"Before joining the National Professional Fishing League I had strictly fished crappie tournaments with my father for 25 years. That changed last year due to his decision to retire. His retirement, while bittersweet, is the impetus I need to chase my bass fishing dream.  As a young angler my "first love" was bass fishing.  In fact, that is the original path I was taking...until my father asked me to fish a crappie tournament with him.  My dad and I had early success and ended up winning our first tournament that same year....and I was "hooked."  I fell in love with chasing crappie with my father in the boat beside me. There aren't many sports that  allow you to compete side by side with your Dad...and I will never regret making the decision to move from the bass side over to tournament crappie fishing."