Fly Fishing Guide Service - Meet our Guides

Click on a picture to meet the guide
Abe	Bill	Carol	Caveman	Chuck	Dan H	Dan S	Don	Greg
Jerry	Jim	Larry F	Larry S	Mark	Will	Rob	Stuart

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Abe Gaspar

Abe hails from Fort Lauderdale, FL but has spent the last twenty years fly fishing the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers. While the Arkansas is where he does most of his guiding (wade trips), his areas of specialization include large browns and rainbows on the South Platte, big rainbows on Spinney and Antero Reservoirs, and carp fishing on Elevenmile Reservoir. Abe winters in Florida where he pursues Peacock and Largemouth Bass in the Everglades and works the Bass Pro Shop in Dania.

Bill Dobson

Bill knows that flyfishing has changed his life for the better, and he loves sharing the Arkansas River and her trout. Bill moved with his family to the valley over 20 years ago and immediately knew that if he started flyfishing, it would be all he wanted to do. He bought his first rod in 1995, and life hasn't been the same since. His passion brings him to the river almost daily (even in the winter !), and he can be found somewhere between Leadville and Canon City on those days. Bill began guiding for Arkanglers in '98. He's a Rotary Club Past-President, enjoys trail running and mountain biking, and spends time in the winter hosting at Monarch and studying the Telemark turn.

Carol Neville

Carol, a native Coloradoan, came by her fishing passion early on. She fondly remembers traipsing around the mountains with her grandma and dad, fishing every lake and stream they could get to.
Carol has been a member of Colorado Women Flyfishers since its inception. She has taught several clinics on fly fishing, has authored two online interactive fly fishing courses and has been featured in several fly fishing shows and newspaper articles. Several websites, print publications and television stations have featured Carol's photography. For a decade now, Carol has applied her past music teaching and technology experience as flyfishing guide, schools instructor and webmaster for ArkAnglers, enjoying those "aha!" moments with folks on the river.
Carol's Travel and Fly Fishing Blog

Chuck Prather

Chuck Prather has been guiding wade trips in Colorado for over twenty years. While his regular haunts are on the northern front range, he guides with ArkAnglers regularly and is a valued part of our team. His emphasis on teaching makes him a frequently requested guide. Visit Chuck at www.flyfishingservicesinc.com

Dan Howard

Dan has worked full time as a float fishing guide with ArkAnglers since 2003. Bringing new people into the sport is his favorite aspect of the job. "I love to finish the day with them already planning their next trip!" Dan is at home on the oars, from the high end of the river clear down to Texas Creek.

Dan Stockton

Dan Stockton “grew up” surfing Santa Monica and Malibu, succumbed eventually to his entrepreneurial urges, and ended up in Buena Vista about 15 years ago. A committed angler and guide, he has worked with ArkAnglers for seven years and has developed a loyal following. He also teaches our introductory clinics at several area guest ranches. Fishing poses family challenges for many of us; Dan’s personal issue is that his daughter lives in Bozeman. Rather than choosing between family and fishing, he has to choose between rivers – tough duty! An unrelenting optimist, Dan concurs with Lord Tweedsmuir in his characterization of fly-fishing as “a perpetual series of occasions for hope.”

Don Puterbaugh

Don Puterbaugh has been variously called “the Dean of the Arkansas” and “the guy from the Old Testament” but he has actually only guided the Arkansas since the early 1970s. With Paul Fling (retired from ArkAnglers), he founded the Columbine School of Fly Fishing and authored several volumes on the sport, including The Basic Manual of Fly Tying and The Fly Fisherman’s Primer, both recently revised and re-released. Don is a pioneering fly tier, a student of aquatic entomology, and an astute observer of trout behavior. When not guiding wade trips for ArkAnglers, Don can often be found riverside doing research on bugs, testing new patterns, and checking on “his” fish.

Hayden Mellsop

Hayden is a transplanted New Zealander, who first came to the Salida area in 1990. He has guided extensively both in Colorado and the rivers of the central North Island of New Zealand, and has been with ArkAnglers since our founding in 1999.
In addition to guiding for ArkAnglers, Hayden is a realtor with Pinon Real Estate Group (www.home-waters.com ), specializing in recreational and investment properties. A strong conservationist, he is current board president of the Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas. He writes articles and posts videos on his own blog (www.flyfishsalida.com ), and writes a regular column for High Country Angler magazine. He lives in Salida, is married to Kym and is the proud father of two daughters.

Jerry Graves

Jer grew up in New Mexico with no trout water right at hand. However his Grandfather had the foresight to get him into fishing at an early age, instilling a passion that would lie dormant until circumstance allowed him opportunity to pursue fly-fishing on his own. Like many anglers who have faced adversity in their lives, the river proved more than a body of water for Jer, serving by turns as shelter, friend, and teacher. Long since emerged on the sunny side of the stream, Jer sums up his feelings this way: "I think most of the other guides that I work with are far more obsessed with the 'pursuit of the art' and are far better fishermen and far better guides than I am ,or will ever be. But I am convinced that fishing saved my life, my grandfather knew it would. And I guess I feel that I owe it to him to take somebody fishing."

