About
Meet the Founder: Cory Barnett
Hi everyone, I’m Cory Barnett—owner and inventor of Savur Outdoors. I grew up in Mapleton, Illinois, a small town just west of Peoria. My Grandpa Barnett introduced me to fishing at a young age. We spent our time chasing white bass on the Illinois River and often planned summer trout fishing trips that conveniently aligned with sprint car races.
My grandparents were huge race fans, and that passion stuck with me. In every Savur Float, you’ll still find a little bit of my love for racing built in.
Today, I live in Austin, Texas with my wife of 21 years, Alisha, and our two kids, Elle and Rhys. Savur Outdoors is proudly a family-owned and operated business.
Why I Invented a Fishing Rod Float
A Familiar Problem
On those early fishing trips, my grandma would often stay back at the hotel—but when we needed a little luck, we’d go pick her up. She always caught fish for some reason. I remember at least two times she accidentally dropped my grandpa’s fishing rods into the water—losing the rod, reel, fish, and a bit of grandpa’s sanity in the process.
As I got older, I witnessed more friends lose their rods. But the idea for Savur didn’t truly take root until I was 15.
The Zebco Incident
My buddy Eric lived across the lake, and on hot days, he’d paddle his jon boat over to fish with me. When it got too warm, we’d flip the boat over and swim. Our rods usually floated—so I thought something was just wrong with grandpa’s setup.
One day, I flipped the boat, and after a few minutes in the water, we realized Eric’s brand-new Zebco 33 was missing. It never floated. It was gone. I felt awful.
That moment stuck with me. I couldn’t stop thinking,
“Why doesn’t someone make something to rescue fishing rods?”
From Idea to Invention
Years later, I was on a trip to Kentucky Lake when my father-in-law dropped his only rod overboard. It disappeared in seconds. We just looked at each other—stunned. No time to react.
That day in 2008, I decided to start developing a solution.
With a background in mechanical design and a job at the time as a hyperbaric oxygen tech, I understood how water depth affects pressure. I knew I could translate that knowledge into a rod recovery device.
After years of trial and error, failures, and prototypes, I landed on the design that you see today. It started with rods, but we’ve since expanded to bowfishing floats, action camera floats, and now gear recovery floats.
Our Mission
Our mission is two-fold:
- Promote and support underwater habitat conservation—starting at the individual level.
- Create recovery devices that integrate seamlessly with your gear, without affecting performance.