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About
Ryan began fly fishing on Putah Creek during his early teenage years. His passion quickly landed him a job when he was in high school working at Sweeney’s Fly Shop in Napa, CA. Getting bored with shop life he began guiding walk/wade trips on the famous and challenging tail water trout fishery, Putah Creek in 2006, for Sweeney’s.
In the Napa area Bass is king, and Sweeney’s shop was part conventional bass shop and fly shop. This exposed Ryan to a whole “other world” of angling and gave Ryan a unique perspective with regards to fishing. Hearing stories of customers to coworkers to top ranked tournament anglers throwing conventional gear on Clear Lake for world record size bass, Ryan began to see the opportunities that bass on the fly presented. Ryan began exploring the Napa and American Rivers for striped bass and the local reservoirs for spotted, largemouth, and smallmouth bass on his days off from tying #20 midges on clients lines and guiding for selective Putah Creek trout.
In 2008, Ryan moved North to the Chico/Oroville area to pursue school and guiding on the Feather and Sacramento River. Nearly a decade later Ryan is now a full time fly fishing guide & fly tier, running North Valley Fly Fishing.
Over last decade as a full time guide Ryan has pioneered the adoption of the popular conventional bass technique of “float n’ fly” fishing with a fly rod. He has worked tirelessly over the last 5 years to promote spotted bass fly fishing in Northern California on such fisheries as Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta. His adaption of this technique to the fly rod has opened hundreds of fisheries throughout California to fly anglers throughout the winter and spring seasons. Ryan’s innovation and obsession with spring through fall top water fishing on fisheries like Lake Oroville and Clear Lake Ryan has turned bass fishing into a year round pursuit in California.
When not guiding Ryan ties and sells some of the most deadly bass and striper flies around. Flies that have become staples of CBU guides for years. Ryan by nature is an innovator whether it comes to fishing methods for bass with a fly rod or putting thread and feather to hook. Ryan will always be the first one to share what he knows to promote the sport of bass fishing with a fly rod and Ryan’s instructional and informational videos are staples of the CBU and spreading bass fishing with a fly rod in California.
Ryan is the only fly fishing guide to guide Clear Lake, which is consistently ranked as one of the best bass fisheries in the country by B.A.S.S, Ryan chases Largemouth Bass, Crappie, and Carp on this world class fishery as well as guiding year round on Lake Oroville and many other secret spots.
