New Jersey Ink V. 2.0 with Tattoo Artist Eric Hornung

It's been almost a year since I connected in person with Eric Hornung of Anti Hero Electric Tattoo.  We met on facebook after some mutual fishing posts and comments.  I had some ink work I wanted done but never thought I'd be in new Jersey.  I'd bounced some ideas off him since he was in the business to see what would work for a tattoo. Then as it so happened one wintery December day last year, the stars and moon aligned and I ended up scheduling a trip out to Jersey with Stealthcraft Boats for The Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, NJ.  We had a booth reserved for Stealthcraft at the show so I scheduled a session with Eric and had my kids names inked on my forearms. A marathon session of 7 or so hours filled with blood, bullshitting and beer. It was a great time hanging out in Andover at his shop and getting tattooed from a fellow angler and graphics geek. I could have walked into some other local shop in Michigan, but it's cool to have much in common with Eric.

Fast forward to this past summer and having the itch to get more work done... My daughter's 11th birthday rolled around and what did she want to do for her birthday?...she wanted to go fly fishing for trout.  Didn't have to ask me twice. We hitched up the boat, packed up the gear and headed to Mio, Michigan to float on the AuSable River.  It was a stellar day, and one she wouldn't soon forget. We caught too many trout to keep track of and it was the first time she caught a

brook trout.  She came up with a 'scoring' system based on length for each fish, so we'd measure each fish and they'd get a point an inch, but on her own, she came up with the exception that brookies got 2 points per inch because they were 'so colorful and pretty'.  She was amazed with the colors and their fight on her fly rod. I started to think that some sort of brook trout tattoo on 'her arm' would be a fitting addition to the work Eric had already done. I sent him some photos for reference, explained the trip and the meaning behind the brookie and he said 'let me work on it'. I said, Ok, and left it at that.

Last week I'm out having a beer, and I get a text in the evening from him...with the custom art he came up with...my reply? *Holy F##k*...I was amazed. speechless even.  So, on the books of January 2013 is a return trip to NJ to the Fly Fishing Show and to go hang out with Eric for several hours to get this sleeve going. I got the thumbs up from my daughter to add it to 'her arm' so it's good to go.

If you're in the area...or want to make the trip, Eric is the real deal. There are many great artists out there, many great tattooers, but if you're into fishing and wanting something 'fishy', and want to get inked by someone who knows the art, knows the subject matter and you want a true piece of art for life...well...get something on the books with him. POW! Here's his 411.

973-670-6656