Blake Buckner picked up his first fishing pole at the age of four, remembering getting it as an Easter present along with a tackle box.
Those adventures included a pond near his grandparents’ house.
“I pretty much fished every day I could,” he said.
He then experienced saltwater fishing at 10 years old. His father took him and his brothers to Oregon inlet, North Carolina.
“We fished off the old Bonner Bridge at night catching massive rock bass or striper, as most people know them as,” he said.
Buckner graduated from Christiansburg High School In 2010 and then from Radford University with a bachelor’s degree in Recreational Therapy in 2015.
But no one expected his childhood would come to play into a future career.
“After college, I then became first mate for Captain Duke out of Oregon inlet fishing center in North Carolina. He taught me everything I know,” Buckner said.
After four years with Duke, he started running his own charters and now seven years later stays busy as his own boat’s captain.
He started Silver Tuna Sport Fishing, which provides nearshore and inshore fishing for families and experienced anglers.
Buckner said he started Silver Tuna because fishing has always been a passion of his when he was younger. Thus, fishing has now become his daily activity, and he gets paid to do it.
“My dream was to make a career out of it one way or another,” he said.
Saltwater fishing tours along the Atlantic Ocean are highly popular and continue to thrive in 2026 with the Atlantic Coast responsible for 67 percent of the nation’s recreational fishing trips.
Competitive markets include such areas as the Outer Banks (N.C.) and Myrtle Beach, (S.C.) near where Silver Tuna operates its business, are highly popular.
The summer months of June through September are peak times.
Silver Tuna is a for-hire charter, which provides high-end gear, bait and expert captains who track fish patterns daily.
The Atlantic, where Silver Tuna operates, is world-renowned for migratory, hard-fighting pelagic game fish like Mahi-Mahi, Atlantic Sailfish, Snapper, Wahoo, Tuna and Marlin.
Buckner said the response has been great.
“Since starting my business, I have only grown and been blessed to expand and purchase a bigger boat and hire a second captain to run my original boat.”
Silver Tuna’s fishing season is April-November. The “Silver Tuna” is a 32’ Hatteras fisherman flybridge. Buckner’s second boat “Little Silver Tuna” is a 25’ sea pro center console, which is the original boat he started with.
The future, according to Buckner, is to keep building and growing the name, eventually upgrading boats once again and buying an even bigger one.
Silver Tuna is located in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, out of “Crazy Sister Marina.”
To schedule a tour or for more information, you can contact Buckner at 843-410-3575. Visit my website and book online at www.silvertunasportfishing.com; or email at silvertunasportfishing@gmail.com.
