Since I was a child roaming the lakes and creeks of Springfield, Illinois, fish have had a vice grip on my mind. My youth was filled with joyful memories of catfish, bullfrogs, and mosquitoes big enough to drain a horse.

Eventually, I moved to Alameda, California, and it didn't take long to discover that all the techniques I was so proud to master in Illinois had no place in the daunting California rivers filled with gamefish I had never imagined. I quickly realized I needed new techniques to be a successful West Coast angler.

After many failures and wasted gas, I was blessed to find a teacher who introduced me to the nuances of fly fishing, reading rivers, and stewardship. At 16, I got my first job at a fly shop, where my knowledge and skill grew to meet my passion, and the reel adventure began.

My teen years resembled my childhood, except the creeks became rivers, the lakes into the ocean, mosquitoes to bears, and catfish to the mysterious steelhead. I spent years rambling through Humboldt, Siskiyou, and Shasta-Trinity counties learning from anyone willing to share information with the naive and excited kid with no waders, even in the dead of winter.

After studying Fisheries Biology at Humboldt State University, I founded Trace Tega Fly Fishing to share my passion for the natural world with others and teach how to steward the watersheds that have shaped me into the person I am today.