Meet the Crew
Captain Ken Hager
Owner/Operator
Captain Ken grew up a fresh water fisherman for his entire youth. As a child he was unable to get into saltwater fishing due to his propensity to get seasick. In 2007 he moved next door to Captain Dave McKendrick who convinced him to give saltwater fishing another chance. Ken ended up getting his first boat the following summer a 28 Hydra Sport walk around and took up salt water fishing as much as he could. Captain Dave introduced him into the world of tournament shark fishing and the rest as they say was history. Captain Ken progressed to a 36, then a 45 Viking for 4 years followed by a 50 Viking for 4 years, settling on a 2022 62 Viking which is the boat they run today. Captain Ken ran the boat for tournament fishing from 2011 until 2021 when he passed the torch onto Captain Blaine Birch.
Captain Blaine Birch
Captain
started fishing with owner/operator Captain Ken Hager as a 14 year old local youth from Brielle, NJ. He went on to fish other boats as well and came back to fishing the Taylor Jean as crew chief back in 2018. He has since moved on to running the boat as its official Captain in tournaments and fun fishing events alike.
Jarret Birch
First Mate
brother of Captain Blaine, he along with his two brothers learned a lot about fishing from their dad. Additionally, Jarrett was involved with several boats from the outer banks North Carolina, making an occasional appearance fishing with the Taylor Jean and his brother. Approximately two years ago he became full time tournament fishing mate of the Taylor Jean for all the tournaments they fish, while still staying involved with the folks in the outer banks when not fishing the Taylor Jean.
CStephen Birch
second Mate
if the Birch name seems to be a common theme on the Taylor Jean its no coincidence. Stephen is first cousin with brothers Jarrett and Blaine and is a fisherman of his own right. When he’s not fishing tournaments with the Taylor Jean, you can find him running his own charter boats out of Key West Florida. Stephen also joined the Taylor Jean about 18 months ago as a full-time mate when we are tournament fishing.
Dave MC kendrick
Angler
who Ken became neighbors with back in 2005 and got this whole fishing craze started. Dave has his own boats over the years and holds a six pack 100-ton Masters Coast Guard Captainship. Dave frequently fights some of our larger fish and fought a battle for 7 ½ hours for a big eye tuna on a “dink” rod (rod not designed for catching large tunas). He is also ship engineer and diesel mechanic able to keep the boat running in most situations.
Kerry Ashe
Angler
Kerry is a retired electrician who keeps the electric working on the Taylor Jean and has been a long-time angler more than 15 years for the Taylor Jean, if you “give him a minute” you will find he can get things done,
Brandon Kape
Angler
Brandon Kape is our financial advisor with Wells Fargo and our go to tune guy on the boat. When tuna is the target species, we all turn to Brandon for his expertise in finding and catching tuna.
Alan kape
Angler
a better father son fishing duo has not been created, Alan, like Capt. Ken is a full time Insurance Agency Owner by day and a saltwater angler during his free time.
Rob Wagner and Tony Chieffo
Angler
Rob Wagner and Tony Chieffo first met the crew of the Taylor Jean back in 2012 when the Taylor Jean would dock across from them at Sunset Marina for the White Marlin Open and the MidAtlantic. They became fast friends with Rob and Tony competing against the Taylor Jean in their own Viking. Fast forward a number of years and they parted ways with their boat and now join the crew of Taylor Jean every year for the MidAtlantic and the occasional “other” tournament.
