On the Blue Ridge
On the Blue Ridge features conversations with people shaping the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hosted by Asheville-based journalist Jon Page, the show explores the ideas, creativity, and vision driving Western North Carolina forward.
Through long-form interviews and on-location storytelling, each episode captures the evolving story of these mountains. The conversations focus on people doing meaningful and inspiring work across the region, from conservation and outdoor recreation to the arts, agriculture, food and beverage, entrepreneurship, and beyond.
On the Blue Ridge
Mike McKearin on Fishing, Family, and Designing the GoReel
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Mike McKearin is the co-owner of Crystal Creek Gear, a Pisgah Forest, North Carolina-based company creating minimalist fishing gear designed to fit in your pocket.
Mike and his wife, Susie, started Crystal Creek Gear after years of getting their four kids outside in Western North Carolina. What began as a family project, with early GoReel prototypes built on a 3D printer in their garage and tested by their kids on local ponds, rivers, and trails, eventually grew into a business.
The GoReel itself is simple: a compact hand reel with no rod and no moving parts. It’s designed for the kind of moments when you’re hiking, biking, camping, or playing by the river and want fishing to be easy enough to bring along.
In this episode, Mike talks about his earliest memories of fishing; falling in love with the mountains after coming to Brevard College; the early garage prototypes of the GoReel; what it was like turning a family project into a business; and more.
Crystal Creek Gear
crystalcreekgear.com
Theme Music
The song "Goa" was written by Lyndsay Pruett and performed by the Jon Stickley Trio.
Learn more about On the Blue Ridge and sign up for updates at ontheblueridgepod.com.
Those of you who have have kids and have bought the you know $20 fishing reels and you know fishing poles at Walmart, it's like you end up fighting with those more than you do actually fishing. So that's what um we wanted just a better solution that was really easy to use.
SPEAKER_00Today, on the Blue Ridge, our guest is Mike McCarran, co-owner of Crystal Creek Gear, a Pisgah Forest, North Carolina-based company creating minimalist fishing gear designed to fit in your pocket. I'm your host, John Page. Let's begin. Mike and his wife, Susie, started Crystal Creek Gear after years of getting their four kids outside in western North Carolina. What began as a family project with early go reel prototypes built on a 3D printer in their garage and tested by their kids on local ponds, rivers, and trails, eventually grew into a business. The go-reel itself is simple. A compact hand reel with no rod and no moving parts. It's designed for the kind of moments when you're hiking, biking, camping, or playing by the river and want fishing to be easy enough to bring along. I first saw a go reel in action along the Yellowstone prong at Graveyard Fields off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Fishing in that area had honestly never occurred to me. The trail down to the water is steep and lined with low, scraggly rhododendron branches, not exactly a good combination with a traditional fishing pole. But here were a handful of people pulling compact little hand reels from their pockets and backpacks and catching fish in these small mountain pools. And they were clearly having a lot of fun doing it. Fish weren't the only things getting hooked that day, because by the end of our hike, I was ready to add a go reel to our family's fishing gear. In this episode, Mike talks about his earliest memories of fishing, falling in love with the mountains after coming to Brevard College, the earliest garage prototypes of the go-reel, what it was like turning a family project into a business, and more. Mike, who also runs the marketing agency we do, spoke with me via Zoom this spring. To begin, I asked him to describe what a go reel is and how it works.
SPEAKER_01It's kind of the shape of like a hockey puck. Um and it's it's a spool, it has six holes, and there's a center hole that you put your index finger in, and then you usually will use another finger in your thumb to kind of brace it. And um one side of it is flared, and so the line is spooled on it in a way that the the line will just peel right off uh because it's like it's got this flare to it. And so the idea is you you aim that flare out towards um out towards the water, and when you cast it peels right off, and and then you kind of turn it facing towards you and and wind it back up, which comes pretty naturally for people. So just as if you would, you know, wind up a spool of fishing line. Um, you just wind it back on the reel.
