Terry Gunn

Born and raised on an Oklahoma farm, Terry was always fishing in one of the local creeks, rivers or ponds. In the 1960s, Terry’s grandfather built a cabin in Taylor Park, Colorado and Terry spent his early years walking the high mountain streams watching his fly fishing mentor cast a Montague cane fly rod to rising fish. Every summer Terry still walks the same streams casting the same rod followed by his son, Troy.

Terry is co-owner and founder of Lees Ferry Anglers and Cliff Dwellers Lodge. Terry has been a full-time fishing guide since 1983 and is an internationally recognized fly fishing expert, author, photographer, and speaker. In 1986, he co-founded Crystal Creek Lodge, considered by many to be one of Alaska’s finest fly-out fishing lodges. He is a consultant to several leading manufactures of fly fishing equipment and fishing lodges. He has held or holds 10 IGFA world records, all on fly rod for both fresh and saltwater.

Terry’s wildlife and fly fishing photographs have appeared in most all of the outdoor magazines as well as books, journals, newspapers, calendars, and brochures. He is a recognized author and has published many technical as well as destination fly fishing articles for several magazines.

Terry and his wife Wendy are the co-hosts of Fly Fish Television Magazine, an educational fly fishing show that has aired on Fox Sports National and International, and the Outdoor Channel. Terry was the photography host for the television series, America’s Outdoor Journal. In addition, he has appeared on scores of other fly fishing shows including In Search of Fly Waters, Fly Fishing the World, Fly Fishing America and Fly Fishing Video Magazine.

He and Wendy have authored two best-selling fly fishing titles, 50 Best Tailwaters to Fly Fish and 25 Best National Parks to Fly Fish, which features some of the most notable names and destinations in fly fishing. In addition, they are principals in Stonefly Press, the publisher of 50 Best Tailwaters and numerous other fly fishing titles.

For Terry, guiding is all about people. Whether it’s seeing someone click with their cast for the first time, gazing up at the vast canyon walls, or catching their first fish, it makes everything he does more than worthwhile.

Skip Dixon

The youngest of five siblings, Skip Dixon has been fishing since he could walk and talk. Born and raised in Manassas, Va., with what he calls a “water-oriented family,” Skip joined the Marine Corps where he served in security forces.

Skip has been guiding at Lees Ferry since 1999, also and avid saltwater and accomplished bass angler.

Besides fishing, Skip has a worked for several years in the fishing retail business. He spent the summer of 2003 guiding in Alaska as a fly-out guide specializing in sight casting for trout. He has been featured in several magazines and is acknowledged for developing the “tease and switch” technique for fly fishing Lake Powell striped bass.

Skip loves to teach people the finer art of fly fishing. He feels that watching people develop their skills is the most rewarding aspect of his job. Skip has appeared on Fly Fish TV, filmed at Less Ferry with Terry and Wendy Gunn. Skip has also now been selected to represent Simms as a guide ambassador, hand-picked as one of the top guides in his field.

Natalie Jensen

Natalie’s passion for fishing was born while spending summers with her grandparents in the mountains of northeastern Utah. Her dream to become a guide began when she got a job at the fly shop here at Lees Ferry in 1995.

Inspired by co-owner Wendy Gunn, Natalie jumped into a pair of waders and picked up the fly rod. Her journey to guiding began as she continued to work in the fly fishing industry with the Gunns and their dedicated guides. She was later hired on as a guide here at Lees Ferry in 2006.

Natalie has a pure love for the nature of it all; tying, casting, gear, the flies, the water, the sun, and the fish, of course. She has a strong desire for helping guests and fishers with the art of fly fishing at Lees Ferry.

Tyson Warren

A native of Flagstaff, Ariz., Tyson has been fishing the waters of northern Arizona and the Four Corner states for most of his life. Fishing and camping with his dad nearly every available weekend gave him a deep passion for the sport.

Tyson is a 30-year Air Force veteran, and always wanted to guide since his retirement. His exploits have sent him all over the world and provided an opportunity to fish on several different continents while serving his country.

Tyson is back to guiding year-round at Lees Ferry. His love of fly fishing is contagious and his customers return year after year to fish with Tyson for a reason…they love his style!

Kevin Campbell

Born and raised in Tucson, Ariz., Kevin grew up with a love for the outdoors, gems and minerals, nature and fishing. He continued his passion for fishing by joining a local bass club and later the Tucson chapter of Trout Unlimited. Through trips with his mentors, he fished many western trout waters including Lees Ferry. Kevin has spent over 2 decades guiding at Lees Ferry and started countless novices on the path to a lifelong pursuit of fly fishing.

He looks at fly fishing as an art form and truly enjoys sharing his art with his clients. Kevin loves the artistry of the cast and presentation, and has fished in many western states while chasing trout with the fly rod as well as many saltwater fly fishing destinations around North America.

An accomplished photographer, Kevin spends much of his free time chasing the light, Nikon in hand. For Kevin, Lees Ferry is a unique and remarkably beautiful place to not only fish but to experience. He has filmed 3 episodes of Jarrett Edwards Outdoors at Lees Ferry airing on World Fishing Network and Sportsman Channel. Kevin has 2 beautiful daughters born and raised in our beautiful northern AZ. Kevin enjoys the lasting relationships with clients as they chase beautiful rainbow trout in Glen Canyon.

