Early Years
I have been fishing for as long as I can remember, and all of my earliest memories in life somehow revolve around fishing. My dad is an avid lifetime fisherman, and he introduced the sport to me at a very young age. When I was in early grade school, every weekend my mom and dad would pile my sister and me into Dad’s 1952 Chevrolet truck and we would go down the road to an old farm and catch bass all afternoon with bobbers and minnows. Those memories and experiences have shaped me into the angler I am today.
I also grew to know Lake Lanier fishing guide and television host, Mack Farr quite well. We frequently fished together, and I have learned from the best. We still talk weekly, and he is helping me pursue my dream as a professional fisherman.
In high school, I was very good at basketball, but was forced to stop playing after badly injuring my knee. It actually worked out perfectly, because I could devote all my newfound free time to fishing. I would usually load my johnboat in the back of my truck in the mornings before school, and leave straight from school to fish somewhere. I was fascinated in the skill and science behind bass fishing, and I wasn’t afraid to show it. All throughout high school, I was known as “the guy that fishes all the time”.
Collegiate Bass Fishing
I went to Georgia Perimeter College after high school for one year in order to work and save money. My decision to attend GCSU was based around the fact that it is located ten minutes from Lake Sinclair. When I moved down to Milledgeville, I bought my first bass boat; a 1987 Ranger. It was in very bad condition, and it didn’t like to crank. However, I began fishing Sinclair and Lake Oconee roughly five times a week. I would go before class, after class, and in between classes. When putting my boat on the trailer one afternoon, the president of the GCSU Bass Fishing Team approached me, and said that they had heard I was quite the fisherman and asked me to join. I was totally unaware the school had a team. I quickly agreed, as I was just about to start my own process of starting a university fishing team.
In my first year on the team, I qualified for the BoatUS National Championship in Dallas, Texas on Lake Lewisville. My partner, and then-president, Matt Henry and I fished the event together and earned eighth place out of roughly two hundred boats. We were the unofficial leaders the second day of the tournament, and had Kelly Jordan and Jeff Kriet following us with a cameraman for most of the day.
The following year, I was elected president of the team. Since my election, I have almost tripled the team’s budget and greatly increased our success. My partner and I recently won the 2010 Auburn Fall Classic on Lake Logan-Martin in Pell City, Alabama. It was one of the biggest tournaments of the year, with a great number of the participants either current fishing professionally or turning professional following their spring graduation. The university president has invited us to a dinner this spring to recognize our achievements.
I have also been working with Auburn University in order to create an annual collegiate tournament in which the best and most competitive collegiate anglers in the southeast would gather at Lake Eufaula to compete for cash winnings, various free products, and a traveling trophy. It is still in its early stages, however I have talked with a great number of universities, and the initial reception has been outstanding.
I have also qualified for the 2011 BoatUS National Championship.
After College
I have many different routes I could possibly take following my May graduation. For the first few years, while I am young and single, I would like to see how far my talents will take me as a tournament fisherman. I believe I have what it takes to be a full-time professional, but my dreams of a family do not coincide with that career path very well.
I would also love to be a fishing guide, which has been my dream since childhood. I would love to be either a freshwater or saltwater guide. I have a lot of great contacts and friends within the industry, and they have heavily suggested that I guide in the St. Simons/Savannah area, due to my higher chances of profitability. I would also love to do some part-time guiding on Lake Sinclair during my last semester of college.
Finally, I would also love to be an outdoors writer. I have always been good at writing, and I love exposing other people to the outdoors. I am very blessed to have such a reverence for the outdoors, and I would absolutely love to articulate that through writing.
Outside Bass Fishing
I have made two trips to Alaska to fish its waters. I have fished in Kenai, Homer, Soldotna, and Skwentna, Alaska. I have become skilled at catching King Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, Silver Salmon, Arctic Grayling, Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, and Halibut. I have caught all of these species (excluding halibut) on both fly and spinning tackle.
I also make an annual two week trip to Bonita Springs, Florida to fish both inshore and offshore. After making the trip almost every year of my life, I have become very confident in my ability to catch all types of saltwater fish.