SPEAKER_00Got it. And I I want to dive so deep into that in a little bit, but I I want to uh rewind a bit first, uh, because I understand that you you grew up in Ohio and your dad was a sporting goods representative for for major fishing companies. So was fishing a big part of your life growing up and and what are some of your earliest memories of fishing?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's uh you know, it's one of those things where my earliest memories are probably more pictures that I've seen along the way from when I was very, very young. Um my my great-grandfather was in the fishing business, my dad was in the fishing business, um, and we always had fishing gear at our house and around us. Um, so you know, I I have memories of sitting in the basement and going through tackle boxes full of you know fishing gear, and we would get out, you know, semi-frequently. It wasn't it wasn't a you know an everyday thing, but it was something that was always you know a backbone to um kind of my early childhood.
SPEAKER_00What were you fishing for when you were a kid?
SPEAKER_01We were mostly on um we were on the Soyota River, so we were we're river fishing mostly for um bass was kind of our our key target, but at that age, anything that would bite, so we were pretty happy with trying to just get anything on the line.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. What what fast forward a bit then? What what brought you to to western North Carolina? Was it school?
SPEAKER_01Yep, yeah. So um my wife and I both came to Brevard College um and fell in love with the mountains, especially coming from more central Ohio uh for me. So came came here and fell in love with the mountains. And um I came to school here not knowing how much I would kind of go down the path of of the outdoor world, and then ended up being um going to Brevard College for wilderness leadership and experiential education, and really fell in love with rock climbing. So that was that was my main background um all through co all through school, and ended up um buying looking glass outfitters was a small retail store right at the heart of uh Pisca Forest, and ran that for about five years, and um yeah, really just had a focus in rock climbing was kind of what what drew us to the mountains.
SPEAKER_00Was was fishing a part of your your life in in those days, or were you so focused on on climbing at that point?
SPEAKER_01It was mainly climbing focus. We you know, fishing really wasn't something that was on my radar. Um, you know, we drove past these rivers on our way to go climbing just about everywhere, so it's not something I um it was always, you know, I had an awareness of it, but it wasn't something that was part of my daily activities.
SPEAKER_00So it's it's like four kids later then that the the idea for the go-reel starts to take shape, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. You know, um climbing requires a lot of time. And with four kids, my time kind of dwindled, and you know, we were taking smaller adventures, so these you know, much smaller adventures, just getting kids into the woods was kind of my motivation. So whatever they were into, and we spent a lot of time, especially in the summer, just going to the river and you know, splashing around and you know, kind of you know, enjoying a day on the river. So that that's where um as we were hanging out by the river and seeing other people fishing, um, you know, kind of brought that fishing itch back into my life. Um and we we started playing with 3D printing. Um, I I have a I have another business that's um a marketing business. I spend a lot of time in front of a computer, so that kind of led to playing with 3D printing and exploring that a little bit. And um, you know, the the hand reel, handrails have been around for, I mean, since ancient times. It's nothing new. And so um, we started playing with our own models of what that looked like and testing them out. And the beauty of 3D printing is you can design something and print it, you know, in a few hours and then take it to the river and test it out. And my kids were my um my test, my testing audience. So they they were using it and giving feedback and you know, coming up with their own ideas on what we should do to change it, and we would go back and tinker with it a little bit. And we did that for a few years, um, maybe two years. And really, there was, you know, where we were going, um, there were often families there, and you know, a mom or dad would or or a kid would ask, you know, what is that thing, you know, and kind of start that conversation. So um we had one too many conversations about where they could go to buy them, and so it that led to turning it into its own business.
SPEAKER_00When you first thought of this, so you're back at the river, you're you're looking at all these families, uh and you're thinking about how do I how do I get us into fishing and like how can we how can we bike to as well? Uh did you go out and like look for hand reels at that point, or did you just immediately go to, oh, we're gonna make this ourselves?
SPEAKER_01Um we we just decided to make it ourselves. We um we're kind of wired that way to to make things ourselves. And um, you know, it was such a simple thing. There's no moving parts. Um, and so it was really easy to kind of test pilot that. And so we were we, you know, where it kind of came from is if you look at a spool of fishing line, it's like half the way there. Um, so it doesn't have a flared edge and it needs to be a little wider and kind of some small, small pieces, but um you need a better way to hold it. But that allows us to that was that was kind of where the idea was born. It was like, okay, let's let's take this spool of fishing line and kind of modify it and take a small little you know tin of tackle and throw it in our backpacks, and so we don't have to fight with fishing rods or anything like that. And those of you who have have kids and have bought the you know $20 fishing reels and you know, fishing poles at Walmart, it's like you end up fighting with those more than you do actually fishing. So that's what um we wanted just a better solution that was really easy to use.
