Erin Weaver: The Female Fisherman

Erin Weaver is a testament to hope. After having her life flipped upside down, she discovered new pieces of joy that fit together into a puzzle of peace. The central theme: fishing.

   Several years ago, Weaver was living in Wilmington and working as a registered nurse. She had a fiancée, a house, and a thriving career–what many would consider to be the picture of a successful life. All of that changed in July of 2019, when she became affected by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). This diagnosis and the ensuing daily symptoms led to intense transition, from leaving work and becoming a person with a disability, to having to sell her house and seeing her engagement come to an end.

  With such a huge transition, Erin naturally had no idea what would come next. Then, to complicate things further, COVID hit.

  One of the complications of COVID was the sudden shortage in short-term rentals. So when Erin discovered a beach house available on Topsail Island for the summer, she jumped on the opportunity, and soon found herself immersed in a community rich in natural beauty.

  As she settled in, she received an invitation from her boyfriend at the time to go out on his boat. On their outing, she caught her first redfish. She was enthralled by the sensation of bringing in that fish. After the vulnerability brought on by her illness, it made her feel strong again. At that moment, she knew she wanted to keep fishing. Her boyfriend was laid off at the time, allowing them to spend a lot of time on the water together.

The following Spring, he returned to work, and Erin began searching for a way to be independent on the water. While a daunting task, she knew it was vital, because the time she spent fishing was the only thing that made her forget about the negative things going on in her life. While she still felt the pain during fishing, her focus would shift to finding bait or finding fish and she’d be distracted from how her body felt.

  Her ticket to solitary fishing came in 2021 when she purchased her fishing kayak. Not only has this kayak become her companion for adventures in the marsh but it has also been instrumental in her launch of her fishing videos, hosted under her content creation page Fins and Fossils Fishing. 

 The solitude of the marsh is unparalleled as a place of meditation and of fine fishing. However, some days her energy level is lower and she will head to the beach or the pier, seeking a fishing spot that is less physically intensive. The pier also provides a valuable social aspect, and Erin has found nothing but kindness and support as a woman in a male dominated hobby. She recalls helping a stranger, another woman, on the pier who wanted to catch her first sheepshead. With Erin’s guidance and shared tackle, the woman brought in her first sheepshead. 

Her local reach has grown with her content creation as well and she has become a fishing insider in the area, including taking on the job of running the social media for local fishing hub East Coast Sports. East Coast has helped shape her own journey, teaching her about tackle–with special wisdom coming from employee Jerry Brooks.

    One of Erin’s most memorable catches was her first big speckled trout. She was headed back to the boat ramp with her kayak after a long day on the water. She had one bait mullet left and threw it out near the boat ramp. Next thing she knew, she was reeling in a prize trout–an extra special accomplishment as she was targeting Red Drum that day. You can watch that catch in her videos and be a part of the excitement of the moment.

  As she interacts with women interested in getting started with fishing, Erin recommends they start small, not investing in a lot of high dollar gear from the start, but instead giving fishing a try to make sure they enjoy it. Not every outing ends in a catch, and patience and persistence are key.

  More than anything, Erin expresses thankfulness for landing in this beautiful location in the midst of her pain and for the new friendships and sense of fulfillment that have come out of her connection with nature. She also hopes to inspire others struggling with a disability. There are so many adaptations with fishing, and while there are some things that she avoids because the style makes her pain worse (like Spanish Mackerel fishing off a pier) she instead develops other styles and ways of pursuing desired fish.

  To learn more about Erin’s journey, you can follow her Facebook page and subscribe to her videos. Follow the link here to see her page: Facebook. (Fins and Fossils Fishing)