I grew up on the banks of the Pere Marquette River in west Michigan. I learned quickly about how to fool wary trout, salmon, and steelhead. As I grew older, conventional tackle seemed to become an unfair advantage on the river. I began fly fishing and tying flies, learning from whomever would take the time to teach me. I bought my first drift boat when I was 16, which seems like a long time ago now, more than half a lifetime ago.
I began guiding on the Pere Marquette in my twenties and spent as much time on rivers as I did competing in tournaments on Lake Michigan. It seems my obsession with fishing could not be satisfied by rivers alone. After a stint with the working class as a bricklayer, I re-devoted myself to the angling lifestyle, unable to stay off the water. Now, after close to ten years of full time guiding, I still get excited to wake up bright and early every morning.
My experience ranges from guiding the Pere Marquette, Muskegon, and Manistee Rivers in the spring and fall, the flats of northern Lake Michigan for carp and smallmouth in June and July and Louisiana for redfish in December and January.
Professional accomplishments:
I began guiding on the Pere Marquette in my twenties and spent as much time on rivers as I did competing in tournaments on Lake Michigan. It seems my obsession with fishing could not be satisfied by rivers alone. After a stint with the working class as a bricklayer, I re-devoted myself to the angling lifestyle, unable to stay off the water. Now, after close to ten years of full time guiding, I still get excited to wake up bright and early every morning.
My experience ranges from guiding the Pere Marquette, Muskegon, and Manistee Rivers in the spring and fall, the flats of northern Lake Michigan for carp and smallmouth in June and July and Louisiana for redfish in December and January.
Professional accomplishments:
- US Coast Guard
- OUPV License
- Pere Marquette Watershed Council
- Michigan River Guides Association
- West Michigan Hacklers
- Federation of Fly Fishers
- Trout Unlimited