Mad Katz Outdoors arrives in Rockingham

ROCKINGHAM — Mad Katz Outdoors, a hunting and fishing store with an emphasis on catfishing, held a grand opening on Saturday that attracted over 700 attendees from around the country.

“We were blown out of the water,” owner Matt Knight of Cheraw, South Carolina, said. “We had customers come from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia (and) Georgia.”

Mad Katz started as an online store in September of 2020. It sold custom made fishing rods that are high-quality, but moderately priced, according to Knight.

Mad Katz has quickly become the number one seller of catfish rods in the United States. Their Facebook page has accumulated close to 12,000 likes in just eight months.

Their new building is located off US Highway 74 in Rockingham. The inception of the business began in a friend’s garage in Richmond County after Knight had too many experiences with his fishing rods breaking and not performing correctly.

“The whole thing started with just me trying to make 10-20 rods for myself that I could count and rely on,” Knight, who designed the rods, said.

Knight’s friends started asking is they could try the models of his rods. When he realized how much interest he was gathering, Knight decided to consult with a manufacturer and market them online.

“Once everybody got them in their hands, they realized the quality was there as well,” Knight said.

A few of the customizations that make the rods unique are a 7 Tech, crosscut grip and a 3D reel seat that allows vibrations to come through the whole rod.

“My goal was to sell about 5,000 rods this year,” Knight said. “I think we’re probably around the 40,000 mark.”

The plan was always for the store to be built in Richmond County, since there is a void of stores that cater specifically to fishing and hunting. Knight said that’s where he trusts the most people to run the day-to-day operation of the business.

Knight added what sets their company apart is the quality of their rods and their exceptional customer service.

“When I started this company, I was going to treat every customer like my mother,” Knight said.

Store manager and member of the Mad Katz Pro Staff Cody Tyler described the store as a mini-Bass Pro Shop. He said the response so far has been overwhelming.

Tyler said he knew one individual who drove 18 hours from Illinois, and multiple other people who drove about eight hours. Of the approximately 700 people who were at the grand opening, over 500 individual purchases were made that day.

The store will also be selling live bait such as eels, fish, worms and crickets.

“We’re there for the people of Richmond and Anson County,” Knight said. “To make sure that anything they need from a fishing and hunting perspective, that we always have it.”