Bret Bishop has a long list of credentials to support what he calls his “addiction” to fly-fishing. A member of Fly Fishing Team USA, and the 2006 Individual National Champion, Bret has represented our country in two World Championships. Currently retired from competition, he serves as a member of the Leadership Committee for the Federation of Fly Fishers. Whew! Growing up, his family were fishing gypsies. His parents worked in the ski industry in Squaw Valley, California, and when the snow stopped falling and the chairlifts stopped running, they would pack up on the VW bus and go on three-month fly-fishing odysseys. Their meanderings took them to Henry’s Fork, the Park, Armstrongs, Nelsons, Depuys, and, of course, Silver Creek. It was Silver Creek that won out in the end and Bret’s family moved to the area permanently when Bret was in high school. A guide since 1991, he has also taught high school English in Boise since 1999. He is a devoted husband and father to three wonderful children.

Guiding Style: Flexible. “The ‘catcher’ in me helps me pick the water I fish with a guest, the flies we use and the presentation with which we might be the most successful. The ‘teacher’ guides the individual to discover the ‘how-to’ and the ‘why to’ in order to catch the fish. We learn from our successes and our failures.”

Fun facts about Bret:

• He holds an undergraduate degree from Colorado College and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from BSU.
• He winters in Boise and summers in Sun Valley.
• The first line he threw used a piece of sausage as bait. He didn’t catch any fish that day, but he did manage to catch his dog.
• As a child, Bret’s parents bought him a Winston glass blank that he built.
• As far as flies are concerned, he likes all things terrestrial and beetles, ants and hoppers in particular, because while hatches are ephemeral, terrestrials are forever.
• When he is not guiding or teaching Shakespeare, Bret is a family man who spends his time playing tee ball, tennis and soccer, driving to play dates, attending ballet recitals and, of course, continuing the tradition of the road trip.