I grew up in Charlotte, NC fishing small neighborhood ponds and creeks with friends and family. We would fish from the bank or whatever we could get to float on the water. I always enjoyed fishing even at a young age. I remember riding my bike up the street to go fishing and would stay there for hours by myself, in the one spot where there were no trees along the bank. It wasn’t until sometime in high school when I caught my first largemouth bass, and this is really what launched my passion for fishing. I spent every free minute that summer on our local pond.
While at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte I joined the bass fishing club and began fishing lakes and learning more and more about bass fishing. While there I qualified to fish the National Collegiate Bass Championship by Fox Sports South. I also started working at Bass Pro Shops which didn’t help my wallet, but did help my knowledge of fishing and vast collection of tackle. I then took a job in product development at Pure Fishing in Columbia, SC. This is where I got my first taste of river fishing, catching stripers and smallmouth bass.
Through my days at Bass Pro, I met this crazy river kayak fishing machine named Drew Gregory, and this would eventually bring me back to Charlotte, NC in the summer of 2011 where I would help Drew run the River Bassin Tournament Trail and assist him in his efforts with Jackson Kayak. Since moving back I have spent more time on the river than ever before. There is a completely different feeling when you are on the river. On one hand there is the serenity and seclusion of no one else around, but then there is the complexity of the eco system and awesome raw power of the water. In my opinion, truly one of God’s amazing creations.
