Matt Chatani
Matt joined the team in early 2018. Matt enjoys time on the water with a variety of tools in hand - rod, oars, camera, video camera.... His enthusiasm for the sport started at a young age and may be genetic as described below....
How long have you been fishing? I’ve been fishing since I was 3.
How long have you been fly fishing? I’ve been fly fishing since I was 10 years old.
How did you get started in fly fishing? My dad is a guide on the Bow so I’ve pretty much been involved in fishing my whole life. I began to actually fly fish when I was old enough to execute a basic fly cast.
Favorite species? Brown Trout
Favorite water? The Mighty Bow
Favorite technique? That depends on how I’m feeling that day. I really enjoy any visual aspect of fly fishing like sight fishing and stalking snouts, but I seem to find myself streamer fishing most of the time because of how engaging it is.
Favorite flies? Bow River Bugger, CDC Caddis, Morrish Hopper, Tiltwing Dun, Frankenhopper, Morrish Medusa, Mohair Leech, Clouser Minnow, Smoke Jumper
Favorite fishing book and DVD? Galloup's “Modern Streamers 2”, Andy Mill’s “Passion for Tarpon”, Allen’s “Finding Trout in all Conditions”
Favorite Vise? Stonfo Transformer
Favorite pattern to tie? Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow or Bow Buggers maybe..? I design a lot of my own patterns or tweak existing ones to fit my needs better.
Most interesting location I’ve fished? I enjoy my annual Tarpon trip and I'd love to get back to the Bahamas but the most interesting would have to be the Louisiana marsh. The Mississippi delta supports the most abundant fishery I've ever experienced and such diverse wildlife despite the huge oil rigs and pipelines weaving in and out of the water.
Your destination/species wishlist: Top of my list by far would be a 30+ inch brown out of the Bow River. During the off season I’d love to fish the White River. All the pelagic species in Magdalena Bay would be exciting, a Tarpon over 150 pounds and GT’s in the Seychelles are also on the bucket list.
Given the opportunity who would you choose to fish with? Or someone who has inspired you as an angler/teacher/tyer/guide? My dad is definitely my main inspiration and he’s taught me most of what I know. The older I get and deeper into the industry I've become, the more I appreciate and respect his dedication to understanding the Bow. I fish with him as often as I can. I also fish with a lot of the young guys working at the shop, or alone.