Capt. Mike loves the James River. If he's not leading a Bald Egle Tour, he's probably wade fishing the James for trout or smallmouth bass somewhere on the James.

In 1997 he worked with the Department of Wildlife Resources as a volunteer Angling Instructor which lead into his starting the James River Fishing School in early 2001. He began teaching families to fish, catching sunfish, bass and catfish from his raft. In late 2001 he received his U.S. Coast Guard Captain's License and began charter fishing for blue catfish and still takes some of his clients of 25 plus years catfishing in the fall and winter.

In 2007, his business began to shift towards a wildlife based eco tour business and by 2009 he changed achieved this goal and changed the business name to Discover the James. Today, Capt. Mike's business is nearly all bald eagle tours where one can also see osprey, great blue heron, Atlantic sturgeon and so many other species located within the river's ecosystem.