Biography:

Dave is a lifetime fisher, literally there isn’t a time he can remember when he did not fish. Some even believe that rather than being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was born with a fishing rod in his hand. As a child he grabbed a rod and headed for the water every chance he could. Often with the simple set up of some leader material, split shot, hooks stuffed in a Prince Albert’s tobacco can and a spare can for bait. Bait was whatever he could scrounge on the way to the water or find around the waters edge. Sometimes, in desperation, he’d use a bit of yarn, foil or other such stuff and was always amazed when he caught fish on those improvised “lures.” He was such an addict that he was known to miss dates in high school because he lost track of time fishing.

While the early years were mostly bait fishing, the appeal of being able to release fish encouraged him to experiment with flies and lure. It wasn’t long before he figured out that knowledge is the real key to being a good fisher. Since then he has been and still remains a student of fishing. Aside from getting on the water three plus days a week, he reads several fishing journals and has a library of fishing books that would make many librarians envious.

Over the years Dave has done some guiding on rivers on the Western Slope of Colorado. He owned and operated Tall Tails Tackle Shop in Grand Junction for several years. Further, Dave tied flies commercially for a while and has taught numerous fishing classes such as fly casting, fly tying, ice fishing, nymph fishing, reading water, aquatic insect identification and more. Teaching others how to fish and/or improve their fishing skills has always been part of Dave’s nature. So much so, that he’s know to stop on his way home from work when he sees an inexperienced fisher struggling to offer them assistance, with their permission of course.

Currently, Dave is active on the local front as a member of Rocky Mountain Fly Casters, the Fort Collins chapter of Trout Unlimited, the Centennial Bass Club, and sits on the Larimer County Parks Advisory Board.

While Dave’s passion is fly fishing, he has and still does occasionally, fish club level bass tournaments and has won several over the years. However, Dave spends most of his time chasing every fish that swims with a fly, including making forays to the coast to fly fish the salt. Dave currently has made it his goal to catch and release a Master Angler size fish for as many species as possible in Colorado on a fly.