Every business starts somewhere. FINCO Sportfishing Gear started with friends on the Gulf Coast complaining about their own clothes.
Chad Lynch kept hearing the same gripe from fellow offshore fishermen: the outdoor apparel on the market was uncomfortable, over-designed and useless in the heat and humidity of a Gulf summer. “Everything was so touristy,” he says. So he started playing with designs — simpler graphics, a few core themes (fishing, boats, water), and materials that could actually survive an August day 40 miles offshore.
Apparel Is Harder Than It Looks
Getting into apparel, Lynch found, is not an easy task. He spent the first year experimenting with quality, performance, design and fit, hunting for fabrics that offered better sun protection while keeping the wearer cool. “Within the first year, I had what I wanted,” he says — then he hit a wall turning prototypes into a real product line.
Enter Wesley Carpenter, a longtime friend, offshore fishing enthusiast and wealth management advisor in Fairhope. The two had spent years comparing notes on the pros and cons of the fishing gear they wore, and Wesley offered to help — first as a sounding board, then as a partner. He sourced factories around the world to manufacture to their exact specifications, and brought marketing expertise to a product that previously existed only in Chad’s design software.
“As we developed and produced the merchandise we felt was superior, we also saved money, and the quality improved,” Chad says.
The Lineup
Over roughly five years of steady expansion, FINCO’s catalog grew to hats, t-shirts, hoodies and performance shirts with SPF 50 sun protection — built for the inshore and offshore fisherman rather than the souvenir rack. Hats took the longest to get right: “We struggled with hats, but now we have a nice selection, including truckers hats and visors,” Chad says. Shorts are in the design phase.
Finding Its Niche
The offshore community has taken notice. FINCO gear is sold online and through marinas and tackle shops throughout the coastal area, and it has started traveling — sales are beginning to show up in South Carolina, the first hint of a market beyond the Gulf. “We have grown rapidly since we began 10 years ago,” Wesley says. “People see our apparel being worn by the fishing and boating community and like it. We fit a niche and our repeat orders are growing.”
The next decisions are the classic small-brand dilemmas: inshore versus offshore, bass fishermen (“the bass market is huge,” they note), going national or staying south of I-10. The plan is to engage sales representatives in the outdoor sport fishing space and let the market answer.
Conservation as a Business Model
F.INCO has aligned itself with the conservation-minded culture of the coast, supporting efforts like Hope on a Boat and the Kyser Miree Memorial Fishing Tournament. “FINCO fits the conservation vibe along the coast,” Chad says. “It has a very local, personable feel.”
That positioning is deliberate. “We are purpose-made,” Chad says. “Fishing is brutal here. FINCO is designed for comfort in this environment. We are definitely not touristy but offer supreme performance at an affordable price.”
What’s Next
Tourists visiting the beach are starting to recognize the brand alongside the locals who wear it, and the founders agree the market will keep growing. Whether FINCO follows the bass fishermen north or doubles down on the salt life, its origin story remains the same: two fishing buddies who decided the clothes on the rack weren’t good enough — and built something that is.
Look for FINCO at select retailers, marinas and tackle shops around the coast, or online for gift-buying season. For anyone who has ever ruined a shirt chumming the spread, that story rings true.