About Me
My introduction to flyfishing came when
I was twelve--a man in our church invited me on a camping trip to the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park where he and his brother went flyfishing on parts
of the Little River. I never caught a fish on that trip, but eagerness
grew from my frustrating beginnings.
Reading as much as I could, I eventually covered
every book on fly fishing and fly tying in my local library. I also met
Steve Yates—a local fly fisherman who helped me become a better technical
fisherman and who aroused my interest in aquatic
entomology.
I have taken great strides in my flytying with the help of Robert Schreiner who has answered all of my numerous questions and encouraged me to enter flytying competitions to hone my skill. He is the absolute best dry-fly tier that I know of and has taken many medals in Flytying Ireland and the MSO (Mustad Scandinavian Open)—the two largest flytying competitions in the world.
When I was 14 years old, I won the “Flytyer of the Year” competition on flytyingforum.com, winning a custom-made bamboo fly rod. In 2007 my dry fly "Apprentice" won a gold medal in the senior dry fly category of the Mustad Scandinavian Open. In 2008, my dry fly "Summer Blues" won a silver medal in the same category.
In the Summer 2007 issue of Fly Tyer Magazine, I was featured in the article “Flytying Young Guns.” Recently, I have begun to write my own articles for Fly Tyer Magazine. My first ever published article— "Perfect Parachutes" appeared in the Autumn 2008 issue of Fly Tyer.
In 2008 I had the great privilege of joining the US Youth Fly Fishing Team. I attended tryouts for the team in May, and became the only new member on the 2008 traveling team. I had the privilege of training with and learning from some of the finest fly fishermen in the country including George Daniel, Loren Williams, Josh Stephens, and Joe Humphries. I also got to make friends with some other fantastic youth fly fishers from around the country. Our team placed 4th in the FIPS-Mouche World Youth Fly Fishing Championships in Portugal, and 6th in the America Cup International Fly Fishing Tournament in Colorado.
In addition to flyfishing and flytying, I enjoy orienteering, playing the cello, and writing.