issue 6

The first time we laid our eyes on the UNIMOG was many years ago at the New York Surf Fishing Contest’s annual meeting at Cedar Beach Marina on a cold and snowy February night. Although at the time it looked impressive and unusual, it was still only a “project in the making” for its owner Lou DeRicco. As you discovered all the features that were added to this stupendous fishing machine over the years, you might have thought that its owner must have had a huge ego to trick out an UNIMOG and make it into a beach vehicle. And you would be wrong, so wrong…

I have met thousands of surfcasters over the years traveling though the Northeast doing shows and seminars. I’ve met surfcasters at the beach, at work and even at my kids’ parent-teacher conferences. But I have met only a few surfcasters as sweet and humble as Lou DeRicco. Not only is he an exceptional surfcaster who has won many awards for his prowess in the surf but he is one the nicest people you’ll ever meet on the beach or anywhere else. Lou has always been active in the surfcasting community and is a member of LIBBA, MBBA, Gateway Striper Club and The Montauk Surfcasters Association among other organizations.

We recently had a chance to chat with Lou about his UNIMOG truck. I wanted to know how he acquired it and to learn about the features he added over the years. We apologize in advance if we miss mentioning some things but there are so many features built into this truck, it’s impossible to remember them all. Lou is good with his hands and much of the stuff you are about to see in pictures has been built by him and his friends.