About Maurer
Eric Maurer has been fishing for over half a century, although he says it’s become a bigger part of his life since he retired. A resident of Cleveland, Tennessee, for over 35 years, his favorite fishing spot is, without a doubt, Lake Chickamauga. The diversity and variety of fish, coupled with their size, he says, makes for a great trip every time.
For Eric Maurer, fishing is all about the pursuit and the journey.
“A day on the water is why I go out. Catching the fish is a bonus,” he says. “I can go out and enjoy the day, and I’ll always at least come home with good stories.”
Maurer is positively flush with stories. He’s the holder of 22 various line class records from the International Game Fish Association, meaning he’s caught the largest fish on record on a certain weight of line. “After you’ve caught so many fish, you look for a little bit more of a challenge, and one way is using lighter lines,” he explains. “With light lines, you can’t put much pressure on the line. You’re fighting the tackle as much as the fish, and that’s part of the excitement.”
One misty morning in the fall of 2014, Maurer got a moment of such excitement. As fog gently crept over the surface of Lake Chickamauga, he sat on his boat, gently trolling for catfish. He was off to an excellent start with four catches. They weren’t anything to write home about, but a caught fish is a caught fish. As he released his fourth catch and it wriggled back into the lake, he prepped his rod to start another drift on his boat. Within moments, Maurer felt a tug on his line.