OUR CREW
Captain Kelly Smith
From big game to light tackle, Captain Kelly Smith is an expert at putting his passengers on the fish. With a U.S. Coast Guard 100-Ton Master License and nearly 40 years at the helm, you can rest assured you and your crew are in highly capable hands. Kelly grew up in Portland, CT on the Connecticut River, where his love of boats began at the ripe old age of 12. Eventually, Kelly became a first mate aboard a charter boat fishing the waters of Connecticut and Rhode Island. He earned his Captain’s License in 1989, and became captain of the first C-Devil - a 22’ Grady White - taking clients fishing in pursuit of game fish. In 1993 he acquired the second C-Devil, a 26’ Fortier. In 1996 he traded the Fortier for a 32’ Topaz, which served him well for 22 seasons. The current C-Devil II is a beautiful 37-foot Duffy Downeast. Cap says this is his final vessel . (We shall see!) Kelly uses his expert knowledge of tides, currents, and the sea floor to provide clients with the finest and most productive fishing experience. He is a full time fisherman and earns his living on the water. Whether it’s taking kids out for fluke or striped bass, or fishing commercially, because of Kelly’s love of being out on the water, there is no other place he’d rather be. Captain Kelly has been a member of the Rhode Island Party and Charter Boat Association since 1993, and served as secretary from 1997 to 2009. He is a weekly contributor to On the Water Magazine, and has been featured by many fishing shows and magazines. He lives with his wife, Cheri, and stepdaughter, Camryn, in Charlestown, Rhode Island.
Gib Randall - 1st Mate
Gib joined C Devil II at the age of 18, during the summer between his junior and senior year of high school. Gib has been fishing since he was 2 years old. What was his first fish at the age of 2, you might ask? It was a 29-inch striped bass caught right from his dock in Saunders Town, Rhode Island. He hasn’t put down his fishing rod since.Gib was born in Philadelphia and still lives there today. However, he spends most of his summers in Saunders Town, Rhode Island. Living on the coast has given him the opportunity to fish almost every day of the summer, rain or shine, day or night. His fishing experience in Rhode Island ranges from basic surf casting, to nighttime kayak fishing, to trolling from sailboats and everything in between. But his fishing experience isn’t just limited to Rhode Island. He has fished everywhere from isolated trout streams in the Big Horn mountain range, to massive rivers in Canada, to coastal Maine, and even the coast of Dubai in the Middle East. At the age of 6 Gib also began fly fishing. Since then, all of his fresh water fishing has been exclusively fly fishing. While he didn’t start saltwater fly fishing until he was 14, he has picked it up very quickly.Gib says, “For me, the greatest feeling in the world isn’t when you have a fish on the line, it’s that split second right before they hit your fly, when you see the fish coming up and you know its about to strike; that’s when you know your about to go for a ride!” Gib was born and raised in Philly and now lives in here in RI.
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“Great Boat, Equipment, Captain and Mate”
Reviewed September 21, 2015
Cheri grew up on the north shore of Massachusetts, and spent her summers at her family home on the shore of Bristol, Rhode Island. Her grandfathers and uncles were fishermen, as is her dad, so she essentially grew up with a rod or net in her hand. She spent every possible hour on the water as a kid. She learned to pilot a powerboat as a teen, and taught sailing throughout highschool at Community Boating in Boston. While her day job is in the solar industry - she is founder of a nonprofit dedicated to solar economic development on tribal lands in the US, and has held senior leadership positions with Tesla, SolarCity, the U.S. Department of Energy – Cheri has also been a consultant to companies in the commercial fishing and boat building industries in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Cheri raised her three children in a seaside home in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Her two boys are avid fishermen, and love having Capt. Kelly as their stepdad!
Cheri Smith - Operations & Customer Service