SPEAKER_00And and was that was that 3D printer, was that something you already had, or did you did you get it for this?
SPEAKER_01No, we we had it, and um, so we had like a kind of a cheap version of one, and we just enjoyed tinkering with it. And as soon as we realized that this was something that um you know people were asking for, we we kind of bit the bullet and purchased nicer 3D printers and kind of went down that road for quite a while. Um and better printers meant we could iterate on them faster, we could change our designs and print things that were more sophisticated, and um, so that's yeah, that was kind of the progression for that.
SPEAKER_00So it's a slippery slope if you get one of those three 3D printers.
SPEAKER_01It sure is, it sure is. Yeah, we we ended up with um five of them, some uh five high-end uh bamboo X carbon ones at the time were kind of the the best printers out there, and we had those things running kind of full tilt every day um as we got into kind of production of these things. We've since we've since moved on from 3D printing, but that was the the beginnings of it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so these are no longer made in your garage?
SPEAKER_01Nope, no, no longer made in our garage. They're made um they're injection molded up in Ohio, and um the full kits are are made there and then shipped to us, and we finish building out the kits themselves. So loading line and putting tackle in the kits and and packaging them up.
SPEAKER_00Do you remember the first time you all, someone you or someone in your family caught a fish with with one of those prototypes and like what was that moment like?
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, it was um it was so much fun. I mean, it's you know, watching it the the handrail itself comes pretty naturally to kids. Um so they they figure it out usually faster than adults. Adults try to overthink it, but kids will just grab it and you know toss the line in and start winding it back in. And um, yeah, I I remember, I mean, each of my kids have caught fish on these, and I remember each moment. Um, and a lot of times it was at just a local pond. We have at the in our neighborhood just a real small pond, but it happens to have some pretty sizable bass. Um, and so that was a lot of fun to walk. We just strolled down there and we were doing that pretty frequently as we were first getting started. And um, you know, being able to catch a bass on those and watch the kids kind of fight and pull it in was uh just a whole lot of fun.
SPEAKER_00And and so you you kind of hit on like all these people asking you uh what this thing was, and like that that was my the first time I saw one of these was on a hike and just was like, that thing looks really cool. I've gotta go find out uh what it is, and then was uh really excited to find out that it's something from a local company. Um what was it like though? What was the conversation like, you know, with your wife of like, yeah, there's we've got something here. Uh and obviously you you, you know, you founded a marketing agency. So like what how did you decide like this? Let's go ahead with this.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're we're kind of um we've owned several small businesses over the years. And um this was one that we had long talks about. Do we even want to start another small business? Because we currently have um our my primary occupation is a business that I own. So uh we went into this one with kind of slow motion, and the reason we decided to pull the trigger on it is because we could really envision this in you know big box stores and it has kind of a high ceiling on it. So um a lot of opportunity and it's just a it's a really fun business to be involved in. You know, our motivation from the get-go was how can we get kids in the woods more? Um, and this is a really simple way to do that. So that was uh that was kind of the catalyst to say, okay, let's let's go ahead and move this to the next step and start testing the waters. And we actually went to a friend of mine um invited us to an event down in Georgia uh called Georgia Bushcraft. And it's kind of it's this big event in this field, and a lot of vendors and um instructors just teaching about everything from fire building to um woodworking and blacksmithing, just all kinds of stuff. And um, we were invited to come just to have fun and and share the event, and and then we were invited to possibly set up a booth and sell our products, and we didn't know how it would go over because the event is is largely you know, knives and blacksmiths and fire, and we're bringing, you know, like 3D printed plastic toys essentially to this. And um, it just went gangbusters, like it. We were just welcomed into the whole community. It went really, really well, and we that's what really showed us that there was a market for this. People were very interested. Um, so we sold, we almost sold out of all of our product when we went, and that really opened the door to bigger conversations.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and so it seems like you know, the idea started with kids, but it it also like really appeals to just like minimalist and survivalist and and people who just are seeking out simpler things. Is that are you finding that's the case now that this resonates the most with with that type of uh audience?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's there's multiple audiences. So there's the families who just want to grab a handful of them and throw them in a backpack and you know end up at a lake in DuPont with their you know kids. And then there's the minimalist who maybe have used Tenkara fishing rods, they like the idea of the simplicity of it. Um, so that's been a big audience for us. And we also are finding now that um there's a lot of bike packing folks that they want to they're biking to these destinations and then they're hanging out for the evening, and um, this is so minimal, it's it's really appealing to them too. Um, so we're finding lots of different audiences as we're kind of going down this journey.
