Spinner Fall Guide Service — Attraction in Dutch John

Booked a week for this year, end of May/June, but due to a family wedding had to change up. Reached out to Scott, the owner, and he was kind enough to reset the timing on a fairly short notice. First day I fished with Colby Crossland Guide Extraordinaire and learned more about seams, back seams, reverse drift and mending up, down, across, inside out, all while fishing in 6000 cfs. A three fly rig is not normally my cup of tea but Colby had me fairly well locked in by the end of the day. It felt like going to school again with a great teacher. And, yeah, lots of browns & rainbows. Second day was with Charles Card on a slightly lower flow. Another Guide Extraordinaire. Fishing and learning from Charlie was like fishing with someone I’ve known for 30 years. Karma instantly. Second cast across from launch site, bingo, 23” brown. Besides catching lots of nice 18”+ fish floating with Charlie was like listening to a NatGeo history of the river, the flora and fauna involved and not to be left out Charlie’s history as an angler. Rumor has it Charlie is also a river diver for lost items as I understand it. We fished dry droppers and some three fly rigs which at times ended up like spaghetti. Charlie: “no big deal let’s keep moving.” Caught some real predators in spots where you’re supposed to catch predators. Just a great day overall. Third day my wife and I floated with Charlie for a half day. He and I spoke the day prior about what I wanted to do, specifically for my wife’s enjoyment and Charlie nailed it. We are now at the 6,000 mile mark of our yearly out west trip after leaving DJ and the Green and she still raves about Charlie’s ability to bring to life everything pertaining to why fishing is fun, why you need to protect the resource, why it’s important to learn about the reason the waters should be looked after and embraced. She actually said she’d adopt him if she were 50 years younger! Turns out Charlie has a brother that lives 35 miles from us in NC. Karma. Thanks again Scot, Colby, and...

Felt that the guides could have been a little bit better prepared for the skill and experience level of two of the three clients for the given conditions on that particular day. I made several calls to SF prior to the trip expressing my concern about that specific fact. That two clients were not experienced fly fisherman, but was assured that guides deal with that situation all the time. I didn't get the impression that the guides had any prior knowledge of who their clients were that morning when we arrived at the meeting point. They were both well aware that the weather conditions for that day would be challenging for any skill level. So we were going to be dealing with 20 to 25 MPH winds on the river with gusts even higher that day. Another factor was that one of the clients was sick. That, combined with the windy conditions didn't make for a very pleasant morning. One guide was prepared to rig a spinning rod with an indicator set up which helped ease much of the frustration with trying to cast a dry fly in windy conditions. He had a couple hookups on that set up which cheered him up eventually. Bottom line was that the combination of challenging fishing conditions and experience level of the clients mad for a slightly less satisfying first time trip down the Green that we were hoping for. That being said, under better conditions I would not hesitate to recommend either guide. Both were knowledgable and experienced fishermen. They explained the equipment, casting methods and techniques and what their fishing strategy for the day would be. They knew the river well and handled their boats superbly given the wind conditions that day.

My comments are more of a critique of that particular day. Obviously many circumstances were beyond anyones control which detracted from the overall experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the float and scenery. Absolutely...

I had never fished with a fly fishing pole, I mean rod before and was nervous when my boss booked a trip with me on the “Mighty Green River” to go do some fly fishing. My palms were sweaty as we drove to meet up with our guide early that morning. I was pleasantly surprised when a dashing fellow with a big smile stepped out to greet us. I believe his name was Colby Barrus, at any rate we were soon on the river and it was a beautiful day! Mr Barrus walked me through the basics of fly fishing and tied a lure on my pole, I mean rod, that he referred to as a dry fly. Before I knew it I saw a head of a fish come out of the water and eat it! I had never seen such a thing and was so amazed that I just watched in awe! It was amazing! I was fly fishing and it hadn’t been but 10 minutes! The time was flying by faster than I have ever experience and I must have caught 15 beautiful fishies before we stopped for lunch and I must admit the lunch was very delicious indeed. We had fresh chicken Ceaser wraps with fresh tomatoes and lettuce and chips and pistachios. Hummus and ice cold refreshing Coca Cola refreshers! Oh and Colby had a big bag of candy on hand the whole day with snickers and Kit Kat’s and all the good stuff! After lunch we went back out to the river and fished the second half of the day. By this point I felt like I could have been on the movie a river runs through it! I really had this fly throwing thing down! We caught many more fish throughout the day and it really created a friendship with my boss that will last a lifetime. I even caught more fish than him thanks to Mr Barrus and the spinner fallers! Amazing experience I will never forget and such great people that work at the spinner fall! Two thumbs...