Hi, I’m Capt. Shaun Daniels. I was born in Sumter, S.C., and that’s where I spent the first few years of my life. It’s there that I got my start on fishing at the very young age of just 2-3 – on Santee Cooper lake.
My Dad was in the U.S. Air Force, so we moved around a lot and got to live in several pretty cool places around the world, including Okinawa, Japan. With every move we made, I’m pretty sure the very first thing you would find me doing in our new town would be scouting the local creeks, lakes, or golf course ponds looking for fish. Dad retired in 1979 to what was then the small central Texas town of San Marcos, and it was there that I started my freshman year in high school.
I got my first taste of coastal fishing in and around the Rockport and Port Aransas areas in the early 1980’s. I guess the salt got into my blood, because I never looked back after discovering all that the Texas coast has to offer.
Since those early years, I’ve been blessed with being able to fish nearly every bay system along the Texas coast, as well as Louisiana and Florida, for tarpon and snook. Here in the states, I’ve also fished northern Wisconsin for muskie and pike, and Colorado for trout. Other fishing opportunities I’ve taken advantage of over the years include traveling throughout Mexico in search of bonefish, permit, and tarpon, and even venturing to Turneffe Atoll in Belize.
I first started my guiding career early in the year of 2000, guiding primarily in Rockport with conventional gear and artificial lures. Later that same year, I was forced to put the guiding on hold due to having to unexpectedly move back to the Texas hill country to operate the now family business. However, I still found time to run down to the coast to fish!
In 2021, the kids took over the family business, so I was finally able to return to the Coastal Bend area to enjoy doing what I love the most – fishing full-time. It was then that I once again began guiding, only this time with a fly rod in my hand.
I’m currently guiding out of a New Water Boatworks technical poling skiff known as the Stilt. The Stilt is manufactured right here in Texas, and is made specifically for accommodating fly fishing amongst our vast Texas saltwater flats areas.
I love all kinds of fishing, but sight casting to fish in shin-deep water with fly gear is my absolute favorite. I get a lot of pleasure helping the “old salts”, as well as novices, hook up for the first time on a redfish while throwing a fly. The adrenaline, big smiles, and high fives never get old – it’s what I love the most about guiding!