Pro Staff

I have been involved in fly fishing since 1972 when I started tying flies professionally. From there I went to work for Powell Rod Company in 1975. In 1977 I started guiding for Al Troth, and in 1980, my wife, Teresa, and I opened Frontier Anglers in Dillon, MT. Recently I have helped serve, by invitation, to help fight oil drilling as a spokesman for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership in Southwest Montana.

I have been guiding the rivers of Western Montana for over 10 years. When i am not on the water you can find me chasing the critters of my home state or on the flats in search of tarpon or permit.

"My father taught me to tie flies and fish at 7 years old, fishing bass ponds and small streams throughout the Midwest. When I was 16, we traveled to Montana and for 3 weeks we camped in a pop-up, fishing the entire time. In 1996 I moved to Wolf Creek on the Missouri River, then on to West Yellowstone a few seasons later. For the past 15 years I have called Montana home and choose to guide the Madison, Missouri, Hebgen Lake and all waters of Yellowstone National Park."

I grew up fly fishing in the Catskill Mountains and fishing for stripers and blues from Cape Cod to Long Island. I have been involved in the fishing industry since the early 1990's. From 1995 to 2008 I owned Breckenridge Outfitters in Colorado, which was and still is an R. L. Winston dealer.

"I grew up in Bozeman and Great Falls, MT and learned to fly fish at the age of 6 on the small streams around Lincoln, MT. After many failed attempts to successfully hook and keep a live grasshopper on a bare hook, my brother and I made the discovery of a lifetime: a fake grasshopper fly. Thus my passion for fly fishing was sparked. After guiding for area outfitters for four years, my wife, Sarah, and I started Tight Line Adventures in 2009, and have a strong appreciation for how truly blessed we are to live and recreate in such a beautiful state. Keeping and preserving Montana's rich heritage is something I am very passionate about, and I bring that enthusiasm to my work as a fly fishing outfitter and guide."

Ryan Barba is Co-owner of the Sunrise Fly Shop, which is located on the banks of the Big Hole River in Southwest Montana. Ryan has been a guide/outfitter for over 8 years. During the season you will find Ryan guiding on the Big Hole and Beaverhead Rivers or giving advise and fishing techniques to customers at his fly shop.

My passion for fishing started around age four. I grew up in the salt water in Southern Alabama and continue to fish every moment I can.

I learned to flyfish on the "holy waters" of the Au Sable River in my late teens with a cheap fly rod duct-taped to my broken wrist. In 2000, I found myself working in a fly shop in California, a certified casting instructor, and well on my way to guiding. A couple years later, back in my home state of Michigan, I did just that on the Muskegon River hunting trout and steelhead. The call of the blue ribbon rivers in Montana was too strong, so here I am guiding for The Bozeman Angler in the state I now call home.

I have been an outfitter and guide in Montana for over 12 years. I am the owner of Montana Fishing Outfitters, a respected guide service to most of Montana's rivers and streams. I am the President of the Board of Directors for the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana (FOAM). I am also an active member of TU, FFF, and local, grass roots fly fishing organizations. I am also on the pro staff for Clacka Craft Drift boats. I am the author of several fly fishing books, including Montana On the Fly, Secrets Under the Big Sky, The Shore Lunch Cookbook, and several others. I am most often spotted floating down a river with two labs, my wife Brandy, and hoping for a rising trout.

I have been a fishing guide and outfitter for the past 17 years. I am now the co-owner of The River's Edge Fly Shop in Bozeman, MT. I am also on the board of the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana (FOAM)

"I was born and raised in Sheridan Montana on the Ruby River. I have been a guide/outfitter in Montana, Idaho, and Yellowstone National Park for the past 16 years. I have been co owner and operator of Patagonia River Guides in Esquel, Argentina for the past 9 years."

