I am so lucky to have grown up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains just minutes from Lake Tahoe. My pops is a diehard fisherman so I was on the water long before I was actually fishing. Fly fishing however came much later in my life.
I went through all of the phases of a conventional fisherman from tossing night crawlers to hand carving ten-inch stick baits. It started out as just catching fish then to seeing how many I could catch and of course trophy fishing. At this point it wasn’t only about lures and speed. I studied bathymetric models of local lakes, dialed in wind models and really studied the science behind my target species.
I was in college for a couple years and had always wanted to do my own part for 9/11 and the war with the Middle East. I opted to join the Army where I served just over 4 years with a tour in Iraq and a separate tour in Afghanistan each a year long. After my last tour, my time was up and I longed for the remote destinations where I had once found spectacular golden trout and other rare species. For me, it was an evolution where I had wanted to challenge myself to the next level. This is when I discovered fly fishing. I spent the next couple of years chasing trout and other species anywhere I thought might have a remote chance of being fishy. My guiding began on Lake Tahoe dredging the bottom with bait and big lures, hunting giant Lake Trout. But I always wished I was fly fishing. I ended up working with a few great guys on the Truckee River and the now famous and infamous Pyramid Lake in Nevada. After moving to Bend I met the boys at Fly and Field and they took me in just like family. I couldn’t be happier and I can’t wait to share my knowledge and stories with you on the shop and also on the water. Myself and everyone here at FFO will make sure you have the best experience in Central Oregon.