Greg Felt

Greg's goal is to be the worst guide at ArkAnglers. "As guide service manager, if I can inspire these guys to outdo me on a daily basis, both our customers and the company will benefit." Greg has guided float-fishing and whitewater on the Arkansas since 1985. "The end is not in sight," says Greg. "I've spent my best years doing this and, at this point, I am untrainable for any other occupation." Join him on the river, or at one of the many seminars he gives over the winter.

Jim Partin

Jim grew up on a ranch east of Pueblo and spent many youthful days fishing the Arkansas River. After four years in the Army, Jim worked 30 years as a firefighter in Pueblo, retiring in 2007. An ArkAnglers guide since 1998, he has been featured in magazine articles, conducted a number of fly fishing seminars, and guided hundreds of guests on the Arkansas. When high water makes wade fishing difficult, Jim heads to Utah where he guides out of a drift boat on the Green. Emphasizing a laid-back approach to fly-fishing, Jim says "It's all about the fish, the beauty, and immersing yourself in nature while standing in a trout stream."

Larry Friedrichs

A native Coloradoan with 50 years chasing trout, Larry is not content to let a day pass without making it memorable - both for him and his guests. Seventeen years guiding multi-day trips through the Grand Canyon made him a rock-solid boater and an organized and efficient guide. Now he brings that experience to bear on our regional fisheries, guiding float and wade trips on the river and power boat trips on area reservoirs. When not guiding, hunting or horseback riding, Larry is out on the water doing research or working on new fly patterns. Facebook him at Larry Friedrichs or visit him at http://wwwfishspotter.blogspot.com .

Larry Stiefel

Captain Larry is a 40 year Colorado resident and fly fishing addict who has been guiding since the mid-1980's. At home with lakes and streams, saltwater or fresh, old salt or rookie, he can coach you on the basics, or help with the finer points. "Whether it's a 100# tarpon on the flats at Homosassa or a colorful 14" brown from the Arkansas...they're all special."
Larry joined the ArkAnglers staff in 1999 and specializes in trophy trips on the South Park reservoirs in his Action Craft flats boat as well as walk wade trips in any water you might like to fish. He spends the summer months with us and fishes the flats and blue water of the Gulf of Mexico in the winter.

Mark Richardson

Mark is a Buena Vista native who winters in the Keys and summers on the home water. A licensed captain, he spends November-March chasing sailfish, tarpon and bonefish. April through October finds him working the Arkansas, where he excels at float-fish guiding. For Mark, the Arkansas is a great teaching river. Many of his fondest memories derive from helping anglers land their first fish on a fly. "The challenge of teaching and then watching it all come together as the day goes on is truly rewarding to me."

Rob Whitman

Rob began flyfishing almost twenty five years ago and began tying his own flies shortly thereafter. Over the years he has become very interested in aquatic entomology and this has greatly benefitted his fly tying. With Arkanglers since 2005, he really looks forward to meeting new people and assisting them in maximizing their enjoyment and effectiveness as anglers. He has fished all the western states but California. However, he finds it very tough to leave the Arkansas these days to fish any other water - "We have a great fishery which only seems to get better with each year."

Stuart C. Andrews

A resident of the state since 1960, Stuart has been a flyfisher since 13 and a guide for ArkAnglers since 2004. During a fishing/guiding journey of 42 years that has included the Arkansas, Fryingpan, Roaring Fork, South Platte, Poudre, Big Thompson, and San Miguel Rivers, there has always been one constant, the high lakes of Colorado. Many summer days you can find him someplace above timberline leading guests to pristine waters holding cutthroat trout or doing "research" to ensure their success. When not on the water, Stuart can usually be found in his studio, paintbrush in hand. His internationally recognized artwork can be viewed at www.viewgallery.com or in our shops after your fishing adventure.

Will Yinger

Will Yinger has been fishing the West since the age of seven and has found success with a wide variety of species. At home waist deep in the river, on the oars, or skimming across the surface of a lake, Will brings enthusiasm and innovation to every trip. His recent fly-tying has been influenced by a baby boy on his knee - he's now as quick with a diaper as he's always been with a fly change. Visit him at epicfly.blogspot.com .

Kevin "Caveman" Potter

Caveman Potter has worked the Arkansas in a whitewater and fishing capacity since 1986, transitioning to full-time fly-fishing guiding in 2003. He winters in Isle Morada, Florida, where he guides saltwater trips, and summers in the Salida area, float fish guiding through the summer and fall. The river life has been good to Cave. In a recent interview, when asked what he likes most about guiding on the Arkansas, his response was both expansive and concise: "Yes," he said.