I started fishing like most people do when I was just a kid, around 4 years old. Some of my favorite childhood pictures were of holding fish bigger than me! One day (around 12 years old), I tied some old deer hair to a random hook, and my dad said, "Do you want to learn how to really tie flies?" That was the beginning of a life-long obsession and passion for fishing. Since then, I've traveled all over the US and South America to fish. Most of the trips revolved around fly fishing for Trout. I've been to British Columbia, Alberta, Arkansas, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho, New York, Pennsylvania, Argentina, and now, most importantly, Southwest Florida, where I live. In 2018 I decided it was finally time to teach other people how to catch the many Trout and Bass species found in the rivers and tailwaters of Upstate NY, so I started my own guide service. At the time, I had a full-time job, and I was only able to guide part-time, but it was enough of a challenge and thrill to ignite my passion for teaching/coaching, and I soon had as much fun helping others catch trophy fish as I did catching them myself! I've been fishing in the Matlacha area a lot over the last several years, and I have managed to catch a number of different species both on the fly and also on traditional lightweight spinning tackle. I've hired multiple guides myself in order to learn how to target each species, and I have developed great friendships, and I continue to learn from them every day. It’s critical to stay up on what the trends are and learn about how the tides affect your odds of catching fish effectively and consistently. It’s probably the most important thing that I realized long ago, you can always learn something new. Let's stay safe, have fun, learn and catch fish!