FEATURED ANGLER PROFILE
Tell us about yourself: I am a 5th generation Colorado native, and grew up on the banks of the North Fork of the South Platte River in Bailey, Colorado. I spent a 20-year career in the United States Army, retiring in 2001. During my Army career I graduated from Sterling College with a Bachelor of Science degree in business management. After my Army retirement, I spent 21 years teaching Army Junior ROTC at Cañon City High School, and retired in May 2022. My wife, Mary, and I have been married for 27 years and have raised three beautiful daughters. When I don't have a rod in my hand I enjoy hiking, backpacking, and hunting. Tenkara history: I've been fly fishing now for around 45 years, and was an early adopter of tenkara back in 2009. In 2010 I became one of the first tenkara guides in the US, specializing in backcountry and wilderness trips. Since then I've greatly expanded my use of tenkara, taking it to many types of water in North America. I've also spent a lot of time writing about tenkara in various online and print magazines, as well on my blog. In 2015 I started designing specialty tenkara lines, and now produce them commercially. I've guided tenkara trips for RIGS Fly Shop and Guide Service in Ridgway, Colorado, and since 2015 I've been on the guide and fly shop staff at Royal Gorge Anglers in Cañon City, Colorado, where I live. Favorite rod: As a backcountry angler, and as an angler who fishes and guides on a large freestone river in Colorado, I like tip flex rods. My rods need to be able to cast weighted nymph rigs, large dry flies, and control larger fish in heavy current. I own many tenkara rods (my wife says way too many!). I fish a DRAGONTail Hellbender on larger freestones, tailwaters, high lakes, and in Alaska a lot and so do my clients. For small stream fishing I absolutely love my Daiwa LT33SF. My favorite small water rod for fishig kebari and dry flies is a DRAGONTail Kaida. Favorite fish: Wow, that's a difficult question! My favorite fish here at home in Colorado are brown trout on the Arkansas River! My favorite fish from my travels have to be, without question, the giant rainbow trout in the Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska! Second place from my travels goes to the huge Arctic Grayling that live in the Delta Clearwater River in interior Alaska. Favorite book: I read a LOT! I grew up in a home that was filled with thousands of books (we had one big room as a dedicated library), and our home now may not have that many, but we have a lot of books. As far as fishing books go, I love to read anything John Gierach has written. However, one of my favorite fishing books is "The Habit of Rivers" by Ted Leeson. For non-fishing authors, David Petersen, Reg Darling, and Jon Turk stand out. I just finished a really good biography entitled "A Splendid Savage", about the life and times of Frederick Russell Burnham. Favorite fly: Killer Kebari Found this fun instructional video here! Favorite place to fish: Wilderness streams and high lakes Favorite quote: "Really, the only thing a psychiatrist can do that a good fishing guide can't, is write prescriptions." —John Gierach Words of wisdom: If there's a secret to fishing tenkara, it's to fish a lot. Learn some basics, and then fish at every opportunity you can. There is no substitute for time on the water.
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