Well, the fishing life/love all started in my young life at age around 6 with my dad who was an avid trout fisherman. I grew up loving trout fishing. My dad loved fishing for trout at Montauk State Park, Bennett Springs State Park and most of all at Lake Taneycomo, (all in Missouri). Salmon eggs and dough type baits was my dad’s preferred fishing style, but not mine. I mean I did at first but quickly became attracted to catching fish on artificial fly’s and jigs. The attraction to fool a fish with my artificial lure and the skill was so rewarding. I became obsessed and wanted to master it. I began pouring/making my own maribou jig lures at age 7. Well as you can tell already, it was a sport and challenge to me from an early age. I then got introduced to bass fishing bug as I began regularly fishing for them on my grandparent’s community lake that they lived on when I was around 8 years old. I quickly got the bug for catching those largemouth bass. I was bitten by this passion as well and now I and wanted to learn all about them! I studied them in magazines and experimented unique ways to catch them with the basic equipment I had then. I even made my own topo map of that community lake at age 8 using basic submersion tools, (no graphs used as this was around 1975 and I was a kid in a john boat).

As I grew older and was growing up my passion for fishing was my main interest that consumed me, but I also had interest in cars as my dad was a used car dealer. I got into muscle cars as well and restored my first 1969 Chevelle at 16 years old.

When I became 16 and got my driver’s license it was amazing, because I could now drive to my local river and ponds myself! What freedom! During career day at in High School CIRCA 1983 I went as Bill Dance! This is totally true! 😊. When not in school, tinkering on my Chevelle or working at my dad’s car lot I was driving all over fishing all the time. I even spent my graduation day night bass fishing the grandparent’s lake all night!

By the time I graduated high school in 1985 I was an extremely avid and diverse angler. I expanded my bass fishing skills from small lakes and streams to the big lakes on Missouri’s Table Rock Lake and then on Mark Twain Lake.  I quickly adapted to this type of bigger water bass angling. I have always been, and still am, extremely competitive. I enjoyed the effort put in to learn every day and the hard work to implement it. This desire got me into tournaments right away in 1987. I performed very well and had a great connection with sponsors, other anglers and people. I won quite a few tourneys, placed high in many others. The success and tournaments were exactly what I wanted and focused on then from 1987 till around 1999. I had all the support from finances and my wife to go Professional then, but I didn’t. The main reason was that back then the act of bass fishing tourneys for a living was not as lucrative as it has become over the years. There was no social media or YouTube either. I remember Pro Joe Thomas saying what the average year earnings were back then and it was not a comfortable income to me. Plus, I was not looking forward to all the travel required as a Pro then. Remember at this time in life I was young with lots of desires and plans which required much more income and me being closer to home regularly.

Fast forward after many years of recreational fishing, on a serious level still, but not much in the tourney arena, the desire to return to fulltime angling is back and a reality now! I have started multiple businesses and have established/polished many skills to help me grow my fishing business and brand. The passion is as strong as ever! It’s time to continue this journey!

Fishing fulltime requires lots of hard work and dedication and I love putting in all the efforts!

Some Fun Troy Tibits:

• Has a passion for health and physical fitness.

• Favorite music is Joe Bonamassa Blues and Jazz, (also enjoy bluegrass)

• Enjoys mountain biking wooded trails when not fishing.

• Favorite food is peanut butter!

• Have one of my restored 1969 Chevelle’s from high school still.

• Collects pinball machines, vintage Fisher Price Little People toys, muscle bicycles and other cool stuff.

• Dislikes bacon, yes, Totally True

• Once went to “Your Hero Day” at school dressed as fishing personality Bill Dance

• Favorite lake is Missouri’s Table Rock Lake

• Favorite fishing technique is Finesse style.

• Likes horror movies.