Squimpish Pro Team

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 As far back as I can remember, I loved to fish. Growing up in a small mountain town in Colorado afforded me countless opportunities to chase trout and other cold water high altitude.species. Summer vacations to grandma and grandpas house on the lake in Minnesota gave me the warm water bug. On those vacations, if I wasn't sleeping, I was probably on that dock and, when old enough, out in the boat. In high school  is when I picked up a fly rod and belly boat. The addiction to fly fishing only continued to grow as I began college but the cash supply was dropping. So out of necessity I bought a $45 beginner fly-tying kit from McGuckin Hardware and proceeded to teach myself how to tie flies. I still remember the first fish I caught on a fly and the fly. It was an averaged sized Boulder Creek brown trout on a weird white marabou streamer/nymph type fly. Since then I haven't bought a single fly.  I really enjoy tying flies of all types and learning and then hopefully perfecting new techniques as well as experimenting with different materials. I only tie flies for me to actually fish and not just to frame. I've tied flies for everywhere that I've fished including flesh flies for rainbows on the Kenai, Crazy Charlies for monster bones around Oahu, huge articulating streamers for mutant pike from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal or crawfish imitations for bruiser carp along the Front Range of Colorado.  

 I'm a Professional Fly Tyer and Freelance Fly Fishing journalist from Sweden! When i dont travel and fish with My wife or tie orders or at shows and enjoy working as an archaeologist at my day job! 

 I am an avid fisherman and outdoorsman who hails from Northern Minnesota, spending much of my free time both fly fishing and conventional fishing. I have been fly fishing and tying for over 10 years. My focus has always been warmwater fishing, since there are no trout streams in my area. These days my focus is on largemouth bass and musky, with some success with the latter. I also build my own fly and spin fishing rods. You can follow me at @redbeard.flyfishing on Instagram. 

Michael Ozkaya has been tying flies for over 20 years, living on the east end of Long Island. When he’s not chasing stripers or albies he’s tying flies commercially/privately and streaming live fly tying lessons on www.twitch.tv/blockedwizard

 Kevin was born and raised in Georgia and started fishing over 43 years ago.  He is a competitive angler, a Toccoa river guide for BigT Fly Fishing (www.bigtflyfishing.com), a European nymphing instructor and has been featured in Orvis News.  One thing about Kevin is that he is as passionate about tying as he is fishing.  He started fly tying over 10 years ago and really enjoys his time at the vise.  He is a contracted fly designer for Orvis and has been tying exclusively on a Norvise for over 8 years and swears he will never tie on anything else!  He ties at numerous Fly Fishing events throughout the year such as the Atlanta Flyfishing Show, Troutfest, etc and enjoys paying it forward and passing the art form on to others 

Born in Washington D.C. and grew up fishing rockfish and largemouth bass in small ponds and the Chesapeake’s tidal rivers.  In 2001 I entered active duty service in US Army, which is also when I started fly fishing.  Spent majority of those 12 years active duty service chasing salmon/steelhead/trout in Upstate NY and Alaska.  After exiting military service in 2013, I moved to the Boston area with my wife to start our family.  I have spent the last 5 years chasing striped bass during the night shift with a focus on targeting trophy sized fish from shore on a fly rod.  Current fly tying focus is night specific patterns which are often quite large 10-14 inches including herring, bunker, squid, and American eel patterns. 

Daniel Wells Instagram @canalflyguy 

 Steve yewchuck grew up in the Catskill region fishing the Delaware River for trout, bass, and walleye. At a young age he became addicted to the Brook trout fishing that was available in many of the pristine creeks . One of the thing he enjoyed about fly fishing was the fact he could design his own flies to tempt his prey .He has always been involved in art and has been able to incorporate it in the flies he ties for many species of fish today . 

I’m from eastern PA, I grew up as a kid fishing with conventional gear, for smallmouth, walleye, and muskie. Then a friend got me into fly fishing by taking me to a trout stream but I wanted something more than trout. I found a home in muskie and I haven’t looked back. It’s my thing, I spend time thinking of how I could do better and plan my next trip and think of what I’ll do differently this time. Being on the water is relaxing, watching your fly swim back to the boat and learning what the fish like. But then it can turn into absolute chaos having an apex predator behind your fly, then eating it and getting it to the net. It’s a rush I haven’t felt in any of the extreme sports I use to do. But I enjoy tying,  it’s honestly my favorite part of the whole experience. It’s like building a puzzle. When I do sit down to tie it’s always big streamers. Always.