Fishing has always been a big part of my life. I grew up in a rural part of Tennessee called Hurricane Mills, where my family and I shared a passion for the outdoors. We were surrounded by creeks, rivers, and one of the best bass fishing lakes in the country. Being an only child and living on the edge of society, I spent a lot of my time walking the creek bank with my golden retriever, Max, hunting for smallmouth, rock bass, and bream. After starting college, I got a summer job as a raft guide on the Pigeon River in East Tennessee. It was at that point when I sat in my first kayak, during a roll clinic. When I returned to school, I missed being on the water, but there wasn’t any whitewater around me. That’s when it clicked, I didn’t need whitewater to kayak, so I began searching the web for a used kayak, and bringing the rod just came naturally. I first started fishing kayak tournaments in 2015. After watching hours of Drew Gregory, I signed up for a local River Bassin’ Trail event at Caney Fork Outdoors, in Silver Point Tennessee. I remember being so excited that I forgot I needed a measuring device. The second tournament I attended was the 2015 Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship. Suddenly, I was hooked on competitive kayak fishing. I have now turned that passion into a way of life. The community I have surrounded myself with contains some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. The comradery in the kayak angling community is beyond what I have ever experienced before. I’m privileged to say I have met lifelong friends and we have shared endless hours of stories. Currently I have been in the top ten nationally for 2016 and 2017 in Kayak Bass Fishing. Additionally, in 2017, I qualified for the 7th Hobie Fishing World Championship to be held in Sweden in May 2018. Finally, I recently took home my biggest victory yet by finishing second at the KBF National Championship for 2018. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the sport of competitive kayak angling as it continues to grow, and where it can take me too.
