|
|
||
|
About Me |
     
|
I have been flyfishing since I was about 11 years old. I grew up in Natchez and Vicksburg, Mississippi. I did a lot of bass fishing in Mississippi and I had been trout fishing once or twice, but I didn’t get the trout fever until college. I went to Ole Miss from 1993-1998. My freshman or sophomore year a friend invited me to go flyfishing and camping with him in Arkansas. It was only about a 4 hour drive to Heber Springs, Arkansas and a fine reason to skip a few classes. I can’t say that I have ever been the same since. I spent summers in New Hampshire while in school. I worked at a boys summer camp instructing baseball, flyfishing and photography. I was lucky enough to have spent 4 summers there as a kid as well. Needless to say I fished a lot. Teaching flyfishing to 13-15 year olds was a lot of fun for me. I enjoyed a lot of things at camp from 4 day hikes on the Appalachian Trail, caving expeditions in New York, coaching very competitive baseball against other area camps etc. (That list could really go on and on) Teaching flyfishing to the boys was one of the most rewarding things I did. Taking a small group of campers to a nearby river to catch little brook trout was the thing I looked forward to the most. After college I decided that Camp Pemi had influenced me in many ways and that I wanted to learn more about teaching. Having never taken a course in the field of education I decided to get a master’s degree in it. I moved to Austin, Texas and went to UT. Somehow I graduated despite all the fishing. I guided flyfishing trips on the Guadalupe River to help pay the bills while in school. The Guadalupe is the southern most trout fishery in the U.S. The fishing is nothing like it is in Arkansas, but trout bums can’t be picky in Texas. I’m married and living in Memphis now. I’m not teaching in a school setting for a variety of reasons that I will not get into here. In short I guess I prefer teaching folks how to fish instead of teaching their children History. I may live in Memphis, but I stay in Heber Springs quite a bit. That same friend that invited me to go fishing on the Little Red for the first time and I keep an R.V. on the river these days. My wife says that my fishing is not a hobby, but a mental illness. As long as she puts up with me and nobody ever treats me for it I think I’ll be fine. I do enjoy a few other things besides fishing. I love going to college football and baseball games at Ole Miss. I am an avid homebrewer. I have been brewing for about 7 years now, and the product is pretty good. The person who catches the big fish of the day in my boat is always offered a victory brew. I also play on a couple of softball teams here in Memphis and if Widespread Panic is playing somewhere within Driving>Fishwater>Driving distance you will likely find me there. I'm also just getting into building flyrods... why not right? I have taken a lot of trips to a lot places to go flyfishing for trout. I love the challenge of fishing somewhere new, but I always look forward to getting back out on the Little Red River. There is nothing like the beginning of a new day out on your "home water".
Check out my Blog at American Angler: http://members.americanangler.com/arktroutbum
|
This site was last updated 02/25/08
