ABOUT

My fly fishing journey began when I was just eight years old, when an aunt gifted me all her old fly fishing equipment. I was already an avid angler at that point, but I’d only heard about fly fishing and how complex it was. To me, that old starter Redington rod was the finest piece of fishing equipment ever made. I can’t say I took to the sport immediately, but I grew into it over the next few years. 

I was to the point of consistently catching a fish or two each outing by the time I was thirteen, and was completely obsessed with the sport. I had heard about the US Youth Fly Fishing Team operating just a few hours away in State College, and convinced my parents to sign me up for a clinic on Big Fishing Creek. I ended up loving it, and competed in my first competition the next weekend. 

Competitive fly fishing quickly became my passion. I was able to qualify for the Youth Team in 2016, and went on to compete in three World Youth Fly Fishing Championships (Slovenia 2017, Poland 2018, Czech Republic 2019). As a team, we took a bronze medal in 2017 and a silver medal n 2019. 

After aging off the Youth team, I went to Penn State, where I pursued trout and a degree in material engineering.  I also started my original blog and guide service, Fringe Fly Fishing.  Somewhere along the way I took to targeting new, uncommon species on the fly, which was a challenge that really changed my perspective on fly fishing and my understanding of fish in general. To date, I’ve managed one hundred species in from waters all over the world. 

I began competing again in 2021, as competitions began to come back after COVID. I found myself doing well in the regional Fly Fishing Team USA qualifiers, and was abler to secure an invite to the intteregionals and then nationals. I ended up coming in third overall in the cycle, and secured a spot on the Worlds team for the 2024 World Fly Fishing Championships. I and the team competed in France, and were able to secure a team Bronze medal, only the third team medal in the US’s history competing on the world stage. 

After returning home, I decided to start Innovative Angling as a way to share my passion and the knowledge I’ve learned through my journey in the sport. I still work full time, as a sustainability research chemist in Carlisle, Pa. I am also preparing for the 2025 World Championships in the Czech Republic, where we’re hoping for another great performance and team medal.