Scott Keller

Scott Keller’s fly-fishing history ranges from the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park – where he caught his first fish on a fly as a child – to living in the Florida Keys to guiding, Argentina, Enchanted Lake Lodge in Alaska, the Ponoi in Russia, Michigan, Mongolia, the Seychelles and Silver Creek in Idaho.  Impressive?  Wait until you meet him!

Along the way, Scott set two IGFA World Records and proudly notes that a guiding client caught the biggest brown trout on a flyrod ever recorded.

Scott is a lifelong fly-fisher, expert boat handler, great story-teller, consummate guide and proud father of three daughters.   He is passionate about the remarkable Colorado River and Lees Ferry’s year-around fishery, its ecology and beauty.

With the grin of a well-seasoned angler, Scott confided, “As a lifelong fly-fishing guide, I have met so many fun and interesting people.  Now, I’m looking forward to meeting many more and sharing with them the important things that life has to offer at Lees Ferry.”

Chris Wilson

Growing up in Flagstaff Arizona, Chris started fishing with his brothers as a kid for every species they could find and quickly discovered the art of fly fishing. As a self taught fly fisherman, Chris learned to fly fish on small spring creeks sight casting dry flys for spooky Brown Trout. He then spent the next 10 years trying to master the sport in pursuit of Trout, Bass and Pike, fishing the norther Arizona and four corners region including Lees Ferry. Fly Fishing is as much of an art to him as it is a sport. He loves to help people learn all aspects of the sport from fly casting to reading water. Enjoys working with beginners to experienced fisherman, focusing on helping them to learn something new and exciting. “Chris’s youthful energy and enthusiasm for fly fishing is contagious to his customers and the other guides.” Says Terry Gunn. “Spend the day with Chris and you will become a regular customer.” He lives in marble canyon and spends his free time on the river with his dog Tux and traveling to fish in new places.

Jimmy Alvarez

Pausing for a few minutes during lunch or on a coffee break, there are a number of subjects you can discuss with Jimmy Alvarez: insect hatches, various Lees Ferry fly patterns that imitate those insects, his boyhood rise through the ranks to become an Eagle Scout, rock climbing, or the teachings of Aristotle.

Jimmy has a degree in philosophy from the University of Kansas and is a treat to be with – and chat with – for a day or weekend on the river.

Beginning in fifth grade, perhaps with a Huck Finn complex, he grew to love the outdoors more and more. He and his buddies began to experiment with rock climbing and fishing in Arkansas. They floated and fished the White and Buffalo rivers, which gave them an understanding of the potential for so many aspects of outdoor adventure to be had. He also fished the local lakes and bass-filled ponds on friends’ farms. Later, he would backpack and fish the Bridger National Forest above Pingora Peak in Wyoming. He’d regularly backpack and fish at the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch outside Cimarron, New Mexico along with fly fishing near Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Ask Jimmy about his adventures with a rubber cottonmouth snake from K-Mart and the havoc it raised outside Tahlequah, Oklahoma along the Barren Fork, a tributary of the Illinois River. The story is good for a great laugh.

Following university graduation in Kansas, Alvarez moved to Flagstaff for his pursuit of rock climbing. Along the way, he fell passionately in love with fly fishing. He was soon exploring the Oak Creek in Oak Creek Canyon, the East Fork of Clear Creek, and of course the beautiful Colorado River here at Lees Ferry. He began tying his own flies and even constructing his own rods. He became, as we say in the game, “hooked.”

That was 20+ years ago. Today, he is both a consummate professional guide and fishing companion with his own personal remembrances of fishing these waters: “I believe my most beloved memory fly fishing on the Colorado River at Lees Ferry is the mid-summer cicada hatch. There is something about top water takes that I really enjoy,” he said. Don’t we all!

Shane Spravzoff

Born in Idaho Falls and reared in Bozeman, Shane Spravzoff learned to fish with his father and grandfather. He learned his lessons well and comes to us with an angling history that includes chasing giant bluefin tuna off the coast of Nova Scotia and blue marlin off Venezuela. He took 8th place out of 255 teams in the Offshore World Championship in Costa Rica; and First Place in a recent San Carlos Dorado Derby.

From Bozeman, his dad’s job subsequently took him to Flagstaff and it was from there that he caught the Lees Ferry trout passion about 30 years ago. As Shane grew older – and hopefully wiser – a day on the river changed him from just trying to catch as many fish as possible, to enjoying the day and trying to soak in the beauty of the canyon and river. He learned to take more time to pause and enjoy the time spent with family friends. He makes every effort to impart those emotions to his guests.

Shane continues to live in Flagstaff where he serves his community as a fireman … his schedule allows him to guide on the river a few days a week plus vacation time. It’s a perfect melding of community service and leisure time recreation.

Shane summed up his emotional attachment to the Colorado River by concluding, “I love to teach beginners to fly fish and I enjoy sharing my love for the sport. I intend to be an ambassador of our sport and a great steward of the waters at Lees Ferry.”