Dakota grew up fishing for trout and bass in Connecticut and the pursuit of the next fish took him into some gorgeous wild places that he simply couldn’t stay away from. Dakota regularly took trips to the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers to chase large trout on dry flies and streamers. Fishing wasn’t always about catching, but rather the joy of watching the food chain unfurl. It wasn’t about catching a hundred fish on a nymph pattern, but instead the fun came from hooking a fish on a large Hopper fly or an 8″ streamer.

He quickly became a regular in the local fly shop and began tying flies to match his preference of fishing. Being self-taught Dakota developed an interesting view when tying flies; to create bugs the fish hadn’t seen before. Dakota was fortunate enough to attend a boarding school in the Berkshire Mountains and he quickly became involved in the outdoor program and worked as the fly fishing club’s president. Realizing a need for conservation and environmental protection Dakota became involved with Trout Unlimited projects for the Nutmeg chapter and also as part of HVA’s (Housatonic Valley Association) stream culvert team.

When he was 10, Dakota caught his first Striped Bass off Greenwich, CT. The challenge and true intensity of saltwater fishing was something that he instantly fell in love with. Living in Stamford, CT put Dakota within a short drive of Long Island Sound. On weekends he spent most of his time exploring the hidden flats, creeks, and estuaries looking for Striped Bass and Bluefish. The saltwater coastline became a second home for Dakota. He also began exploring outside the country. His pursuit took him to Mexico, the Bahamas, and Belize, where he chased Tarpon and Snook in the backcountry creeks, and Permit and Bonefish on the flats.

Dakota has developed a strong passion in writing and photography to compliment his passion in fly fishing. He has written numerous magazine articles and has had many of his images published. Dakota will continue his writing in college at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

In 2009, Dakota began running fly fishing trips all over Long Island Sound and southern New England from his 18′ Egret Flats Skiff. Sight fishing to Striped Bass has become an obsession for Dakota and on most bright sunny days in mid summer you’ll find Dakota somewhere in Rhode Island or Cape Cod looking for Stripers in shallow water.

Fly Fishing is a way of life for Dakota and an outlet to challenge mother nature while gaining a much needed sense of conservation.