Rob was born and raised in Virginia. He grew up in an environment of hunting and fishing from a very young age. In his early fly-fishing years Rob spent time from the age of 9 chasing Bass and Bluegill in farm ponds throughout the Virginia countryside. When Rob got to high school, Team Sports like golf, Basketball and Baseball became his passion. His dedication to high school sports did not leave much time for fishing. After college Rob started his career in the Golf business and his passion for fishing continued to take a back seat. He met his wife Jodi in Savannah Georgia and soon after the two made a break for the West and ended up in the mountain town of South Lake Tahoe. Rob continued his career in the Golf business as a teaching Pro at famous Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. In the winters Rob worked as a retail manager for Heavenly Ski Resort. Soon after the move Rob found his love for fishing again chasing Trout in mountain streams and lakes around the Tahoe Basin. In 1998 Rob met Chris Evison who worked part time at the golf course and spent all of his free time fly fishing. It did not take long for Rob to latch on to Chris and replace most of his free time on the water with his new BFF Chris.

 In October of 1999 Rob married his soulmate Jodi Bickerman and the two have been married for over 20 years. In March of 2000 while fishing with Chris on the Yuba River in California, Rob had a freak accident wading and shattered his ankle and left leg. The accident required a long risky surgery and 11 screws and a metal plate were required to keep Rob’s foot intact. After months of Rehab and physical therapy Rob was able to walk again. The accident also cost Rob his job in the summer of 2000 at Edgewood due to the lengthy rehab process. Rob spent the latter half of the summer learning to walk again and it was not long until the learning part had to be done near some type of water with fish in it. That fall after a month or so hanging out with his new Friend Andy Burk who managed the original Reno Fly Shop, did Rob find an opportunity to go to work in the fly-fishing business. The Reno Fly Shop and Dave Stanley, now Rob’s employer, soon found out what a valuable employee and a pain in the ass they had found. Rob spent the next ten years working and managing the retail operation and growing what would become the area’s largest fly-fishing guide service. The biggest key to the development of the guide service came in late 2001 when Rob became the first Non-Tribal fly-fishing guide at now world renown Pyramid Lake (more on that in our Pyramid Lake Story). As home to the World’s largest cutthroat trout, Pyramid really only had a local following of fishermen from Nevada and California. The potential here was endless. The guide service and the notoriety of the lake grew through fly fishing shows, fishing reports, weekly newsletters and eventually a new website www.pyramidlakeflyfishing.com, long before social media took over. Now Rob was basically working two jobs, managing the fly shop and guiding Pyramid Lake.