Craig Mathews, former police chief of West Yellowstone, Mt, and Fly Rod and Reel's Angler of the Year in 2005, is founder and owner of Blue Ribbon Flies and The Yellowstone Park Company, both in West Yellowstone, Mt. In 2001, with Yvon Chouinard, owner of Patagonia Inc, .he founded the 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that contribute at least 1 percent of their annual revenues to groups on a list of researched and approved environmental organizations. This organization has over 1600 business members and has funded over $60 million in conservation and environmental programs. He has fished and studied the Golden Triangle for forty years. He is the author and co-author of 6 important fly fishing books: Western Fly-Fishing Strategies, Yellowstone Fly-Fishing Guide, Fishing Yellowstone Hatches, Fly Patterns of Yellowstone, Fly Fishing the Madison River, and Vol 2 of Fly Patterns of Yellowstone. He has narrated and produced four Telly Award winning DVDs on fly fishing; Fly Fishing Yellowstone Hatches, Fly Tying Yellowstone Hatches and Bone Fishing the Flats. His latest DVD, Fly Fishing the Madison River, was released in May, 2007. Craig, and his wife Jackie's, Blue Ribbon Flies, has been awarded many conservation and environmental awards for helping preserve, protect and enhance western trout waters for future generations. Awards like the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's Business Award, The Protector of Yellowstone Award from Yellowstone National Park, Trout Unlimited, The Madison River Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy's business awards for Blue Ribbon Flies conservation work, The State of Montana award for their work to preserve The $3.00 Bridge area along the Madison River, and The Federation of Fly Fishers Conservation and Environmental Award for Blue Ribbon Flies work in the Yellowstone area, and many other honors.

"I consider myself extremely lucky to have been born and raised in a fly fishing family in Montana. Since my grandfather and father were both guides before me and my Mom owned a fly shop on the Big Hole, becoming a guide and good fisherman was natural--it didn't hurt growing up nine miles from Winston Rod either! Apart from guiding in Montana for over fifteen years, I have also been one of the luckiest guys in the industry and have guided abroad in Mongolia, Andros Island in the Bahamas, Chile, and Argentina. My partner, Travis Smith (who is also a Winston Rod Pro Staffer) and I own Patagonia River Guides in Argentina where we have been leading incredible fly fishing trips for the past ten years and where I'm currently enjoying passing on my love of fly fishing to my two children, Julia and Ryan."

I currently own a fly shop in Emigrant, MT called Anglers West. I have been a fishing outfitter throughout Southwest Montana since 1999 and a professional guide since 1990.

I have been an employee at the Madison River Fishing Company in Ennis, MT for 18 plus years, and the retail manager for 14 plus years. I have been a guide in Southwest Montana for 15 years averaging 45-60 days a year. I have attended Fly Fishing Retail show for the past 8 years and have volunteered time to assist the Madison River foundation in several capacities.

I grew up fly fishing in Southwest Montana. From 1998-1999 I was a guide at the Crystal Creek Lodge in Dillingham, Alaska. I continued at the same lodge as Head Guide from 2000-2001. Since 2002, I have been a guide at The River's Edge in Bozeman, MT.

"I have been fly fishing for 27 years and work as a full time guide for the Bighorn Trout Shop in Fort Smith, MT. I am a board member of the Bighorn River Alliance and member of the Magic City Fly Fishers TU Chapter. My favorite waters are the Henry's Fork and the Bighorn River. When not trout hunting, I am in pursuit of Huns and Sharptails with our 3 Britts on Montana's high plains."

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"This will be my twelfth season as a Montana guide and outfitter. Prior to that I was product manager designing fishing vests and accessories. My favorite rod is the 8'6" 5wt BIIIx. It's the perfect combo of power, feel and easy fishing. Favorite fishing moment: the first cup of coffee at the campfire, next to the river, knowing an entire day of fishing and laughter lies ahead."

Alex was raised in San Martin de Los Andes, Argentina. He caught his first fish on a fly rod at age 9 and never looked back. In high school Alex would take tourists and friends fishing just for fun, but in 2000 he became a professional guide. Ten years after working for area outfitters, Alex decided to partner with Patagonia River Guides and run their new operation in San Martin.

I have been in the guide business for 16 years on the North Fork and Middle Fork of the Flathead River as well as multi-day wilderness fishing trips in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

I been fishing seriously for the past 17 years. I have been guiding for the past five years with Glacier Anglers in West Glacier, MT including day trips, muti-day trips, fly-in and horse pack trips on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

I have been fly fishing the waters of Montana since the early 1960's when I came west from Niagara Falls to finish my degree in wildlife management at the University or Montana in Missoula, MT. My working career was spent in Southern California teaching high school biology. I have been a fishing guide on the Madison River for 30 years. I now reside full time in Ennis, MT.