About me: I began fishing when I was 8 years old fishing for bluegills with my dad. He took me to a little water retention area near our house in Gilbert. I really enjoyed bluegill fishing but started watching bass fishing show on TV and was hooked. I was in 6th grade when I bought my first boat. It was a 10ft jon boat with a 27lb thrust trolling motor. My dad and I took it to San Carlos Lake where we got in to some rough water and were blown off the lake. My dad decided to buy a little bit bigger boat to handle the local lakes if the water got rough. We ended up having several boats throughout the years including a 12ft, 14ft, 16ft arrowglass tri hull, and finally a 17 ft skeeter with a 150hp motor. My poor Dad could not take me fishing enough. We would also go to fishing seminars regularly, where I met Floyd Preas who taught me a lot about finesse fishing. I fished my first team tournament in 1988 when I was still in high school. We finished 14th out of about 30boats, but we were excited because we met Greg Warne who was a Skeeter pro who we had a lot of respect for. Ever since then I have had a passion for tournament bass fishing. Three years later while fishing with my Dad at Canyon Lake, I caught a 15.86lb largemouth bass on a spinnerbait. It turned out to be the state record and held for 6 years. I slowed down fishing for a few years to pursue a career as a firefighter. I was hired in 1995 with the Gilbert Fire Department and am currently and Engineer/Paramedic. I have met several people while fishing tournaments that took the time to teach me how to become a better fisherman. Some of those friends are Brad Cook, Leroy Price, and Steve Foutch. I also fished the Allstar Bass Pro Am circuit as a non-boater for 4 years and had a lot of good experiences learning from different people. In 1998 I pursued sponsorship with Tracker Marine. I always liked John and Belinda Randall who owned the shop. They enjoyed fishing themselves and competed in many tournaments. I bought my first Nitro Boat in 1999 and was officially on the Pro Staff. I really enjoy helping with the boats shows and teaching seminars. Now I am on the Nitro State Team and the Bass Pro Shops Pro Staff and look forward to seeing you at the new store in Mesa.