Although I was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1943, fate soon intervened and after my Dad returned from the European Theater (WW II), we moved upstate to the Finger Lakes region.
I started fishing at about six years old and by age nine had started fly fishing for smallmouth on local streams. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a "fly fishing purist" then and I'm not completely one now - in fact, in my high school days I fished for anything, anyway as long as it was fishing.
Things have settled a little and for the last 35 years my passion has been flyfishing rivers and streams for trout with only an occasional foray into other methods and species.
When I got the chance to attend Penn State I took one look at the limestone streams in central PA, another look at the deer, turkey and grouse habitat and decided that if this wasn't heaven, it would be a great place to wait for heaven! Luckily I was able to make it work out and while I was distracted somewhat by earning a couple of degrees from PSU and by intervening military service, I have been on the water far more than my share should have been. Since I recently retired after twenty-six years at Penn State, my fishing hours have increased exponentially.
I have been able to fish from Alaska to Maine and many places in between during my career and every new piece of water has been an unending source of new questions, ideas, puzzles and revelations. These experiences are the grist for my mill.
I caught a huge break in my early career at Penn State when I was befriended by George Harvey and his protégé, Joe Humphreys. Joe especially taught me more than I could ever absorb and still to this day, I am amazed when l encounter a situation and suddenly a comment or technique he offered years ago immediately becomes cogent. As they say, "stuff happens" and I was very fortunate to be selected to follow Joe as "Penn State's Angling Professor" in the summer of 1988. I taught that program until my retirement from Penn State in June 1997 and I can certainly say it was one of the most rewarding assignments I have ever undertaken.