Hey everybody! My name is Derek Burton, and I’m 40 years old. I was born and raised right here in the Hoosier State. I’ve been married to my beautiful wife, Shannon, for 19 years, and together we have two kids—Connor, 16, and Layla, 14.
I grew up fishing, hunting, and spending time outdoors with my dad, family, and friends. Right out of high school, I joined the Army spending six years with two tours in Iraq working on Black Hawk, Chinook, Apache, and Kiowa helicopters. After leaving the Army in 2011, I spent a year in Kandahar, Afghanistan, as a maintenance technician working on the RQ-23A Tigershark UAV. I currently work as the lead technical writer for an Indianapolis-based company.
On the side, I’m the sole creative brain cell behind HoosierStateFishing, where I wade, kayak, and bank fish. I create comedic and informative fishing content, along with full-length fishing videos, for Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. I love fishing for largemouth, musky, and just about anything else that will bite—freshwater or saltwater—but I have a particular fondness for river smallies. Ultimately, I’m trying to figure out how to turn this content-creation thing into my main gig.
My favorite Invader product is the Recon Chest Holster. As a river fisherman, I do a lot of wade fishing, and being able to carry my pistol on my chest, where it’s easily accessible and out of the water, has been a game changer. I can comfortably carry with or without waders, keep it centered and accessible when I need it, and out of the way when I don’t. A close second would be the Blade-Lok, because I’m an absolute knife nerd!
Where you can find me:
Instagram: @hoosierstatefishing
YouTube: @hoosierstatefishing
Facebook: @hoosierstatefishing
