Our Team - WRFguides

MATT LUCAS

OWNER & GUIDE

JACK LUCAS

CO-OWNER

AMANDA LUCAS

CO-OWNER & OPERATIONS

DARREN BOWCUTT

LEAD GUIDE

I began flyfishing with my father at the ripe old age of nine. I fished mostly on local streams around Logan, Utah, along with annual summer trips to the Madison and other Montana rivers. My father was a school teacher and we spent many a summer evening together fly casting and even catching a few fish.

I started fishing the Green river in 1991 and began guiding in 1998. Early on, I was taught by Green River legends Emmett Heath and Denny Breer. I will forever be grateful for knowing and fishing with them!

I have been Lead Guide at WRFG since 2007 and have have served as Groga Vice President and president since 2007.

ELI KOLES

GUIDE

CORI HOLLADAY

GUIDE

Being born and raised in the upstate of the Carolinas, it’s only natural for my blood to run orange and my heart to be rooted in those wise ole Appalachian Mountains. In 2009, I had the opportunity to spend six months immersed in all things “a-puh-LATCH-uhn”, spanning the length of Georgia to Maine at the pace my feet were willing to allow. Consequences of hiking long distances lead me to California in 2015. Along the way, I was exposed to even older rock that offered its’ own intoxicating appeal: the canyon country along the winding Green River in Utah. I was transfixed then as I am now.

Most days you’ll find me on the river dipping oars until complete darkness blankets the slopes of the Uinta Mountains. Other days, I’ll be found spotting tailing carp along the shallows of Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Regardless of the day, my feet have taken a backseat to my arms.

There will be that rare occasion when I will not be dipping an oar or getting a line wet. That may mean one of two things… (1) Matt has requested that he “better not see me on the water” that day to allow my body time to rest or (2) I’m molding young minds in all things biologically related in a classroom setting.

CAM SESSIONS

GUIDE

Part-time Fish-bum / Sled-neck / Carpenter

I grew up on a beautiful stream in Massachusetts, but it wasn’t until I moved to Utah that I first picked up a fly rod. My love for H20 went from frozen to flowing when I discovered the beauty of casting a fly to rising trout & I hung up my ski boots. Then, now, and always— watching a fish take a fly off the surface is something I adore. It makes me feel connected with Mother Nature in one of the simplest forms possible.

My first fly fishing experience on the Green was watching in awe as an Osprey dove into the river in front of me and seized in its talons my first hooked trout. At that moment I knew I had to make room in my life for this special place. Matt Lucas was kind enough to offer me a job for the summer: Swamping, running shuttles, and fishing my days away. I was fortunate to spend a lot of time that year with Emmett Heath & Eli Koles, learning the history of this land from the passenger seat of Emmett’s Jeep and how to hunt for fish and row a drift in the boat with Eli. Their love & passion for this place was infectious and I cannot thank them enough for that time. The following year I returned as a guide for WRFG. I find great joy in sharing the beauty of this river, the art of casting a fly, and teaching flyfishing techniques to my clients. The joy of tricking a trout can capture the soul.

In my free time I enjoy getting on the water, whether it be here on The Green, a nearby stream, or traveling out-of-state for trout or chasing Wild Steelhead around the Pacific Northwest with my girlfriend, Alyssa, and fishy friends who are like a family to me. The thrill of seeing something new or from a different perspective is what drives me to keep exploring.

TYLER ROOT

GUIDE

COREY HASSELL

GUIDE

In 2012, Corey first started fishing in Phoenix, Arizona. For how limited fishing is in the Sonoran Desert, Corey still enjoyed learning to fly fish for carp and small mouthed bass at the Salt River and in urban canals. Always knowing he wanted to fish for trout, Corey went on to hike the John Muir Trail in the Eastern Sierras, where he developed a passion for trout fishing in alpine lakes and streams. From there, Corey moved to Southern Utah, fishing for wild cutthroat in small streams and in red rock canyons. Now based in Northern Utah, Corey is thrilled to be fishing the Green River. Fishing a big river, with big dry flies, for big trout while still being in a desert environment is Corey’s favorite part about fishing the Green and he enjoys sharing what he’s learned with others.

