What I Do
I am an Arkansas River specialist. Wild trout in a freestone river on a fly is what I do best. I am an expert in float fishing and excel at guiding both seasoned anglers and instructing beginners. I guide exclusively through ArkAnglers Fly Shop out of Salida and Buena Vista, Colorado.
Bio
I grew up in the Midwest but spent many of my childhood summers on the Arkansas River. My father is a fishing guide and science teacher, my mother is an artist, and as a kid, every year when school let out, we headed west and I learned to fish and run whitewater at summer camp in Buena Vista, Colorado. The year 2001 was my rookie season as a rafting guide and I continued guiding every summer while I attended undergraduate and then graduate school at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I came to guide at ArkAnglers in 2016. I now live full time in Buena Vista with my wife Cara, son Archie, and daughter Isla Mae. When I’m not fishing, I am an avid hunter and have some bird dogs that hunt the birds that provide the feathers used in most of the flies my guests use.
Guiding Philosophy
Fly fishing is hard. So, I guide with the heart of a teacher. I can’t make the cast or control the drift for you, but I can teach you how. If you already have it down, great, let’s catch a lot of fish. But if not, we can make this a learning experience as much as it is a catching experience. I understand every client is different, some want tons of instruction and some just want good conversation, beautiful views and hopefully a few fish. My first goal is to keep you safe on the water, my second is to do my best to give you the experience you are looking for, and if we accomplish both of those we’ll surely catch plenty of fish along the way.
Conservation
The real beneficiary of what I do is trout. In the United States, the majority of all funding for conservation measures comes from fishing and hunting licenses and excise taxes from the sales of firearms and ammunition. So, if I can inspire someone to take up fly fishing or teach someone to pass down the love of fly fishing to their children, then they will contribute year after year. More importantly than the funding, however, is instilling in my guests the reason for why we love trout, why they’re critical to all of us, and why anglers play the primary role in protecting them. I feel that a dedicated angler that fishes because they want to learn more about and be more connected to trout and their habitat, while taking into account conservation and ethics, is as in tune with nature as anyone. I also believe that the lynch pin for the solutions to all of our environmental problems is more people getting out of the city, deleting their social media accounts, and connecting with the earth in a truly deep and meaningful way. Without this connection, I’m afraid we will not have the dedication required to solve the problems the planet faces.
I support Trout Unlimited, Central Colorado Conservancy, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever.
