About Us

What is your background in fishing? Where are you from?

I was born and raised in WNY on Lake Ontario. I grew up fishing creek mouths at the lake for freshwater Salmon and Trout. This was more seasonal, but definitely what we looked forward to most every fall!

Who was your biggest influence in fishing growing up?

This is a tough question to answer. I grew up fishing with my dad, brothers, uncles and cousins, but it would be difficult for me to single out one person that was my biggest influence.

Fishing didn’t really become a true passion of mine until I grew up. I stopped drinking in 2014 and that’s when I started spending a lot more time on the water. I moved to the OBX (Kitty Hawk) in 2017, and since then fishing has truly taken off as a passion, or almost obsession, of mine.

What kind of fishing did you do as a kid, if any?

Growing up we would fish for anything that would bite. Depending on the season we would fish for Bass, Catfish, Pike, Carp, Walleye, Perch, etc.

Who continues to be your fishing influences?

My fishing influences at this point are some of the local charter Captains that I look up to. Some of the local guys that I have reached out to have been a tremendous help to speed up my progress as far as learning the area and different tendencies of the fish in this area. I won’t use names, but I’m sure these guys will know who they are.

What is your work background? What is your work now? Responsibilities? How long have you been doing it?

I bounced around while growing up with different jobs in retail and sales. In 2015, I finally found something that I decided I wanted to make a career out of in the HVAC industry. I worked my way up in the trade from helper, installer, technician and now I’m the Branch Manager of a great company, Comfort First Heating and Cooling. My responsibilities are to run the Jacksonville branch, handle all employees, install new systems, run service calls, run sales calls, etc. When I decided to move down to this area closer to my family, I was lucky enough to work for a great company that was willing to open an office for me to keep me as part of the team. I’m coming up on 8 years in the industry.

Family? Around here or otherwise? Parents? Do they fish? DO they like the water?

I am the middle child of 5 boys. All of my brothers fish occasionally, but I wouldn’t call it a passion for any of them like it is for me. Growing up we would fish with our father once in a while and some extended family as well. My mother and two of my brothers live down here in the Jacksonville area. My other two brothers still live in NY. Unfortunately our father passed away a few years ago.

What kind of fishing do you do?   

Since moving to the OBX I typically fish Saltwater. Like many ENC anglers, two of my favorite fish to target are Red Drum and Speckled Trout. I am still learning a lot about the area though and there are still plenty of fish that I would love to catch more of. This past spring I was lucky enough to get out a few times for the awesome Bonito run and what a blast that was! It really was like a dream out there some days with the mesmerizing ocean and Bonito exploding out of the water all around us. I’m already looking forward to doing that again next year.

What’s your favorite way to fish yourself?

My favorite way to fish by myself is to come up with a game plan for Red Drum or Speckled Trout and try to execute. One of the benefits of being solo is that I can really focus on specific spots and pick them apart. I have found that I learn more on many of my slow days when I have to work to find the fish than the days when they’ll bite anything and everything that you throw at them.

What is the key to consistently scoring on any fish?

I would say the key to consistently catching fish is to learn every time you’re on the water. When you find fish, ask yourself why they are there. More times than not when you find the fish there is a reason why they are where they are. Is there bait, structure, depth changes, grass beds, moving water, oyster bars, etc. I still have so much to learn and look forward to learning something new on every trip. Just the small amount that I have learned since moving to the Jacksonville area has shown drastically with the number of fish that I catch.

What have you learned recently that has helped you to become a better angler?

One of the most important things that I have learned that I think is important for every angler to understand is that FISH MOVE. Crazy, I know, but simply having a few “spots” will not make you a successful angler consistently. It is far more important to understand why certain spots hold fish than just having spots. That is the difference between catching fish on a slow day or going home with a cooler full of clean ice.

What’s the most important thing to having a successful day of fishing in saltwater?

The most important thing to having a successful day is taking all outside factors into consideration and coming up with a plan. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. I believe that quote is from Benjamin Franklin. Nonetheless, I truly believe that and my success, and many days lack of success, prove that to be true.

Any plans for the future? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 20?

I truly enjoy my career in the HVAC field and greatly appreciate the opportunities that I have been given with Comfort First Heating and Cooling. I opened Salty Toad Fishing to share my experiences on the water. My goal is to continue learning every day and to help others learn along the way. During my journey I have also started painting custom baits when I can find time as well as running Charters part-time. Since fishing is a passion of mine, I would love to make a career out of it in some fashion in the future. I have not put a timetable on it yet, simply because I have a responsibility to give my best effort in my current position as Branch Manager, and I fully intend to continue to do so.