Andrew’s passion for fishing began at a very young age. He was born at Hill AFB just outside of Ogden, Utah. His dad would take him fishing to local reservoirs such as Pineview Reservoir and Willard Bay. This is where his love for fishing started.

 

Growing up as an Air Force brat, Andrew moved with his family several times while growing up. When he was eight years old, his family moved to North Pole, Alaska. There was a small slough just a quarter mile from their house. It was here that Andrew really got bit by the fishing bug. He would ride his bike down to the slough and fish for hours catching trout, arctic grayling, and arctic char. He couldn’t get enough. Unfortunately, the time in Alaska only lasted three years and it was time to move on.

 

This time, Andrew and his family found themselves in Biloxi, Mississippi. Talk about a change of scenery! This move allowed him to experience saltwater fishing for the first time. Andrew’s Dad would take him and his brother, David, out into the brackish waters of Biloxi and fish for red drum, black drum, sheepshead, croaker, catfish, and the occasional bass that frequented these waters. Andrew also picked up shrimping with a cast net. This type of fishing would be short lived, however. His family received orders and they were on the move again.

 

Their next assignment found them in Sumter, South Carolina. There were many lakes near Sumter that his family would go fishing at in their Quantum fish and ski boat on weekends. But as luck would have it, there was a 10-acre pond just a short bike ride down the road from where they lived. This is where Andrew really began targeting largemouth bass. He would spend hours and hours targeting these fish and began to learn the intricacies of bass fishing and how these fish behaved in different water clarities, temperatures, and changes with the season. He was hooked. Just as Andrew felt he had hit his stride with bass fishing, his family received orders to move again.

 

This time, the family found themselves headed to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. Andrew didn’t really know if he would fish for bass again. Much to his surprise, there were good populations of bass nearby. What he didn’t expect was to fish for a new species of bass. Smallmouth bass provided the most fun yet while fishing. The fight of these fish was unmatched to anything he had caught before. It wasn’t uncommon for Andrew and his family to camp down at CJ Strike for the weekend and spend sunup to sundown fishing for bass.

 

Andrew soon joined his dad in their local bass fishing club, the Mountain Home Hawg Hunters. Andrew quickly learned from these experience anglers and soaked up as much knowledge as possible. In his first year in the club, Andrew won Rookie of the year, as well as Big Fish of the year for 1999. He also caught big fish of the year for the year 2000.

 

Andrew graduated from Mountain Home High School in 2001 and moved to Boise to attend Boise State University. He continued to fish when able, but school and work took up most of his time. Andrew then decided to join the United States Army. A few months before shipping out to boot camp, Andrew met his wife, Brandie.

 

Andrew served in the US Army for 13 years as an Airborne Infantryman. He served two combat deployments. His first was Iraq, 2006-2007 and then Afghanistan, 2009-2010. He became a jumpmaster and loved serving the Airborne community. Unfortunately, his time in the US Army would be cut short. During his Afghanistan deployment, he suffered injuries to his lower back that would later prevent him from continuing to serve. Andrew was medically retired from the US Army in 2016.

 

During his time in the Army, Andrew was able to fish in different locations. He was stationed in Alaska for six years outside of Anchorage. He frequently targeted salmon and would plan fishing trips based on which species was running up the rivers. He also took up ice fishing and would take his family out on the ice to target trout, char and landlocked salmon. After six years in Alaska, Andrew and his family then had orders to Louisiana. It was here that Andrew was able to truly target big bass on Toledo Bend. He also lived in Louisiana for almost six years.

 

He moved back to Idaho in 2017 to where he currently resides in Kuna. Andrew found a new home for tournament fishing when he joined Idaho Bassmasters. He has been with Idaho Bassmasters for three years. He is the current Secretary / Treasurer for the club and looks forward to continuing to help Idaho Bassmasters for the foreseeable future.

 

Andrew has been married to Brandie for almost 18 years. He has two children, Kaydance (16) and Karder (6). Karder’s passion for fishing is just starting and Andrew can’t wait to see the angler he will become.