My name is Tidwondo Lamont Regan, and I’m the inventor of Gator Gills, based in Saint Pauls, North Carolina.
Over the years, I watched people get fishing hooks tangled in their clothes. I saw people sit down on hooks before they even started fishing, and I saw exposed hooks catching on things while fishing rods were being transported.
I didn’t want those problems myself, and I could see other anglers were dealing with them too. So I focused on a simple question: What could I put over the hook point to help stop it from catching on people and their belongings?
I started using wine corks on my own hooks. When I went fishing on the pier, I carried extra corks in my pocket in case somebody else wanted one.
People would notice the cork on my hook and ask what it was for. Once I explained it, they’d ask whether I had any extras. Before long, fishermen were pointing me out to others, saying, “There he is. He’s got some extra ones. See if he’ll sell you one.”
But I wasn’t selling them. I was giving them away.
Those conversations showed me that something useful to me was useful to other fishermen, too. That experience led me to develop the natural cork disc I call Gator Gills—a simple, reusable hook shield designed to help reduce accidental hook sticks and snags while gear is carried, stored, or transported.
The name has a story of its own. The hook represents the gator: think of a gator biting down and holding on. Put the cork onto the hook, and it holds until you pull it back off.
“Gills” was added to make people hesitate for a moment. Gators don’t have gills, and that unexpected combination makes you stop and think. That was the whole idea.
Today, I’m building Gator Gills one step at a time, listening to anglers and working to bring that practical solution to more people.
It started with a cork on my hook and a few extras in my pocket.
Gator Gills and D41 Innovations
Gator Gills came first. As I continued developing my ideas, D41 Innovations followed—an umbrella brand for future inventions, working alongside Gator Gills.
D41 stands for Day 41.
The name was inspired by the Bible's accounts of 40 days and 40 nights of testing, preparation, and transformation.
To me, Day 41 doesn't mean the journey is over. It means you've reached a new level of understanding, and now it's time to keep moving forward.
The journey teaches us patience, perseverance, faith, and the importance of listening. Sometimes the greatest change isn't that God has finally spoken to us. It's that we've finally learned to listen.
Day 41 isn't the end of the journey. It's the beginning of the next level.
Both brands are connected by the same inventor, Tidwondo Lamont Regan, based in Saint Pauls, North Carolina.