I grew up in a little piece of God's north woods. I lived about 10 miles north of Grand Rapids, Minnesota and had no choice but to spend everyday of my childhood in these great woods.

My parents once said when they got married that they would never own a gun as long as they were together. (That quickly changed as I grew older). Surprisingly, my Dad didn't really grow up hunting and fishing. My Mom was the one who first introduced me to hunting and thus generated my learning experiences a field. She sat in the deer stand with my brothers and I in the first couple years of our hunting. She also held the big buck title of the house with a nice eight pointer for many years. (Later to be replaced with my 12 pointer .... sorry Mom.) I do credit my Dad for giving me my passion for fishing that I now have. As a kid he would take my brothers and I out in the Bayliner, a.k.a. "The Fishing Machine" ... NOT!!! The trip usually consisted of catching zero fish, breaking down, and getting towed back to shore. I still wonder today how I ended up with such a passion for fishing.

My obsession and love for the outdoors grew drastically year after year. I was always looking for people to get out and experience it with me. In 7th grade, I was chosen to be on the basketball traveling team and this is where I met, fellow Hang Loose pro staff member, Colt Anderson. We were two totally opposite threats on the basketball team. I was a veteran bench rider and Colt was in the starting lineup. Both of our interests for the outdoors lead us to an instant friendship. You could usually find us in the paddle boat on Mt. Ash Lake fishing for whatever would bit during those early years.

Right before high school, my Dad purchased a new Crestliner because he was either tired of us complaining about the Bayliner, or he too realized it was past its prime. We started to fish more and more. Everyday my Dad had work off we would fish and shockingly we became more successful each time. Once Colt and I attained our driver's licenses in high school, we began to take his 14 ft boat everywhere, and occasionally the 17 ft "Starship" if it wasn't in use by Brock.

This was about the same time we met Ethan Karpinnen, another individual who enjoyed fishing and hunting as much as Colt and I. If it was a slow day hunting or fishing you could always count on Ethan for some good humor. He generally packed enough clothes to be prepared for any kind of weather, rocked a blaze orange suit ice fishing so snowmobiles wouldn't hit him, and always had tons of food. No matter what food he had or how much he had, it always seemed to be his last one when you asked! Any given day of the summer, you can find us jigging for walleyes in the early mornings or trolling cranks late at night when the hog marble eyes roam.

Once high school came to an end, I had to figure out what I wanted to do with my future. I chose to attend the University of North Dakota in search of a major in Recreation and Tourism Studies. To me this college seemed perfect; tons of waterfowl, deer, and catfish. Here on the weekend you can find me west of the Devils Lake area in search of ducks and geese, or sitting on the muddy banks of the Red River catching hog Channel Cats.

In the recent summers Colt and I have taken our fishing to the next level and started the tournament fishing scene. With only a couple under our belt we still have a great deal to learn. Today, I enjoy chasing those hog marble eyes day and night on the local area lakes. There is nothing better than trolling cranks under the moon and getting your armed ripped off by a walleye when it crushes your bait.

Open water is soon upon us so tie your shoes tight and get that bait in the water. HOLD ON for you never know when that 10 pound eye will be on the end of your line!!!