SPEAKER_00So I'm I'm definitely the guy with kids who you know wants to do the bike ride, also wants to do just like a little hike. And oh, by the way, I've got this thing in my backpack and I've I've used a tin car or a rod. Um, but I'm thinking about like really hardcore fly fishermen in waiters on the Davidson River with fly rods. Uh is is the go reel something that those types of folks can get into? Is it a different mindset or just another way to enjoy fishing?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, we we keep finding ourselves next to fly fishermen on the Davidson. That's pretty common for us. Um and with our GoReel Pro, they they typically become pretty interested because we're fly fishing. We use something called an adjustable bubble, and it it allows us to cast really far upstream with a fly and let it float down. And so, you know, usually what happens is is folks will see us and just get curious and come over and kind of open that conversation. So um, you know, clearly we don't have a rod, so they're kind of wondering what we're doing. Um, and that that opens the door. And it's it's usually a mixed bag, you know, there's there's hardcore fly fishermen that, you know, are not interested. And then there's there's plenty of them that see the potential of, oh, I want to go walk upriver and I don't have to deal with this long rod, um, especially in some some of the areas around us where there's a lot of rhododendron coverage, um, it's hard to get to places. So those kind of remote places where you're boulder hopping upriver um become just much easier to get to. Um, so the the idea of you know being able to stick it in your pocket and use both arms to navigate and then you know, kind of pop it out and fish a little bit and kind of keep carrying on upstream is is is pretty enticing to folks.
SPEAKER_00That that makes a lot of sense. I was telling somebody recently who's uh from the Raleigh area uh uh uh about this. And I think they were picturing like, you know, like going out on like a big lake. And I'm like, no, we're talking about like usually a river that's as wide as this road and is covered with like thick trees all along it, and my kids are constantly getting their lines like tangled up because of trying to cast really far, uh, as opposed to just tossing out a line.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, one of our favorite places to go is graveyard fields. And if you've been up there, the oftentimes the rhododendron and mountain laurel are just like engulfing the the water, and it's really hard to get any kind of rod up there. And for us, it's it's one of our favorite places. There's these little pools that you can just kind of navigate through, and the go-reel is like prime for that. Um, and you're casting, you know, you don't have to cast super far, you're casting, you know, anywhere from 10 feet to 10 yards, and um you're usually using a very small fly, and so the adjustabubble works really well with that. And it's amazing. You're just you know, it you're you're able to just kind of walk upstream and capture these moments that are otherwise really hard to get to.
SPEAKER_00And and I think I'd mentioned that that's where I saw one of these in action for the first time. And and then one of the first things I tried to do was go to a local fly shop and ask if if they had one. So you had mentioned, you know, the potential of getting into big box shops one day, but have you have you tried to get into local fly shops in a similar vein to the question about the fly fishermen? What what do the fly shops think about this product?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's a it's a mixed bag. We've um it looks like we are gonna get into some local shops here. Um, we we have we're actually in some other shops um nationwide already. And um so the words getting out, it they're getting picked up. Um and yeah, it's our goal to kind of reach some of these audiences. We did just recently do um forks of the river event, and it was a bunch of fishermen, right? It's it's like a fishing event, and we were able to partake in that, and we were um just really welcomed by the entire. Audience. And that was really our first event that we've done that's fishing specific. Um, so that was really encouraging. Um, yeah, and and like I said, it's the folks that really get it are the ones that understand that minimalist approach. They're not trying to take lots of gear, they're trying to kind of go the opposite route, and that really resonates with them.
