“I didn’t stand a chance I was born into it”
I was introduced to fishing by my parents and grandparents, being fanatics they played a hand in where I am today. From the moment I was old enough to hold a rod, I was fishing.
The first fish I ever caught was a Rainbow Trout in fresh water, followed closely by Bream in salt water.
My favourite way to spend my school holidays and weekends was fishing either inland NSW for Trout or on the far south coast targeting fish such as Snapper, Kingfish, Flathead and Morwong offshore. Also, I fished from the beach or rocks for salmon and tailor, as well in lakes/rivers for Bream, Flathead and Whiting. As you can see I have always enjoyed fishing for many different species with a wide variety of techniques.
I was intrigued by lures from the moment I heard about them. When I was around the age of 10 I caught my first Flathead on a lure, I also even managed the odd bream. There was a much more limited range then and I have enjoyed watching lures transform into what they are today.
In my early 20’s I began fishing for Australian Bass with lures. This was mainly on surface and this is where the fishing bug firmly took its grip on me. I spent countless days and nights catching these fish in creeks and rivers. My first surface Bass strike is something that will stay with me forever. Also in this period I picked up a fly rod in the hunt for trout.
Shortly after this I focused on catching bream on lures, buying myself my first tinny with an electric motor. This is when the fishing bug became an addiction. Bream are widely available and susceptible to wide range of lure’s and techniques. They live on all kinds of structure making them an awesome fish to target as they always keep you on your toes.
In 2009 I fished in my first bream tournament and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. I got to put my years of training into practice and this gave my fishing a new purpose. You are always learning fishing in tournaments, I think you learn the most on the days you don’t do so well. You learn what techniques and lures work in different areas through many hours of trial and error. This allows you broaden your fishing repertoire and you even start looking at your local area differently, trying new techniques such as lure selection, water depth and structure types.
I am very approachable and like to teach others what I have learnt. If you ever see me at the boat ramp at comp or out on the water come have hi as I’m always up for a chat.