I owe this crazy fish passion of mine to my father. From an early age my dad had me on the water learning how to catch whatever creatures were swimming below us. We always had rods in the car ready to go rigged with red and white bobbers, rainbow power bait, or black panther martins. See growing up in San Diego as a young kid there were not a lot of fly fishing options around. So my dad taught me how to catch fresh and saltwater fish using conventional casting rods. When I was twelve my dad said we should try to be like “Brad Pitt” and check out some fly fishing. I was hooked from the very first moment of casting that hopper onto the bank and watching a cutthroat slowly rise from the depths to slurp in my fly. From that moment on I became a fly fisherman and I stored my red and white bobber in the back of some old Plano tackle box to start collecting years of dust.

UC Davis brought me to Northern California in 2001. I thought I had made a responsible decision, giving up the prestigious fly fishing of the Universities of Montana and Colorado for a serious college education at UCD. Ha! Little did I know the location of UC Davis is near some of the best wild trout and steelhead fishing in Northern California.

During my “B.S.” years, it seemed I spent just as much time studying trout and steelhead behavior on the rivers as I did in the classroom. All the fish education ended up with me chasing a career as a fly fishing guide. I started guiding in 2003 and have never looked back. Guiding has created a wonderful life and career that has provided for my family, created a community of friends, and enabled me to spend a lifetime in the outdoors.

Guiding isn’t just a job for me. When you love fishing as much as I do, it’s an art and a passion and a life all wrapped up. There’s nothing better than seeing a client’s face light up as their line tightens. That’s the reason I started an outfitting business. I wanted to connect anglers to the best independent guides in Northern California. Guides that are professional, can teach well, bust their ass on the water, and know how to catch a bunch of fish. Trust me these are the guides that you want to fish with. RJ’s fly trips isn’t a bunch of young rookie guides who are still finding their way. This is a group of STUD guides who are in high demand and know what it means to be successful.

Over the years our clients and have caught lots of great fish, but even better than that, we’ve made some great memories and friendships. We all want to thank you for making our guiding careers so enjoyable and filling our storybooks with countless fish tales. We look forward to seeing you back on the water soon!

Tight Lines,
Ryan Johnston