SPEAKER_00And I think I've seen have you used this to fish at the ocean too?
SPEAKER_01We have, yeah. Um, you know, it's it's really different, right? So when you're fishing up at graveyard fields, you you have the smallest of flies and almost no weight, and so you're not casting very far. Contrast that with ocean fishing, you put a big monster weight and will we'll change the line so it's something much heavier. And um we use this backhand motion, kind of this like it's almost like throwing a frisbee. And so you can just really launch um a line. We actually will end up putting double the amount of line that it comes with because you can cast the entire length out. Um, and so we've done that just coast fishing, we've done it off of a boat, we've done it. Um, I mean, just about every kind of fishing, we've done it. Um, you know, and and elsewhere in the world, hand reel fishing is extremely common. Um, you know, it usually looks a lot different. Unfortunately, they they often will take uh a plastic bottle and that's the hand reel. Um and it's a piece of trash and they'll wind line around it and they'll do it right off of a boat. So that's very, very common elsewhere in the world. So it's um we've just kind of put some uh just put a spin on it, really.
SPEAKER_00So if we think more along the lines of of our lakes and rivers, um for someone who has has just gotten a go reel, whether they found one in a store, they bought it online, um, what's kind of like the the the most basic advice you have for them to get started?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think just start small. Um, you know, it doesn't take a lot. The key features that will allow you to fish easier is being able to face the hand reel out um towards wherever you're casting. So there's a flared side to it. So that's you that's the biggest mistake that folks make is they'll they'll kind of hold it in a way that it's not flared out and that will restrict how far the the line gets cast. Um the second thing is just not trying not to throw it too hard. Um, a lot of people have it in their head that they need to really try hard to throw it out, and oftentimes just a more graceful cast will get it further. Um, so those two things will will help from a casting standpoint. Um otherwise, just have fun, you know, just enjoy kind of the playful nature of it. It's it's something that's so simple. Uh kids usually pick it up faster than adults, um, is what we've seen. I think they just have such a lower mental barrier uh to get past. Um and so we see kids typically pick it up a lot faster.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I I I got one recently and I've yet to use it. So that question was partially for me. Um, and my kids, I'm really I'm embarrassed to say this that my kids are five and seven and they have yet to catch a fish. Um and so it's like my main goal this spring and summer to rectify that. Um, and we do have we've got like a a trip or two planned that are like lined up with when something is stocked and the river like only allows kids to throw the line in uh that morning, right? Um, but yeah, I'm I'm thinking I'm just gonna hand this to my kids and say, like, figure this out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. It um they typically will. I would encourage um, you know, around us, it depends on where you go, but in many places you can dig up a worm, put it on a hook, and throw it in the water. And it um I'll tell you what, of uh the tackle shops, you know, won't like hearing this, but nine times out of ten, if you put a worm on a hook, it it works a lot better than most fancy lures. So yeah, um, for kids, especially, it's like throw a throw a worm on a hook and throw it in the water and let them grab something. Um, any kind of local ponds and stuff like that, it works really well.
SPEAKER_00Um I I think I also saw somewhere. Are you all making slingshots or are there any other things that you're making or tinkering with and playing around with with your 3D printers?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we we um early on we did make slingshots, and it was um I actually didn't think we were doing anything innovative. Turns out it was relatively innovative. Um, there's only a couple circular slingshots out there, and so we made a slingshot that fits in the same container as the Go Reel. Um, we've since got away from that. We we really kind of decided to go deeper into the fishing niche and stay there and really cater to that audience instead of just how many different things can fit inside of a container. Um, something that is on the horizon, we've actually done it in the past and we will be doing it in the future, is a first aid kit that fits inside of the same container. And that that really we feel like that goes well with um fishing equipment. Everybody out and about um should probably have some form of a, you know, it doesn't need to be anything fancy, but just some form of a boo-boo kit or or first aid kit. So that's something that we will do in the future as well.
SPEAKER_00Uh I like the sound of that because I do, I just I love uh the way that this thing fits in your hand and the way that it feels. So love that. Um thank you. I want to ask you a couple of questions about just kind of life in western North Carolina, but is there anything about the go-reel or crystal creek gear that we we didn't talk about that you would want folks to know?
