equipment,” he said of the New Bern-based commercial kitchen service firm. This new relationship was formed through a mutual love of fishing with Jared Shepherd, the owner of the company, but it’s deeper than just fishing. Manners sees a future for himself in the industry.
“I truly enjoy my career in the HVAC field and greatly appreciate the opportunities that I have been given,” Manners said, adding that, since everybody around here needs air conditioning a big part of the year, “I think that’s probably good advice for a lot of young guys looking to get started.”
When he’s not helping people stay cool, you’ll find Manners out on the water somewhere.
“My favorite way to fish is to come up with a game plan for red drum or speckled trout and try to execute that,” he said.
That means he’ll go with a friend or by himself, and doesn’t mind either.
“One of the benefits of being solo is that I can really focus on specific spots and pick them apart,” said Manners.
Whether the fishing is hot or cold, there’s always something to take home from the day.
“I have found that I learn more on the slow days than when they bite anything. The key to consistently catching fish is to learn every time you’re on the water,” he said, noting that fish don’t come and go just for the fun of it — they’re always looking for water that provides them safety, food and comfort.
“More times than not when you find the fish there is a reason why they are where they are: bait, structure, depth changes, grass beds, moving water, etcetera” he explained.
As a proponent of making a plan before heading out, Manners often quotes the old adage often attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
He never wants to be out fishing without an idea of what he’s going to be doing beforehand.
“The most important thing to having a successful day is taking all outside factors into consideration and coming up with a plan,” he said.
For now, Manners said he is planning on staying in the HVAC business because he likes what he’s doing, but he also wants to continue learning and pass his love of fishing as well as his experience and knowledge, on to others. He recently got his Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels, or OUPV, license from the Coast Guard, permitting him to operate as a fishing charter captain with no more than six paying passengers.
“I took OUPV/Six Pack course last fall through Carteret Community College and got my Captains License,” he said. “Since fishing is a passion of mine, I would love to make a career out of it in some fashion in the future. I have not put a timetable on it yet, simply because I have a responsibility to give my best effort in my current position.”
In the meantime, look for Justin Manners on social media. He likes to live stream his fishing trips online as Salty Toad Fishing. It’s pretty entertaining.
“Salty Toad Fishing is to share my experiences on the water and help others learn from them, good or bad,” Manners said.
That includes this tip: “It is vitally important to understand why certain spots hold fish. That is the difference between catching fish on a slow day or going home with a cooler full of clean ice.”
