Spring 2018

Q) How (and what age) did you get started in woodworking?
I grew up in a house with a wood shop. My father has been a
woodworker longer than I’ve been alive so I was always around tools
and equipment, stacks of wood, and the smell of stain and lacquer. It
was in my early teens when I truly started woodworking and since that
time I’ve built everything from a rubber band pistol to a hand shaped
Sam Maloof rocking chair.
Q) How about fly fishing, when did that bug kick in?
From Canada originally, I moved to Montana in 2001 and with a
degree in Biology and Chemistry worked as a wildlife technician. From
the moment the ice melted I was fishing the streams and rivers and it
wasn’t long before I began fly fishing. I’ve never regretted the decision.
Fly fishing from a wooden drift boat is the only activity where I am
completely relaxed and rejuvenated at the end of the day.
Q) How did you get into making custom drift boats?
I was searching for a drift boat that met my needs and quickly became
frustrated in the lack of personalized options. Given my woodworking
experience I decided to build my own drift boat and that was the
beginning of a passion. I did a lot of online research, bought some
generic plans, and started my build.
It wasn’t long before I had compiled a list of all the changes that
would make the boat a more appropriate fit for me and, as it turns out,
for others as well. I had a great time completing the build and realized
that this was a career I could fully embrace. There are many challenges
in “getting it right” and I’m constantly thinking of ways to improve
drift boat designs but these are reasons why it’s such a rewarding
vocation.
MONTANA FLYFISHING