SPEAKER_01Um, I think the only thing really that jumps out at me is just give it a chance. You know, it's it's a different way of fishing, it's a different way of thinking about how to experience fishing outside in the woods and uh just have an open mind to it, give it a try. Um we're intending it to be for just about any audience, and we want it to be as accessible as possible. So yeah, give it a shot.
SPEAKER_00What advice would you give to someone here who has an idea for an outdoor product but isn't sure how to get started or if it's worth getting it off the ground?
SPEAKER_01You know, we we live in a world right now where ideas are so easy to act on. Um, with the advent of AI and also things like 3D printers and just the makerspace that's available. Um, you can take an idea or a concept and get it to some version of a prototype just so fast. And so I would just really encourage people to try it out. Um, it's a lot of fun, it's a huge learning experience you get to go through at every step. And it's relatively inexpensive to try things out where historically that's not been the case. So, you know, for usually not a lot of money, you can dive into an idea and and give it a shot and see how it comes out the other end. And it also gives you such a a door um to just meet new people and reach out to this community, kind of the outdoor industry community, um that is just a whole lot of fun. So if if nothing else, you you'll build relationships and uh a whole lot of positive experiences off of it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, when when you think about that, that outdoor community, when you think about fishing, climbing that you've mentioned, uh biking, hiking, uh everything that Western North Carolina has to offer to you, what what makes this place such a special place for for outdoor recreation?
SPEAKER_01I think the wide spectrum of outdoor activities that are just at our disposal. Um you know, they're they're right at our fingertips. Um within an hour, you can do any of those, and it's world class, right? It's world class hiking, biking, climbing, fishing. Um, and you don't even have to drive an hour. And so it's uh it it's just a it's an amazing place that we live in. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. We're pretty spoiled here, I think. I try to tell my kids that pretty frequently how spoiled they are. I I grew up in central Ohio where that was not the case. We did not have these things at our disposal. We had to travel pretty far for them. So uh yeah, pretty spoiled.
SPEAKER_00Similarly, yeah, I I grew up in the Raleigh area and uh my wife on a weekly basis here says to our kids, guys, we're so lucky to live here. That's right. That's exactly right. Yep. Um, well, and then and then also uh when you think about everything that we've been through with Helene, um when when you look ahead in general, what's giving you hope right now uh for Western North Carolina as a whole?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, it's interesting you say that. We're we were just driving through the forest and going to some of these places that were just severely devastated. It looked like uh, you know, a um heavy machinery just kind of plowed through some of these streams. And now we're in spring and things are moving and growing, and it's covering that up. It's it's going back to um what it used to look like, and it's happening relatively quickly now. And so I'm that gives me a lot of hope. You know, we're seeing fish in the streams, and we're seeing, you know, new plants growing on the banks, and it's it's kind of washing away this um the scars that were that were there from um from that event. So that gives me a lot of hope, and uh, we try to talk through that with our kids pretty regularly too.
SPEAKER_00And and the fish, they're still biting?
SPEAKER_01They're still biting. Yep. There was a time where it we it looked a little bleak, but they're back and they're biting, and um, you know, Mother Nature has a way of uh just rebuilding and getting back to this happy place. So we're seeing it.
SPEAKER_00That's all for today. Huge thanks again to Mike McCarran for joining me. You can learn more about the Go Reel at CrystalCreekgear.com. We recently bought a go reel and it has earned a permanent spot in my day pack. It's especially great in those situations where I previously would have never even thought about fishing, like a mountain bike ride with my son. And it's just a blast to use. I'm happy to say that I've recently caught a few fish with the go reel on the Mills River, including one pretty impressive trout by my standards. See for yourself on Instagram where we're at OnTheBlue Ridge or on our website at on the blueridgepod.com. And if you're enjoying this podcast, please follow or subscribe wherever you listen. Consider leaving a rating and a quick review, or share it with a friend, as it really helps more people find the show. Our theme music is the song Goa, written by Lindsay Pruitt and performed by the John Stickley Trio. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time on the Blue Ridge.