I guess you could say I was destined to live in the Keys. I was born in Ligonier in western Pennsylvania, and even though I was a loyal Steelers fan and I loved running on country roads in the mountains, and fishing in cold northern streams, I grew up dreaming of being in the middle of the huge poster of clear blue water, palm trees and bright sun plastered across my bedroom wall.

I worked my way down here gradually. I spent several years working on a thoroughbred farm in Ocala where I met my wife who was breaking and galloping race horses at the time. We spent our days off fishing the gulf waters near Homosassa, Florida and our vacations falling in love with the Keys. When the time came in 1989 to make the big move, we chose the Middle Keys largely because we liked the uncrowded fishing grounds in this area. We traded our Grady White for a flats boat very early in our Keys lifetime, and we’ve been poling the Flats and banks for Bonefish and Permit and fishing the bridges and the Backcountry for Tarpon ever since.

I soon made the move from just a guy who likes to fish to a guy who likes to help other people fish. In other words, I became a professional Backcountry Guide. People always say “wow, it must be great to get paid to fish all day”, but they’re missing part of what makes guiding so special. It’s great to introduce others to the beauty and excitement of fishing the unique environment of the Florida Keys Flats and Florida Bay.

I’ve been guiding from Duck Key Florida since 1993 and I joined the team of inhouse captains at Hawks Cay in 2000. While my wife, like many of my customers, wants to do nothing but sight cast on the flats when I take her out, I appreciate the ones of you that just want to enjoy being out on the water in search of whatever quarry we happen upon. I know lots of you spend most of your days dreaming of clear blue water, palm trees and bright sun, and if we can spice that up with some great fishing, I’ve done my part of making your Hawks Cay Experience one you’ll remember forever. And if we’re lucky, we’ll repeat it next year, too!