Meet Our Team - Terry Johnson
Terry has spent most of his life as an angler, and the last 20-plus years as a fly angler. He loves the sport of fly fishing, but beyond that enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with others including his four sons. When Terry isn’t guiding or in the shop he’s spending time on nearby trout waters or heading out on other fishing adventures.
As head guide for Fish Tales Terry has developed a reputation as one of the hardest working guides on the Bow. He’s often seen hauling the boat (The Office) back upstream so his clients can have a second (or even third) chance to fish a run. Recently, Terry’s fishing adventures have included trips to Cuba and Christmas Island. Prior to catching the saltwater bug, Terry made regular trips west where he enjoyed fishing for BC steelhead.
More about Terry….
How long have you been fly fishing? I started fly fishing just after I was married almost 28 years ago…. No correlation.
How did you get started in fly fishing? I was in Sears, back when they had a fishing department, and they had a big barrel of fly rods for $10 each. Thinking that was a great deal I bought two, one for me and one for my new bride. I then purchased a cheap reel and some line. Not knowing what I was doing, the fly line went right on to the reel with no backing and no leader off the front, just a piece of 6lb mono. I first started flailing down below the Glenmore reservoir.
Favorite species?
- Freshwater - Big Browns
- Saltwater - Giant Trevally
Favorite water?
- River - Bow river
- Lake - Bullshead
- Saltwater - The Three Canals in Cuba
Favorite technique? Dry fly hunting
Favorite flies?
- Freshwater - #16 BWO Quiggly's Hackle Stacker, #4 Olive Gartside Leech and the #16 Parachute Adams - It works for everything
- Saltwater - The 10 x 10, Chartreuse Deceivers, and Gamechangers
Favorite fishing book or DVD?
- In Search of a Rising Tide by Jamie Howard (DVD)
- Chasing Silver TV Mini Series by Jamie Howard
- 10 Steps to Distance and Power by George Roberts (book)
Favorite vise? Norvise
Favorite pattern to tie? 10 x 10
Favorite material and why? Rabbit - It just looks alive in the water.
Prefer to fish alone or with friends? Friends
Two things you wouldn’t go fishing without (aside from rod, reel, line, flies) -
- My polarized sun glasses
- A camera
Interesting anecdote (ie. Embarrassing moment with a fly rod, interesting story about something you caught, etc.) - We were fishing a few years ago in the fall on the Bow River and came across a big Buck that was dead on a gravel bar in the middle of the river. Not wanting to pass up the chance for a photo opportunity we took turns laying our rods across his rack and holding the rack up. We all took our hero shots with the deer.
Most interesting (remote, distant, crowded, etc.) location you’ve fished? I did fish on a day off down in Chascamos, Argentina. I do not even know what we fished for.
Your destination/species wish list -
- Argentina for Sea run browns
- Alaska for big rainbows
- New Zealand brown trout
Given the opportunity who would you choose to fish with? Or someone who has inspired you as an angler/tyer/teacher/guide.
- Lefty Kreh - the Legend
- Peter and Graham in Cuba again
