Early life

Karl VonDibble was a simple man with few ambitions. He grew up the youngest of eleven boys. His brothers were the greatest of outdoorsmen, able to conquer nature in every respect. But Karl was always more of a dreamer. While he always loved the outdoors, and especially fishing, he never had the natural abilities his brothers so effortlessly displayed.

As Karl grew older, his passion for fishing grew with the fiery intensity of his also quickly growing beard. When he turned 16, he attended a weigh-in at local fishing tournament and was quickly recognized as the most vocal spectator in the crowd. Every weekend he went to his local tackle shop and spent hours perusing the latest lures and chatting up old timers. He spent one weekend memorizing the names of the patterns and colors for every bait - in alphabetical order. He even once read the entire collection of Amelia Bedelia children's books to a tankful of minnows.

By the time he was 20, Karl wanted desperately to break into the fishing industry. He tried his hand at the local tournament circuit, but was soon disqualified after ignoring multiple requests to stop kissing other anglers’ fish at the weigh-ins.

Path to stardom

In 2012, he finally got his break. A new fishing start-up called Mystery Tackle Box was looking for a passionate angler to be their spokesperson. On June 29th, 2012 Karl showed up to the audition wearing a new pair of waders he had purchased the week before. (Karl didn’t actually fly fish, but he thought they looked cool). He introduced himself as “KVD” and began to recite the name of every professional bass fisherman in the country - in Pig Latin. At first, Karl’s performance alarmed and confused the folks at Mystery Tackle Box, but 2 hours into the audition it was clear that Karl’s passion could not be matched. (The previous longest audition had lasted 13 minutes).

Mystery Tackle Box offered Karl the role and Karl immediately promised to wear his waders every day for the rest of his time with the company, even though the founders repeatedly insisted that it would not be necessary.

Since starting with Mystery Tackle Box in 2012, Karl VonDibble (now known as “the Other KVD“), has come to be known as one of the most passionate, likable, and...unconventional anglers in the industry. His videos have been seen by millions and he is one of the most recognized faces in fishing.

A new vision

In June of 2018, Karl was voted into the role of CFO (Chief Fishing Officer) at Catch Co. (Mystery Tackle Box’s parent company) and launched Karl’s Bait & Tackle as a way for passionate anglers like him to discover amazing new fishing products and save money on the sport they love most. And he’s still never taken off his waders.