Meet the fly fishing guides that make your day on the water special. Ohiopyle is our home fishing base, our full service fly shop is literally, 125 steps from the banks of the Youghiogheny River. We are the only outfitter based on the water, when you call and ask fishing conditions, we are looking at the water from our offices. Also a cool feature of our location is that our large wooden building attracts recent hatches. So if you want a first hand account of what happened last evening, pull into Garrett Street and look closely at the siding on our building. Our fly fishing guides are all involved in conservation and educational activities that further the resources that we work on and expanding the community of fly fishing folk. Come on down to the Yough and get to know some of this gang.
Fly Fishing Guides
Aidan Kane
Aidan is a West Virginia University Wildlife and Fisheries major minoring in conservation ecology. He’s been fly fishing in the Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia areas for about 5 years now. He began as a bass, catfish, and snakehead angler and progressed to trout after moving to West Virginia. He’s a Conservation officer and member of the West Virginia University Fly Fishing Club, and he’s volunteered with Project Healing Waters, Trout Unlimited, 5Rivers, the Great Falls Foundation, Friends of the Cheat, and Friends of Deckers Creek.
JT Smith
JT’s passion for fly fishing began at the age of eight in his home state of Louisiana fishing for large mouth bass and bluegill. Fast forward to 2017 during a business trip in Ohio. He contacted Orvis looking for places to go fishing they recommended Ohiopyle. When he arrived in Ohiopyle, he went to Wilderness Voyageurs where they had everything he needed and advice on where to go fishing. On the way out of Ohiopyle, he called his family telling them we should move up here. Two years later, he and his family bought a house just ten minutes from Ohiopyle. He’d like to thank fly fishing, Orvis and Wilderness Voyageurs for helping him find a new home and a dream job!
Ouray Gaines
Certified through Sweetwater Outfitters, I’ve honed my skills as a fly fishing guide exploring waters nationwide and competing in various competitions. Passionate about sharing the joy of the sport, I strive to create memorable experiences and lasting connections with nature for all anglers who join me.
Jodie Minor
Jodie Minor started fly fishing over 25 years ago. Sharing her immense love for fly fishing with other women, she organizes monthly classes and events through Penns Woods West Trout Unlimited. In addition to leading our women’s clinics, she is a PA Fish and Boat Fly Fishing Instructor, Fly Fishing mentor, and serves on the PA Women Anglers Leadership Committee. You’ll catch her regularly fishing for trout, steelhead, bass and panfish in her home waters. But, she makes time for some saltwater fishing in Belize targeting bonefish and tarpon whenever possible. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and works in learning and development when she is not on the water.
Angie Schultheis
Angie Schultheis serves on the Board of Directors for the Forbes Trail chapter of Trout Unlimited and Chairs its Diversity Committee. She began fly fishing over 10 years ago and grew up bass fishing with her family. Angie is working to reach out to more women and families to engage them in coldwater conservation and fly fishing related activities. In addition to trout fishing, she enjoys kayaking, camping and hunting. She lives in Latrobe with her husband Tim, two school-age children, and two German shorthaired pointers.
Ashley Wilmont
Ashley started at Wilderness Voyageurs as a whitewater guide, but now is the fly fishing instructor extraordinaire. She has been fishing her whole life and fly fishing for the last 10 years. She graduated from Penn State with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. Her “day time” job is Dirt & Gravel Road Program Coordinator and Erosion Control Inspector at the Washington County Conservation District. She also volunteers for Western Pennsylvania Casting for Recovery, a non-profit organization that teaches women that are affected by breast cancer how to fly fish. When she is not fly fishing, she is reading about fly fishing and macroinvertebrates, practicing fly casting, and painting colorful trout.
Kevin Garrison
Kevin has been running around the hollers of West Virginia and Pennsylvania chasing fish since he was about 12. When it was time for college, it was a no brainer, he moved to State College to fly fish and attend college “in that order”. He graduated from Penn State with a B.A. in Recreation & Parks Management, then promptly moved to Alaska to be a fishing guide. We are stoked that he has since returned home to western Pennsylvania. He now has a grown up job, operating the Washington County Park System, but he is able to sneak away and spend time floating and fishing in Ohiopyle. From his mouth… “I am always on the hunt for hog Johnson, ” the biggest fish in the river”, my favorite fly is the one in the fishes mouth. Spend a day with Kevin and you will see how he really enjoys teaching folks about fly fishing and seeing them catch fish.