Oregon

My passion for the outdoors has been the driving force in my life for as long as I can remember. I’m a Beav’. I went to Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, where I was born in 1970, and graduated in 1994.

I met Mike Gorman at the Scarlet Ibis Fly Shop in Corvallis and he told me, “If you can’t catch a steelhead on the Deschutes, then you can’t catch a steelhead.” Being heavily infected with the fishing disease I checked it out.  I scratched that itch. I taught myself to row a drift boat, to cast a spey rod and to drive a jet-boat on the Deschutes. I did it the old fashioned way with some bumps and some bruises along the way.  Since then I’ve fished a lot of rivers and been a lot of places and the Deschutes River is still my favorite. It’s my home.  You’ll find me trout fishing or chasing steelhead year around!

My first time in a jet boat was in 2006, it was on the Deschutes and I was the pilot.  I had a buddy who was gonna show me how to drive it but he never showed, we went any way.  I became a Deschutes jet-boat guide in 2009.  The lower D is arguably the nastiest place on earth to run a sled and I had zero guiding experience. This was a chance encounter that led to a very rare opportunity to guide the best river on the planet…and to do it out of a jet-boat. I learned a lot, logged a lot of days, quit a good job, and caught some steelhead, but what I’m proudest of is earning the respect of my peers that includes dudes that started guiding the Deschutes in the 1980’s and they are not fly-fisherman. That took a while.

My journey has allowed me to work with some of the best outfitters in the business, but my program and my philosophy are my own and it goes something like this; I run the best boat on the river, I put people in the best spots at the best times, I make people better, I respect the rules of the road, I provide elite equipment, I have fun and we catch fish. I am honest and exceptional at what I do but fishing guides are not gods, we are guides.  I love what I do and where I do it and people who fish with me do too.

I hold a current US Coast Guard License,  two Special Recreation Permits through the Bureau of Land Management: One to operate on the Deschutes, one to operate on the John Day River. I am a licensed, bonded Oregon and Washington guide and outfitter, have current First Aid and CPR training, I’m heavily insured, and I look forward to meeting you!

Our first Oregon Ambassador!  Water First is excited to have Sam on board! 

Web: https://steelheadoutfitters.com/

IG: @steelheadoutfitters

Phone: 541-400-0855