I can't really say my fly-fishing career began when I was a young boy, big brother Mike was the fisherman of the family. He was the natural, but I had the passion to earn the title "fisherman." My father passed away when I was six years old leaving my mother to raise five boys and a four-year-old daughter. She didn’t have much time for entertaining us so we had to create our own fun. We had plenty of kids in the neighborhood, a vacant lot and canyons to explore. We didn't get into too much trouble, but if any of you out there were ever missing fruit from your trees it was probably us. Sorry.

When I became a teenager, my brothers included me in their fishing adventures. These usually took place on our local lakes, but there were some half-day saltwater trips as well. Soon I become a familiar face on the half-day boats; scrubbing decks on the way home in trade for trips.

After graduating high school in 1978, a couple of friends and I, getting the idea from the Allman Brothers song, decided to move ( ramble ) north to Mammoth Lakes in search of the mountain life, skiing, and chicks. From the start, I truly felt at home here with all of life’s simple pleasures at my finger tips; namely unbelievable skiing, good hunting, the camaraderie of crazy kids turning into adults in a small town, and TROUT.

Still involved in the saltwater world, I made many summer trips ranging from one to three days targeting yellow tail and small tuna. My fishing disorder completely solidified after spending time on the water with an amigo who is the closest human to King Neptune I’ve ever met. He had dedicated many years to being on the water and taught me that being in touch with the water and its creatures took complete commitment, patience, and lots of work. Soon I began fishing blue water seriously on long-range trips from five to twenty days mostly off the coast of Baja California, but I sometimes traveled as far as Central and South America, Australia, and the Arctic Circle.

I applied my saltwater fishing skills to the waters of the Eastern Sierras and found the passion that I needed to make fishing into my profession. With the help of my friends from the Eastside Guide Service at the Trout Fly, my dream came true. In the spring of 1995, I served an internship with them and traveled to Northern California to work under Dick Galland and the guides at the Clearwater House. The summer of ‘96 was spent working part time up north and as a full-time guide for the Trout Fly. In the spring of 1999, I became a part owner of the Trout Fly and that November I married the love of my life, Pamela, after a courtship of five years. We now own a little home in Bishop and I consider myself the luckiest man on earth.

During the winter months I continue to work part time for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area as a ski repairman, and after nineteen years, I still enjoy my job very much. I guide ten months out of the year and over one hundred and forty days annually. I treat each trip individually and put my heart and soul into my craft. My goal in life isn’t to be rich and famous, but to live in a beautiful place, surround myself with really good people, and smile when I’m going to work.