I was raised smack dab in the middle of paradise, Northern Minnesota! Ok, so it's not really paradise but close enough. Located between Grand Rapids and the small town of Hill City, I grew up loving the outdoors: Fishing, hunting, camping, and adventuring into the woods constructing pine bow huts and building homemade snares. I loved every second of it!

My passion for fishing and hunting started as soon as I was able to safely shoot an air gun and cast a fishing rod. I loved grouse hunting with my Mom after school or hopping up in the deer stand once I earned my hunters safety. Both Mom and Dad would take me hunting; they did a great job keeping me hooked! My Dad taught me his tricks and trades of deer hunting, I can't thank him enough! It has paid off multiple times!

During the later years of my childhood, our family would get together and camp at Lake Winnie for days at a time. Here I picked up the roots of my fishing knowledge from my Dad and brother, Brock. We would venture out in our 17 foot Alumacraft. I loved the sound of the 40hp Yamaha two-stroke as we skimmed across the water headed for the first fishing spot. Once fishing, my Dad, Brock, and even Mom would help me out and share what they knew about catching walleyes. However, Brock was NOT the calmest person when it came to fishing! If I missed a fish, crossed his line, or didn't get him bait, he was screaming and hollering, making a big ruckus in the boat. I recall him even snapping his fishing rod over the side of the boat and throwing it into the lake on a missed fish! Yeah that is hardcore.

That period of not liking to fish with Brock soon came to a halt as I realized fishing with him usually resulted in catching fish, not just keepers, but BIG fish! Brock and my Dad are definitely the biggest assets I had in the fishing world growing up.

Once I earned my drivers license I began to explore, mostly with Ben Olson, a good friend I had met a few years before through basketball. We fished and hunted as much as possible. Let me tell you, it was rough for a while until we figured out what we were doing. I was in high school when I stumbled across another guy who shared the love that Ben and I had. Ethan Karppinen fit in PERFECT! If I had to pick just a few things offered by these two it would be: Humor, knowledge and having fun no matter what! I learned from Ethan to be prepared for every single type of weather or situational outing. This means: Granola bars, applesauce, pop, water, poptarts, three extra jackets, long johns, rain gear, flood light you name it! We always crack a few jokes about it but hey, its one of the smartest things a guy can do.

Since neither of them had a boat available for use by a few kids, we would hook up the 14 foot Smoker Craft and take to the water. Bass, walleye, crappie, pike, you name it. We tried to catch whatever swam and most of the time we succeeded in at least landing a few different species. As we grew older and obtained more fishing knowledge, we began to fish lakes like Splithand, Pokegama, Trout, Sugar, Winnie and Hill. Our ability to catch fish increased as we gained more knowledge and spent more and more time on the water.

Whether it's trolling Salmos under a phenomenal full moon, dragging lindy rigs through the Pokegama lake cabbage, or drawing the bow back on that huge Minnesota monster buck, we have fun doing whatever it may be! And that is what Hang Loose is all about; friends and family coming together, having fun, and sharing knowledge about something we are all so passionate about. The "Crew" will continue to share this past time with anyone and everyone we guide or meet along the way, so be prepared. We are loud, electric, and go FULL THROTTLE every day in the outdoors!