SGM

Howdy, My name is Russ and I am a retired Army Sergeant Major (SGM) serving 31 1/2 years in the Military Police Corps. I grew up in Chicago and got my love for fishing from my dad. We fished mostly small lakes in the Chain of Lakes area of northern Illinois. Many fond memories of catching bluegills, crappies, bullheads and anything else that would bite. However, once the trout and salmon got introduced into Lake Michigan my dad and I found a whole new world to explorer. Since those days I have fished in 27 states and 4 countries with my travels in the Army. Although many times I could not fish due to my travels/duty, any possible time that I could fish I had a line in the water.

I'm not overly picky when it comes to places to fish or the type of fish. I love big lakes, small lakes, high alpine lakes and rivers. That said, I do have my top 5 lakes that I do most of my fishing at, Pueblo, Blue Mesa, Trinidad, John Martin and Rifle Gap. Bottom line is I just love to get out and catch fish whether it is from shore, kayak, float tube or my boat. My preferred fishing method is spinning gear, tossing tubes, other jigs, or lures. Next in line would be trolling for kokes, lakers, pike, eyes etc. I do some fly and bubble fishing but due to some serious shoulder problems flipping a fly rod is a thing of the past for me. Let us not forget that I am die hard full fledged Ice Weirdo too.

Since I joined Fish Explorer in 2009 I have learned a few things, taught a few things and met some great folks. Hope to learn some more, teach some more and meet more like minded people. Now that I am retired, my wife and I have more time to do what we love, fish, hunt and travel. Hope to see you out in the great outdoors and if you see me, my wife or our dogs Liberty and Tinkerbell stop by and say Hello.