🎣 From the Water's Edge to the Fire's Heat: A Life in Layers
You’ve seen me with a rod in my hand. Maybe you’ve read the stories about the chase, the lures, and the monster bass. But that’s just the cover of the book.
My journey started with “The Big Bass Zone: Catch Monster Bass” (2005). It was a snapshot of passion, a young angler's record-breaking pursuit, It was about the catch.
But a life isn’t one chapter. For 34 years, I wore a different uniform. I was a Los Angeles City firefighter. The stories from that life—the chaos, the courage, the dark humor that gets you through the night—are now in my book, “ON THE HOOK: 34 Years of Laughter, Life, and Death with the LAFD.”. It’s the untold story between the sirens, where one moment you’re kneeling on a freeway as one life ends, and 24 hours later, a new one begins on the same stretch of asphalt. It’s about the family you choose in the station and the moments that chisel your soul.
These two lives converged. The same focus used to read a burning building was applied to understanding water. This led to a revolution in perspective, captured in the upcoming “Big Bass Zone’: Through the Fish’s Eyes” (2026). It’s not just an update; it’s a deeper dive into the “why”—understanding the biology and behavior of the fish.
Three books. One layered life.
The Angler (The passion)
The Firefighter (The purpose)
The Author (The perspective)
📖 A Lesson From the Lake: Don't Judge a Book—Or a Person
We do it all the time. We see the old man and don’t know he bled for a country’s freedom. We see the older woman and don’t know her hands saved countless lives in an ER. We see the quiet person and miss the teacher who shaped our future.
My books are a drop in the bucket of a full life—of mountain hunts with my dad, designing lures, running youth tournaments for teens, being a husband, a father to two amazing girls, and soon, a grandfather come July. They’re a peek behind the curtain.
The wisdom from a lifetime on the water and in service is simple: We’d get a better view of this world if we tried to see it through the eyes of others—not just the fish, but our fellow humans.
Maybe it’s time to turn off the noise. To leave the debates behind closed doors. To pick up a book that inspires you to get outside, to connect, to listen. The next time you see someone, just say hi. You might be surprised by the epic story behind their cover.
If you'd like to explore these layers for yourself, you can find all three books on Amazon:
"The Big Bass Zone: Catch Monster Bass" (2005)
"ON THE HOOK: 34 Years of Laughter, Life, and Death with the LAFD"
"Big Bass Zone: Through the Fish’s Eyes" (2026)
