Haleigh grew up in Northern Virginia, targeting largemouth bass on the tidal Potomac. She also has family in southern Alabama, where she visits frequently in the summers, targeting redfish and speckled trout. She spent most of her childhood fishing in these two areas, but in 2014 Haleigh moved to Farmville, Virginia when she got accepted to Longwood University. This is where her fishing career really took off. With several years of fishing experience behind her, she was confident in her abilities and bought her first wilderness systems kayak. As she continued to pursue her undergraduate degree, she also started to fish and explore the various lakes located in Farmville.
Haleigh has always been extremely passionate about fishing and although she learned a lot from her father, while she was away at college she began to look for other ways to expand her knowledge. One of the ways she did this was watching various fishing videos from her favorite anglers on YouTube and Instagram. Having some basic knowledge on videoing and Go Pros at her disposal, Haleigh got interested in filming her fishing trips. It began as a fun hobby to document her catches, but her videos gained popularity quickly. This sudden rise in attention and support led her to enter her videos into competitive tournaments.
After placing well in a couple videoing contests, she shifted gears and became interested in the Kayak Bass Fishing tournaments since Farmville contains some of the best bass lakes in the state. She placed third in her very first tournament, which gained her a lot of respect and notoriety in the field. She hopes to continue to compete and place highly in tournaments like this. Fishing is more than a way to spend free time for Haleigh, it is a passion and a way of life. As a female angler, she has run into several different obstacles, but she looks at them as an opportunity to grow. Which is exactly what she has been doing as she balances being a student and serious angler. She hopes to pave the way by inspiring other female anglers to get involved in the competitive side of fishing.
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