FLY PROJECT TEAM
The Fly Project Team is among the fishiest in the Pacific Northwest. From Fly Shop Managers to the Web Team, each member spends a significant time on the water and know their local rivers and lakes like the back of their hand. Fly fishing is for everyone and our team harnesses that beleif. We aim to put you into fish. Want to land your first 24" brown on a size 18 dry fly? We'll show you.
Sam WIKE
Sam Wike grew up in Wisconsin where he learned to fly fish while at outdoor youth camps and visit's to his Grandpas house in Montana. Sam has been tying flies since he was 8 years old and has designed flies such as the Hi-Viz Spent Caddis, the TFP PMD Cripple, the Crust Nymph and the Skurp. Sam started the Fly Project with Calvin, Fred, and Paul in 2015 building fly rods and designing fly patterns in an outbuilding along the Missouri River in Montana. He loves fishing all around the world with his wife Christie and they have fished in Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and many other cool spots. Sam has 3 boys, lives in Montana on the Missouri River and loves working on our brands designing new products and working with industry suppliers. Outside of trout, Sam's favorite fish include steelhead (still a trout), Roosterfish, and Bonefish. He currently has a skiff stashed somewhere in Miami and a Florida Keys permit is on his current priority list.
Home State: Montana
Favorite Target Species: Permit
Go-to Fly Pattern: Wike's PMD Cripple
Instagram: @hobospey
PAUL CONSIDINE
Paul grew up in central Montana and learned to fly fish in high school with Sam. Paul was one of the original founders of both House of Fly and The Fly Project helping Sam build the original fly fishing business after purchasing the inventory from a local fly shop that had gone out of business. Paul has been the lead buyer for fly fishing for most of the recent existence of House of Fly, and he designed the micro full wells grip that is on all Fly Project rods today in Sam's shed. Paul is an experienced angler and loves to fish at home on the Missouri River but has fished all over the globe in places such as Belize, the Florida Keys, and Newfoundland. Paul is the father of 2 kids and lives in Great Falls, Montana.
Instagram: @pauliec10
CALVIN FULLER
Calvin Fuller grew up in Richland Washington and started fly fishing with his father in the 80s. Living less than a mile from the Columbia River, Calvin would spend most of his days exploring the river and the creatures that live in it. Steelhead became a priority for when he caught his first one as a young boy. After a childhood of fishing, Calvin became a guide in Alaska while getting his degree in Physics from Western Washington University and was an active member is Washington Steelhead Fly Fishers. After guiding Calvin moved to Sandpoint, ID where he married his college sweetheart Camille and they have two boys, who sort of like fishing. Calvin opened his own fly shop in Sandpoint, Sandpoint Outfitters which remained a successful business for years until they merged with House of Fly.
Home State: Idaho
Favorite Target Species: Steelhead
Go-to Fly Pattern: Anything that looks good and has a stinger hook
Hidden Talent: Getting lot's of 'bites' and missing fish
Instagram: @calvin__fuller
ROB BOLKE
Rob Bolke, a Texas transplant from Minnesota, and a recently converted fly-fisherman. Rob grew up in the land of 10,000 lakes. The land of slip bobbers, nightcrawlers, and toothy critters. However Rob’s passion was largemouth and smallmouth bass, fishing local MN derbies on the weekend for gas money and free packs of soft plastics. After 30 years of fishing conventional gear, Rob is now a fly fisherman. Residing just North of San Antonio with his Fiancé Nicole and spoiled dog Sage. Rob now fishes the Guadalupe river system and his local lake for bass. He’s otherwise fishing for Redfish in Rockport or jumping in Sam’s drift boat on the Missouri when visiting the Fly Project main office in Montana.
Home State: Texas
Favorite Target Species: Largemouth Bass & Redfish
Go-to Fly Pattern: Game Changer, but when that doesn't work a Green pumkin wacky worm does the trick.
Hidden Talent: I can win a game of ring toss with my left hand
Instagram: @rob_bolke
JAY D'ARPINI
Jay is in charge of all things content… Photographer, Videographer, Editor, and social media manager. Jay grew up fishing for bass at his grandparent’s cottage in Irish Hills Michigan and Lake Erie. Jay left Michigan in 2012 to join Air Force which brought him to Great Falls, MT where he found fly fishing for first time. After 8 years of service, Jay decided to pursue his passion of fly fishing. He worked in the West Great Falls fly shop where he began helping Sam build upon the existing Fly Project YouTube channel and various social media accounts and still manages them today.
Home State: Montana
Favorite Target Species: Permit
Go-to Fly Pattern: Olive/Copper Mini-Dungeon
Hidden Talent: IDK...
