As far back as I can remember I have been in love with fishing. My family and friends could even go as far to call it an obsession. My first fishing trip that I can remember is fishing Under the lights along the Copano Bay bridge when the pier was still in place, catching sand trout, speckled trout and the always plentiful hardhead catfish with my dad. My father’s job had us move around more than a military brat would have, I moved 13 times between birth and graduating high school. The one thing that was constant was fishing.
As I grew up my adventures grew with me, from bringing home a 5-gallon McCoy’s bucket full of bluegill to surprise my mom, who was not as excited as I was, to Drifting the flats of the Laguna Madre dragging a cork behind the boat while my father and great-grandfather fished off of the front of his Jon boat. I remember one of my favorite things to do was watch my VHS tape of Bill Dance fishing bloopers, Addictive Fishing, and Roland Martin etc. I was beyond excited to have once been on AddictiveFishing.com’s “Mogan of the week” section with trout I caught while wade fishing St. Charles Bay with my father.
I would say my fishing passion really took off after high school when I Joined the United States Coast Guard. I loved fishing anytime I was not on duty as I was a bored single guy, with nothing to do. I truly believe the fact that I do not drink, smoke or was ever a part of a party scene, since all I have ever wanted to do when not working or in school was fish. I had almost exclusively fished Saltwater on the Texas coast until I got Station at a C-130 unit on the Pasquotank Sound of eastern North Carolina. There I dabbled with kayak fishing and began to find some online based tournaments. One thing lead to another and in 2017 I somehow found myself qualified for the 2017 KBF National Championship on Kentucky Lake. In my mind I was somewhere I did not belong and was way out of my league. A friend of mine had invited me to stay in a large cabin and pitch in with the other anglers to save money. I ended up spending a week with some of the true OG bass fisherman and kayak anglers on the east coast. Casey Reed, Lou Martinez, Aaron White, Matt Campbell, Dustin Good, David Addington, Wes Smallwood, Billy Sounders, and Joshua Evans. I didn’t think I was out of my league I KNEW I was. Hearing the level of detail and specifics they were discussing somewhat overwhelmed me. I was a south Texas kid who had never even fished a major Texas lake, I just go lucky catching bass in a small coastal creek in north Carolina.
I spent the week pre-fishing different areas. And on my last day before the event, I made a change and explored an area I thought would be good. I only had 1 bite, but it was a big fish that broke me off. I made the decision to pass up all of my pre fishing spots and commit to paddling about a mile and a half before sunrise to get to this area. It paid off and after day 1 I was sitting in the Top 100 of over 350 anglers! I chocked it up to dumb luck and luck in general. Day 2 I followed the pattern I had found and had back-to-back 83” days and ended up finishing 39th. But I can honestly say the week of interactions with the guys I mentioned above made it clear to me that this was the community I wanted to be involved with.
I developed some relationships with brands that I used and liked and just wanted a chance to represent them. To me at the time being “sponsored” no matter what the level meant I was advancing and becoming more successful. I can say that I was nobody in the kayak fishing community. But Railblaza and YakGear treated me like I was, and I can say that them showing me what was important in my role as a brand ambassador, and how I could contribute the most via grassroots marketing and just being myself. I think feeling that a brand or company wanted me as a person and not me as someone who won tournaments gave me more confidence and made me more comfortable in pressure situations.
At the end of 2016 and right before the KBF National Championship I had made the decision to get out of the USCG after 8 years and bring my wife & kids back home to Texas. I would fish a few events on and off with KATS and ETXKF, but it just never really got back on track in kayaks. Fast forward to 2023 and I had been promoted and was now living back in my Wife’s hometown a mile from the nearest lake and a boat just made sense. I purchased a 2019 Tracker 1448 Grizzly and within a month, my wife and kids had had so much fun that we sold that and purchased a 2023 Tracker 175 TF. It’s a perfect platform for my bass fishing, but also has a recessed deck for the kids and dual chair pedestal positions in the front for us to sit side by side. I originally told myself that I was done fishing tournaments and wanted to focus on family fishing and just enjoying life. Unfortunately, my competitive nature found me signing up for my first “Boat” even in October fishing a Fishers of Men Open. And once again I was hooked.
A few months of fishing events and re-discovering my passion for living and breathing on the water, feeling the sunrise as you cut through the morning fog, and feeling the sting of the sun when you lay down to sleep. I know I want to be a Professional Bass Fisherman, and I want to chase my dream with every ounce of energy I have. I don’t want to take away from future posts but now, my daughter is fishing both team and individual events with me, and I can say I recently got accepted on the White River Marine Group Fishing Team. WRMG is the parent company of Tracker, Nitro, Mako, Ranger, Triton, Sun Tracker and Tahoe. Ironically my boat fishing has come full circle. The boat I grew up fishing with my father on was a 22’ Nitro Bay, before they became Mako. My first boat I purchased was a Tracker Grizzly, and My first non-jon boat was a Tracker 175 TF. Its crazy how life works out. But I think its so cool that somehow my entire fishing experiences have always involved a WRMG boat.
I truly look forward to sharing my journey of chasing my dream to become a Professional Bass Fisherman