About us
ArkAnglers Guide Service & Fly Shops
About Arkanglers
Born on the Arkansas River in 1995, ArkAnglers is a full-service premier fly fishing operation located in the heart of Colorado. With two fly shops and the region’s largest, most experienced guide service, ArkAnglers has earned its industry-wide reputation as the fly fishing experts on the Arkansas River.
Our Staff
We pride ourselves on having the largest, most knowledgeable and professional staff in the Arkansas River Valley. Each team member has their own unique story on how fly fishing has shaped their life. One thing they all have in common is a love for the sport and a passion for sharing it with our guests.
our history
Rod Patch opens the first ever retail fly fishing operation in the upper Arkansas River Valley, our flagship location the Arkansas River Fly Shop, in Salida, Colorado.
Together with Greg Felt, guide services are combined with the retail operation making ArkAnglers the first and only genuinely full-service fly fishing operation in the upper Arkansas River Valley, a distinction we still enjoy today.
Our second location opens in Buena Vista, solidifying our reputation as the fly fishing experts on the Arkansas River.
General Manager Braden Baker joins the ArkAnglers team, managing the Buena Vista location for the following five years before assuming overall operations.
Thanks in part to the diligent efforts of ArkAnglers ownership, Colorado Parks and Wildlife designates 102 miles of the Arkansas River as the longest Gold Medal fishery in Colorado.
ArkAnglers is awarded the rarely given Exemplary Guide and Outfitter Award by Colorado Trout Unlimited in recognition of our many years of work on and off the river.
Locally owned and operated, ArkAnglers remains committed to setting and elevating the industry standard for fly fishing in the Arkansas River Valley and beyond.
membership and affiliations
Phenomenal experience! This was an experience that will stay with us all for a lifetime. If you're even remotely thinking about going out with ArkAnglers, stop thinking and do it!
Matt C.
Best fly shop on the Ark hands down, if you want to catch nice fish, and get the right fly for the hatch with honest answers. Best guides in Chaffee County and the State!
Corey J.
My nephew and I spent the day with Stuart Andrews in late June. Might well have been the best experience with a guide I've ever had. My nephew is a beginner fly fisher and Stuart was a patient and excellent instructor. Stuart spent the day with my nephew and me and got us into a great number of fish. Had I not called it a day in late afternoon I think Stuart would have stayed on the river with us well into the evening. Stuart knows the Arkansas as well as anyone in the valley. We will return and book Stuart through ArkAnglers. Very professional team.
John M.
Watch a snippet of our adventures