I began to read and learn as much about fishing, as I could. I bought magazines, LOTS of new equipment, baits, video’s and watched all the nationally broadcast fishing shows on weekends. I attended seminars, local boat and tackle shows, and I traveled to a weekend long Bass Fishing Institute in Indianapolis, IN. with a friend.

I still talk to local and National Pro’s learning as much as I can from as many sources as possible. I fish as often as possible to hone my skills and practice what I have learned. Serious fishing has become a passion and I knew it was something that I could do for the rest of my life.

My grandparents would take me camping and fishing for a week every summer for years when I was a child, and I still give them credit for planting the seed that would bear fruit for a lifetime.

After my grandmother died in 1992, I went fishing in a local lake 5 days after her funeral. Just before I was going to leave to go home, I caught a 16.5” 2 ½ lb. Crappie, which was easily the biggest crappie I had ever seen in my life and I thought for sure it was a state record! Well, it fell short of that, but it was easily a “Master Angler” fish, so I had it mounted as a trophy of a lifetime for that species.

To this day, I still consider that fish her last gift to me, and when I see it on my wall, I always think of her. I will always miss her, and I laugh to myself now when I practice catch and release. They would eat most everything they caught, since the idea of throwing a “keeper” fish back was not in their plans. In their day, C&R was not practiced,…fishing was more for food and not as much for sport! She and grandpa would forgive me now though. They would be proud of what I have accomplished , and that the seed they planted is still growing and will get even bigger in the future!

Humor is another passion of mine, since I love to make other people laugh. I don’t know how or why this is, it just happens! Laughing is as much a vital part of our make-up as our need for water,...without either, we will perish.

During endless hours of scouring magazines, I noticed there was a serious lack of real quality fishing humor. I love cartoons and always admired the best cartoonists in the industry, such as Charles Schulz, Berkely Breathed, and Gary Larson, of “Far Side” fame,..”Far Side” is still one of my all time favorite panels.

Sure, there were a few funny articles and an occasional “2 guys in a boat” type cartoon, but nothing that really struck me as particularly creative. I wanted to see more, and I felt there was a market for it, but it had to be different and totally unique; unlike anything else out there.

To get an editor’s attention, one’s work has to be better than the rest, and I had an idea for something NEW that would accomplish that, but I needed to learn a few things about cartooning first. I took an evening adult education class and learned some of the rules, materials, sources and techniques that the pro’s used. To this day, this was the best investment I could have made on my hobby!

I created an underwater world of characters that could combine my love and knowledge of fishing and my ability to draw, but with the creative twist that would command some attention. The Fishermen would be the brunt of the jokes and the main characters would be their “prey”. I wanted to create a cartoon that would become a fisherman’s favorite, one where the fish made fun of us, and our baits, terms, techniques and equipment.

One of the basic fundamentals for long-term success with a cartoon is that the artist must know his subject matter inside and out. He or she must think of their characters as real people and develop their personalities accordingly. You can fool some of your readers occasionally, but not all of them all of the time.

The more a reader can identify or relate to a subject matter or character, the more believable the characters will become. Readers who understand and relate to your work will want more and they will look for your work everywhere.

I am a freshwater fisherman, so it only makes sense to create a freshwater fishing cartoon. Again, I have to know my subject matter, so the more I continue to learn about fishing, the more ideas I can come up with and the better cartoonist and fisherman I will become. They really are perfect for each other, especially since I don’t consider doing either one “work”.