Guide Bios
Jeff Croy
Years Fly Fishing: 35 Years Guiding: 7
Other Occupation/Interests: Conservation. Family, Friends.
Favorite Water: Madison River. Great variety and huge fish. Some of the best streamer fishing in America.
Favorite Species: Brown trout. They are mean.
Most Exotic Trip: Ireland for Atlantic salmon and brown trout.
Likes Most About Guiding: Teaching people and watching them succeed.
Likes Most About Fly Fishing: You are always in a beautiful place.
Jeff is the proud owner of The Reel Life fly shop. His childhood home was a stone's throw away from Big Tesuque Creek near Santa Fe, where he learned the art of reading a small stream and bow and arrow casting to spooky brown trout.
Ed Miller
Years Fly Fishing: 15 Years Guiding: 7
Other Occupation/Interests: Student, Fly-tying, Chelsea FC, My wife Anna
Favorite Water: Rio Chama from below Abiquiu to the Colorado border.
Favorite Species: Browns baby! They are immigrant survivors and get really big.
Most Exotic Trip: Bighorn, Henry's Fork, Green, and tidal waters of South Carolina near Charleston.
Likes Most About Guiding: The people, places, and fish.
Likes Most About Fly Fishing: Endless challenges, making friends forever through angling.
Ed's infectious love of fly fishing has always been a hit with our clients. He has a weakness for Rio Grande pike fishing, which he pursues with the passion of a steelheader.
Jesse Lee
Years Fly Fishing: 7 Years Guiding: 4
Other Occupations/Interests: Student, teaching & hospitality.
Favorite Water: The Conejos River in southern Colorado because it offers such variety and is located in one of the most beautiful settings.
Favorite Species: Lower Pecos cutthroats because they hit just about anything in the summer!
Most Exotic Trip: Belize and Honduras for all of the flats species.
Likes Most About Guiding: Sharing my passion with others and watching the excitement of beginners catching their first fish on the fly.
Likes Most About Fly Fishing: The places that the fish take you.
Jesse is a born teacher who is as popular with our clients as he is feared by big fish everywhere.
Toner Mitchell
Years Fly Fishing: 37 Years Guiding: 15
Other Occupation/Interests: Arborist, Writer, Wife Cullen, Son Gus, Reading
Favorite Water: Rio Grande Gorge for the solitude, McCloud River for the beauty, Yuba River for the fast running rainbows and steelhead.
Favorite Species: Wild rainbows/steelhead
Most Exotic Trip: Guiding the Illiamna Region of Alaska
Likes Most About Guiding: Fishing through the eyes, brain, and body of another person.
Likes Most About Fly Fishing: Making deep contact with nature. Everything is logical in the fish world; there's always a good reason that something turns out the way it does.
Toner has guided in Alaska, California, Utah, New Mexico, and Ohio. He and Jeff have been fishing together since early childhood, when they both had hair on their heads.
.jpg)
Scott Davis
Years Fly Fishing: 17 Years Guiding: 6
Other Occupation/Interests: Skiing, Hunting, & Fly tying
Favorite Water: The Chama, almost any stretch
Favorite Species: Brown trout. They are the toughest of the trouts.
Most Exotic Trip: Cast & Blast in my secret spot ... about 2 hours from the shop.
Likes Most About Guiding: Sharing the experience with other anglers. Even when I'm guiding, I feel like I'm fishing.
Likes Most About Fly Fishing: It exposes the essence of humanity.
Scott's enthusiasm is infectious. He can make things happen with a fly rod that are impossible for others by virtue of his will and positive attitude.
Carlos Montoya
Years Flyfishing: 26 Years Guiding: 4
Other Occupation/Interests: Executive Chef/Pastry Chef, EMT, Artist, Proud father and husband.
Favorite Water: Rio Costilla for the Rio Grande Cutthroats, the fastest strike on a dry fly; Davidson River in North Carolina; any secluded trout stream.
Favorite Species: Cutthroats because of their brilliant colors, but really, every trout is beautiful.
Most Exotic Trip: The Provo River in Utah, Henry's Fork in Idaho, and inner city fishing in a Salt Lake City dog park/
Likes Most About Guiding: My office, the people and sharing my passion for fly fishing with others.
Likes Most About Fly Fishing: The serenity. The places it takes you are the most beautiful in the world. Fly fishing is a fair sport. You have to mimic nature with your presentation, and nature will respond if all is right.
The most common client accolade for Carlos is his positive and encouraging energy. They also love his lunches.
Ben Casarez
Years Flyfishing: 20 Years Guiding: 2
Other Occupations/Interests: Rod building, Reading, Writing, and Family.
Favorite Water: Conejos River; miles and miles of public water with a variety of structure. Rio Grande Gorge for a real adventure.
Favorite Species: Rio Grande Cutthroats. Hard to find but fun to catch.
Most Exotic Trip: Slough Creek in Yellowstone for Cutts, and Chandleur Islands for reds and specks.
Likes Most About Guiding: Being outside and teaching people about my passion.
Likes Most About Flyfishing: It's so much more than just catching fish.