Willowfly Anglers earns outfitter of the year award

Most summer mornings look the same in Almont at the Three Rivers Resort where the East and Taylor rivers meet to form the Gunnison. Early morning sunshine glints off the rippled water.  Spider web-like fishing line floats in the breeze before being caught by expert fingers and tied to colorful flies. Fly fishing guides arrive at 7 a.m. to pre-rig their gear before greeting their customers and picking out one of the many nearby waters to fish for the day. 

According to Orvis — a fly fishing gear company that provides an online guidebook to the best commercial trips in the world — Willowfly Anglers, the fly fishing guide service arm of Three River Resort, is the best in the business. Earlier this summer, Willowfly earned the 2022 Orvis Endorsed Outfitter of the Year award out of nearly 300 endorsed operations globally. 

Willowfly guide Skyler Reinecke said two basic skills — factual fishing knowledge and strong charisma — come together from the beginning to set the stage for a successful guided trip. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote, “One cannot step into the same river twice,” and although he probably didn’t have fly fishing in mind when he said it, the truth of it certainly applies. Sometimes the fish just aren’t biting, even when all of the factors point the other direction.

“A lot of people expect to go out and have a stellar day catching fish, and a lot of it then comes back to the guide. If you have a poor fishing day, you have to spin it so it was an awesome experience,” Reinecke said. “You saw some incredible water, terrain and learned a lot about the style of fishing we do out here. Now you can expand on it, and you can take it back with you to your home waters.”

The tourist season is beginning to slow down now with flows out of Taylor Reservoir. During peak months of June and July each year, guides will consistently work up to three trips a day, resulting in 14-hour work days, seven days a week. Considering how short the season is, guides are generally just happy for the work, but Reineke said it can take a toll. 

“It is physically demanding, which is why a lot of guides don’t have a long tenure,” he said. “If you’re running a boat seven days a week, your body breaks down at the end of the summer.”

With that in mind, he said, it’s all the more important to work for a strong outfitter. According to Patrick Blackdale, guide and assistant manager, Willowfly is uncommon in that guides work as employees rather than independent contractors, though they are still paid by the trip, not hourly. In order to retain guides for as long as possible, the company also keeps their guide list short, guaranteeing more work for their limited roster, while continuing to provide work based on seniority. 

That philosophy is paying off. Orvis has a rating portion of its website, “Like Yelp for fly fishing”, Blackdale said. The Willowfly page is packed with rave reviews.

But, at least for Reinecke, an extra dimension to the job fuels his passion. Aside from creating an excellent commercial experience for a customer, he said, guides are in a unique position to make a positive impact when it comes to the waterways themselves. 

“We all love to be outdoors, especially in this community, and get the opportunity to work in the ecosystem that we love and also be a steward for it,” Reinecke said. “I can’t tell you how much fly fishing line I’ll pick up off the river, bits of trash and stuff like that. That’s one thing that Gunnison does extraordinarily well is they take care of the river.”

While juggling all of those different factors — boats, gear, the environment, long hours — Blackdale said it’s important to remember what a day out on the river can mean for a customer. Fly fishing is exactly as complicated as an angler wants it to be.

“Or you can keep it as simple as you want,” Blackdale said. “There’s a lot of people that go once a year and they just have a ball and maybe they’re not the best angler in the world, but they forget about everything else in their life and they’re just totally immersed for that day. It’s therapy, you know?”

(Jacob Spetzler can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or jacob@gunnisontimes.com.)