Instagram: @jay_darpini
NOAH PACHECO
Noah Pacheco was in the military, now he works for us. He's always tying up flies specific to the rivers he's fishing. Catch him swinging up browns in the chicken hole.
Home State: Texas
Favorite Target Species: Largemouth Bass & Redfish
Go-to Fly Pattern: Game Changer, but when that doesn't work a Green pumkin wacky worm does the trick.
Hidden Talent: I can win a game of ring toss with my left hand
Instagram: @pachek_yoself
DARREN WOOD
Darren Wood grew up in the small town of Basin, Montana and now works as a Swiss army knife graphic designer, illustrator, web experience specialist, photographer fill-in, and media personality here at House of Fly Headquarters. He grew up fishing the Boulder River (The lesser-known tributary to the Jefferson River) and was later introduced to fly fishing in Bozeman where he attended Montana State University and obtained a bachelor’s degree of Fine Arts. His passion for fly fishing led him to sell his motorcycle, buy a drift boat, and enroll in Guide School with Gallatin River Guides. Today, he guides on the Missouri River part-time while keeping tabs on the river. Residing in Great Falls, Montana, you will likely find him tying flies or spending time with his wife Mallory and their three girls at local city parks along the river scouting for Carp, fly rod in-hand.
Home State: Montana
Favorite Target Species: Brown Trout
Go-to Fly Pattern: Parking Lot Fly
Hidden Talent: Challenge me in a game of S.K.A.T.E and find out
Instagram: @iamdarrenwood
ROB GUEVARRA
Rob was born in Manila and moved to Houston with his family when he was three years old. He grew up tracking Redfish up and down the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. After earning a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, he got a job on the Big Island of Hawaii. In his free time, he learned to SCUBA, spearfish, free dive, and target species like Giant Trevally, Dorado and Wahoo. Rob made the switch from conventional gear fishing to fly fishing when he moved to Montana in 2007. He’s been an avid fly tyer, amateur entomologist and double-hand spey caster ever since. Rob has been with the Fly Project since its inception and has helped with graphic design and product development, working with our people in the field and with manufacturers and suppliers behind the scenes. When he’s not busy designing fly rods and your next favorite fishing shirt, Rob likes to rockhound, work on old cars, and go camping and kayaking with his three kids and their Great Pyrenees named Ghost.
Home State: Montana
Favorite Target Species: Redfish
Go-to Fly Pattern: Eggs
Instagram: @robguevarra
DAVID POWELL
Rob Bolke, a Texas transplant from Minnesota, and a recently converted fly-fisherman. Rob grew up in the land of 10,000 lakes. The land of slip bobbers, nightcrawlers, and toothy critters. However Rob’s passion was largemouth and smallmouth bass, fishing local MN derbies on the weekend for gas money and free packs of soft plastics. After 30 years of fishing conventional gear, Rob is now a fly fisherman. Residing just North of San Antonio with his Fiancé Nicole and spoiled dog Sage. Rob now fishes the Guadalupe river system and his local lake for bass. He’s otherwise fishing for Redfish in Rockport or jumping in Sam’s drift boat on the Missouri when visiting the Fly Project main office in Montana.
Home State: Texas
Favorite Target Species: Largemouth Bass & Redfish
Go-to Fly Pattern: Game Changer, but when that doesn't work a Green pumkin wacky worm does the trick.
Hidden Talent: I can win a game of ring toss with my left hand
Instagram: @rob_bolke
Fred telleen
Fred fly fishes to live (30+ years guiding, teaching, trip hosting), and lives to fly fish (obsession). At the age of two, he landed his first Bluegill in Southern Michigan. Since then, he has never stopped looking into waters for fish. His first wild trout came from the waters of Glacier National Park a few years later. He spent much of his youth chasing fish in Wisconsin, the Great Lakes, and throughout central Canada. He went to Alaska in 1989, where he spent 26 seasons guiding and managing a fishing lodge. In 2000, he started Mystic Waters Fly Fishing on the Kenai River. In 2006, he was inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a legendary Guide. In May of 2007, on his way to Alaska, he stopped at the Trout Shop and fished the Missouri for the first time. He moved to Great Falls the following October. Fred now lives in Cascade, Montana, a short drive from the Trout Shop. Stop in and he will be happy to provide local fishing details, set you up with the right flies and gear or simply talk fish, bear encounters, or even his experience with Bigfoot.
