My name name is Justin Hausner and I have been fishing my whole life. Growing up on the shores of Lake Ontario, fishing has always been a cherished pastime. It was only about 10 years ago however I was introduced to the sport of Kayak Fishing. As an owner of a kayak and canoe small shop in the finger lakes with my father (www.fuzzyguppies.com) I took to the sport very quickly. Being out on the water was a way for me to relax and reflect on my life, in a way I had never imagined.
As my love grew for the sport it quickly turned into a healthy obsession. I was getting my wife involved as well as my friends and family, peopled were realizing how happy it made me and wanted to be part of it. And this of course allowed my passion to grow even more.
In early 2017 I was approached to take control of the state wide tournament series NYKBF (www.NYKBF.com) with a friend of mine. The tournament trail was new to the state of NY and only averaged about 10 anglers an event. After organizing the trail for a year I can gladly say that the trail is now averaging over 30 anglers a tournament and has no sign of slowing down its growth. It is through this trail where I have come to know some of my best friends in the kayak fishing community. It has also allowed me to become the go to resource in the state of NY on all things kayak fishing.
Because of the success of NYKBF in my first year of management. I was approached by a good friend Drew Gregory to help him oversee the national kayak fishing series RiverBassin for the 2018 season. Working on that series really opened my eyes to the national level of competitive kayak fishing. I was able to talk with people from all over the country and got to know them all on personal levels. Be able to help out on this series will always be very special to me.
2019 brings a lot of new exciting experiences for me. I was named the Northeast regional Tournament Director for the National group KBF. A position that puts me on the front lines of building the regions trail events as well as the regional championship for 2019. A position I do not take lightly, but can not begin to put into words how excited I am to hold.
This year also holds another special moment for me, my acceptance into the National ProStaff for (in my opinion) the best kayak company in the world. When I started really getting into kayak fishing, on that amazing Jackson Coosa of mine, I always had a dream that one day I might be considered for a ProStaff position, thinking “ya... maybe someday Justin” . But I never gave up and I worked hard, Jackson truly humbled me by taking notice of my work both online as well as with the tournament series and honored me with this amazing life accomplishment.
I believe in the fact that you should never push a product if you do not believe in it yourself. So many times I have heard people say “it’s great, but I’d never pay retail for it” , to me, that just doesn’t look good for the product. Jackson, Orion and BWB are all lines that take that to heart, making sure that your purchase of their products bring you into the family that this company is, and starts a life long relationship. I can honestly say there is no other company I would want to represent.
I look forward to helping as many people as I can with their kayak purchasing experience or just even their day on the water fishing.