COLE SCHREIBER

GUIDE

Hailing from Maine, Cole held his first fly rod at a free casting clinic at L.L Bean. Cole began cutting his teeth as a trout angler years later after relocating to Utah. Enamored by trout sipping dry flies, he soon began to share his passion with everyone he could. Guiding was inevitable at this point. At first he worked on the Provo River while wrapping up his degree at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. After teaching himself how to row, he decided it was time to guide one of the west’s great tailwaters. Captivated not only by the trout, but the river runners and guides that have come before him, Cole is proud to be a guide on this famed stretch of water.

JAMES MCGUIRK

LEAD SWAMPER & GUIDE

JACK O'NEAL

FLY SHOP, SWAMPER & GUIDE

I was born in Hattiesburg, MS, but grew up predominantly in Salt Lake City, UT. Growing up in SLC, I was fortunate enough to spend my time exploring the prolific fisheries scattered around the Rocky Mountain region of northeast Utah. I graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Environmental Studies, and hope to carry much of what I have learned into understanding the conservation and management factors of the fisheries we all love. Though I’ve had the fortune of spending time on the water with many inspirational people, I attribute my love of the water and flyfishing to Mike Petragallo, or “Gramps” as his friends like to call him, who instilled in me a love of community and care for the water. True to Gramps’ and his friend’s outlook, I hope to create guide experiences that inspire a love for the places we get to play in and the people that surround us.

KAT MUELLER

GENERAL MANAGER

I was born into a family of anglers; my father as die-hard as they come. While other kids were taking trips to Disneyland, my childhood with my older brother & sister consisted of getting dragged down dirt roads or flown to obscure places to mill around entertaining ourselves while my dad fished to last light. This fanned my deep curiosity of the natural word and grew in me an independence and profound love of nature. I went on to inherit “the sickness”— by age 11 I had a fly rod in my hand. Since then, my fishing adventures have taken me around the globe in search of permit, tarpon, rooster fish, bonefish, trout, and the occasional carp, but I’d trade it all for a cold, drizzly fishless day on a Pacific Northwest steelhead river.

I am often as enamored by waters as I am by the inhabitants of it. As Roderick Haig-Brown said, “Perhaps fishing is, for me, only an excuse to be near rivers.“ These wild places are, and always will be, where I find my power source — completely content in my insignificance. I find joy in sharing this little secret — the only charger you need — with those running in the red. I am grateful to be a part of the WRFG family, to be given the opportunity to share this passion with others.

When not squatting in a camper above The Green, I live in Fort Collins, Colorado, with my fishy husband, kick-flipping son, and two squirrel-crazed cattle mutts.

MAEGAN MCGUIRK

SHUTTLE MANAGER

GARRETT MORSE

GUIDE

I was raised in Grand Junction, Colorado. I’ve been fly fishing for as long as I can remember. I go fly fishing to slow down and enjoy the outdoors. My approach to guiding is to teach the basics so anyone can leave feeling they are a capable fly fisher. I love fishing for brook trout, traveling, and spending time with my dog Douglas.

ERIC CARLSON

FLY SHOP, SWAMPER & SHUTTLES

JOSH HULBERT

GUIDE

I was born and raised in Wisconsin. I left home to serve in the US Air Force and 20yrs later, planted roots in Utah. I started fishing at the age of 4 and was introduced to fly fishing and fly tying at the age of 12 and never stopped loving it. Growing up, I spent summers fly fishing the Driftless and fall seasons fishing the tributaries of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. I went on several trips to the White River in Arkansas with my dad. While serving in the AF, I lived in Mississippi, Florida, Okinawa, California, Northern Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Washington State. One of my favorite locations was Italy because I often traveled to nearby Slovenia fishing for the famed Marble trout and Hucho. Shortly after settling in Utah, I discovered fishing the Green and like Slovenia, I instantly fell in love. As a father of three boys and a husband, I approach guiding & life with positive attitude, sense of humor, and an eagerness to share my passion of fly fishing.