Home State: Montana
Favorite Target Species: Sharks
Go-to Fly Pattern: Bam Bam Minnow
Hidden Talent: Catches fish on land
Instagram: @mysticfishing
tyler balich
Tyler Balich grew up in Anchorage, Alaska where, naturally, he learned to hunt and fish. He moved to North Idaho in 1994 and spent the first 11 years guiding locally and running a lodge on Christmas Island for five of those years, and now he manages House of Fly in Coeur d’Alene. When not wandering the mountains for elk, wading rivers for cutthroat trout, or floating down Montana’s Clark Fork River; he spends time with his wife and children.
Home State: Idaho
Favorite Target Species: Carp
Go-to Fly Pattern: Soft Hackle
Hidden Talent: Having a day my knees don't hurt
Instagram: @tysidahoflies
drew evans
Drew Evans is a born-and-raised Lewis-Clark Valley resident and manages the Lewiston, Idaho House of Fly. Drew grew up on the rivers near the LCV and found his love for fly fishing in these streams. He has spent time traveling the Amazon in his studies as an anthropologist and was a musician in a past life. When he’s not obsessively in pursuit of a fish, you will likely find him spending time with his bull terriers or partaking in one of his many hobbies and interests.
Home State: Idaho
Favorite Target Species: Smallmouth Bass
Go-to Fly Pattern: Lynch's Drunk n' Disorderly
Hidden Talent: You want me on your trivia team
Instagram: @scuds.mackenzie
jordan palm
Born and raised in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, as a child, Jordan and his family would spend as many weekends as possible fishing and camping. These trips were all over Idaho and Montana. On one of those trips, to a North Idaho alpine lake, Jordan saw some fly fishermen catching brook trout and cutthroat trout. He immediately knew he wanted to give fly fishing a try. Shortly after that visit, he headed to the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River where he hooked and landed his first fish on a fly rod. Ever since then, he’s been hooked on fly fishing. Now, when he's not managing shop at House of Fly in Sandpoint, ID, he spends most of his time fishing the waters of North Idaho, Western Montana, and Eastern Washington and tying as many flies as possible.
Home State: Idaho
Favorite Target Species: Smallmouth Bass
Go-to Fly Pattern: Game Changer
Hidden Talent: Serving up one-liners
Instagram: @joho_flies_208
CADEN BYRER
Growing up in Lewiston, Idaho, Caden has always been drawn to the water. As a kid, he was always trying to figure out what lurked below. Going on camping trips to the North Fork of the Clearwater River, bass fishing on the Snake River, fishing was always what he loved to do. Caden's uncle Kelly Norwood, a past guide of 8 years on the Henrys Fork, introduced Caden to Fly Fishing. When he's not managing the Trout Shop in Craig, MT, he spends his free time out on the water swinging for browns or presenting dry flies to picky trout. If he isn't there, you might find him out shed hunting, chasing upland birds, or on the mountain skiing.
Home State: Washington
Favorite Target Species: Steelhead
Go-to Fly Pattern: #14 CDC Cripple
Hidden Talent: Catching fish's attention with his mullet
Instagram: @cadenbyrer
JOSIAH LEMARR
We first met Josiah Lamar when he joined our Fly Shop Team in Great Falls, MT back in 2021. He’s known for catching up-to-scratch brown trout out of the small tributary streams in Central Montana. Josiah left us for a short while and went down south to Alabama chasing bass and sasquatch, but eventually came back to Montana to fish with the gang and lead the West Great Falls House of Fly location.
Home State: Alabama
Favorite Target Species: Bass
Go-to Fly Pattern: Game Changer
Hidden Talent: None
Instagram: @fishsaycheese
WAYNE JORDAN
Wayne Jordan is the newest member of the Fly Project Family and manages House of Fly - West Spokane. He grew up on the coast of Maine where he learned fly fishing and tying from his grandfather at the age of five. Wayne’s been working in the industry for 30+ years. It all began at a tackle shop in Maine, where he worked throughout college and met a lot of great people, one of which convinced him to get his captains license and move to Key West. He worked on a long-range charter that took up to 50 people offshore fishing on two to four-day trips. His days off were spent chasing inshore species with a fly rod. One fateful night, Wayne met his wife at a tiki bar in Key West. They later moved to the PNW and have been there ever since. When he’s not fishing, he enjoys traveling with his wife and kids, getting people outdoors (you can’t catch fish from the couch), and volunteering (presentations, river cleanups, etc) within the Spokane fly fishing community.
Home State: Maine
Favorite Target Species: Mako Sharks
Go-to Fly Pattern: Whitlock's Near 'Nuff Sculpin
Hidden Talent: Breaking out my Maine accent on command
Instagram: @finn207