In 2019, Thomas and Monica purchased the 50’ Della John. It was built in 1979 by Red Brooks and his family maintained ownership and ran the boat up until 2019. The Della John is a 50’ wooden trawler. In 2020, the Smith family renovated the boat.
Thomas was born and raised in Marshallberg before moving to Beaufort. While in high school, he helped his dad build the Miss Gina II which he began shrimping after school and in the summer. While he wanted to pursue commercial fishing fulltime, his parents would not allow him to do so until he obtained a college degree. He graduated from ECHS then from ECU in 2007 with a bachelors degree in construction management. He worked as a project manager for 9 years before quitting to pursue commercial fishing full time. He owns and runs the Della John with deckhand, Woody Thomas loves being a commercial fisherman and his favorite part of it is the freedom it allows him to spend time with his family but also the feeling of shrimping being a hobby of his as much as a job. If he’s not shrimping or working on his boat, you can find Thomas spending time with his precious family.
Began working on the Della John in 2021. He worked as a welder for over 20 years and shrimped part-time before coming to work on the Della John full time. He has been a great addition to our business and our family. When asked why he loves shrimping, Woody mentioned the self-reliance and freedom it provides as well as the hunt for shrimp! When he isn’t shrimping or welding, he enjoys spending his time with wife, Chris, and their family.
Bodie-Deck Boss
Yellow lab, Age-8
Favorite part of shrimping: Playing with the crabs and stealing the crew’s snacks.
Roxie-Part time Deck Hand
Roxie
Silver lab
Age-1
Favorite part of shrimping: sunbathing on the bow of the boat and chewing up everything.
Monica is Captain Thomas' wife. She works more behind the scenes, but also sells shrimp at the stand, meets people after hours, manages social media and answers the phone and after hours text messages. She was born and raised on Harker's Island as the granddaughter to the fishhouse/market owners, Ellis and Melissa Yeomans. She is a graduate of East Carteret High School. She then went to ECU as a NC Teaching Fellow, before graduating in 2007. She was a teacher in the Carteret County Public School System for 5 years.
Monica gave birth to their first son, Cameron (now 10), before leaving the teaching profession and attending Carteret Community College’s Associate Degree Nursing program. She graduated in 2016 and worked as an RN at Carteret Health Care for 5 years before having a second son, Connor (now 3). She left healthcare to be a stay at home mom while running Miss Gina’s.
Thomas and Monica have two children, Cameron (10) and Connor (soon to be 3). Cameron was raised on the Miss Gina and then the Miss Monica. We spent a lot of time on there. I was a stay at home mom by then. We were shrimping nights and I was selling shrimp days while Thomas worked. We outfitted “Cam’s Shack” with an air conditioner, pack n’ play, TV, and toys galore. He loved to swing on the front porch while I helped customers. I was also studying for nursing school at the time. When schools went to Virtual Learning due to Covid, Cameron completed the end of first grade and beginning of second grade on the Della John while shrimping in either Pamlico Sound or the ocean. He would sign into Google Meet and his classmates would be so jealous that he was on a boat. Connor hasn’t spent quite as much time on a shrimp boat, but he has spent a lot. I’ve been staying at home more running the business and children while Thomas (with mate Woody) and Mr. Allen, catch the shrimp.
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