A little backstory...

Every child growing up in Hawai'i has been surrounded by the ocean, and what better way to pass the time than to learn to fish. I remember going with my parents to the beach, baiting up the hook, and fighting a Kūpīpī or Po‘opa‘a as it took the tip of my bamboo pole underwater - I was “hooked!” I thought that's all there was to fishing, but it was just the tip...

Elementary school afternoons were spent with my grandparents. I found out that my family worked on the Aku boats and remember listening to their stories of how hard it was to fish for a living. At the time, I wasn’t interested in anything but “aku-boating” Oama. They encouraged this new-found hobby and as the fish got larger, the bamboo changed to graphite.

Towards the end of high school, whipping became my preferred method to fish. I would go with Sensei Jay on the weekends to whip the bubble and fly while he fly-fished. I eventually found my way down to Nervous Water Hawaii on his recommendation to check out their specialty flies. I was immediately drawn to Dean-o's streamers and after successfully fishing them, I attempted to make my own. Saved up enough to get a vise, hooks, material, and go down this rabbit hole - I would spend more hours on the vise than fishing. My interesting designs all looked like crap. I’d bring them to Sean at the shop so he could get a good laugh, then he'd point me in the right direction. Over time, the dust settled on the vise and fishing was on the back burner.

Years later, my grandpa had passed but my grandma was aging and needed a full-time caretaker. In 2013, I decided to quit my valet job to support her 24/7. Fishing is a great getaway and since I was home all the time, I decided to dust off the vise and let the creative juices flow. Fortunately, I already had Miranda in my life and she would come home early from work to relieve me for an hour to test the creations.

After some practice, they were starting to look really good but I was always reminded of that age old quote: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” As the universe of flies unfolded, those months of testing, whitewash, and chest-soaked days motivated me to make Hawaii’s bait patterns uniquely mine.

The more flies I tied and fished, the “how” became irrelevant and the questions of “why” became the ultimate goals to answer. After some tweaking, I’d call Cody and we took the new, slicker creations to get tested. We fished every week for whatever amount of time we could get away until I was confident to know it was going to be AUTOMATIC. It definitely paid off because within a few months we were very successful and this hobby of fly tying and whipping with the bubble became much more alluring. Fishing has always been an easy conversation in my family so it felt good to bring home the fresh catch for someone who raised me and could no longer cook my favorite meals.

After seeing the results, my friends and family encouraged me to share my flies with the fishing community and turn this hobby into a craft. "ATTRACTING THE ATTACK," Automatic Flies LLC was born in August of 2015 in the heart of Honolulu, Hawai’i.

In honor of my family's legacy, I remember all of the “whys” along the way that made something so small have such a big impact on my life and the community. All flies are tied by me with uniformity and detail to deliver the same outcome I sought for my loved ones, and I aim to deliver those same experiences to you. Over the years, the catch and simple fishing conversations have allowed me to form connections with my amazing Pro Staff and other solid fishermen who’ve turned into close friends.

There have been many ups and downs in an everchanging industry I figure out day by day, but to each and every one of you who have been along for the ride and continuously #AttractTheAttack, MAHALO!