Meet The GFC Crew
Our team of guides is here to make sure your day on the water is a special one. We love sharing our passion for fly fishing with others. We will help you improve your technique and catch fish, no matter your experience level!
Evan Sale
Owner/Float guide
Born in New Orleans and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Evan started his fishing career like many of us, warm water bass, carp and panfish; often being chased off golf course ponds in search of big grass carp. His first “float fishing” experiences involved canoes, bayous and ultralight spin roads. Moving to the Roaring Fork Valley in 2012, Evan enjoyed spending most of his summer evenings in a raft throwing dry flies until well past sunset. He spent a few years working in Aspen's hospitality industry and in 2017 had the opportunity to turn his passion for fishing into a career. Evan purchased GFC from Raphael Fasi and has continued to hone his skills on the lower fork, helping clients from all over the world and all experience levels have fun on the water. When not guiding, Evan can be found biking, snowboarding, chasing elk around our local mountains with his bow or on the saltwater flats with his fly rod.
Justin Jones
Float/Wade Guide
Justin’s obsession with the water originates from the coastline of Southern California. He was raised on a Peninsula, with a flourishing kelp ecosystem in his backyard, just due North of San Diego. Justin’s Dad tells tales of pushing him into waves at the age of 6 and taking him on deep sea fishing trips, in search of tuna and halibut. It’s safe to say the Ocean was his first love. After studying at Chapman University, pursuing accounting and finance, he decided he wanted to take a road trip out to the Rockies before heading into corporate America. The second he laid his eyes on the freshwater river systems this valley has to offer, it introduced a whole new world that was just as enticing as his first love, the ocean. Rumor has it that he has never left. Justin now resides in Carbondale, Colorado and couldn’t be happier he is able to share his passion for the water, and make a living. In the summertime he guides for us, and in the wintertime he works for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, dedicated to making our local rivers as healthy as possible. If you look close enough, you’ll notice the scales on his arms, and the webbing between his toes. He is very self-conscious of it, so if you point it out, don’t let him know that I told you..
Sam Claytor
Wade Guide
Our Sole “east-coaster”, Sam was born in New England and grew up surfing and fishing the rock jetties of NH for striped bass. However rather than picking up the more popular spin fishing method, he gravitated towards the fly rod as his father was an avid fly fisherman. I have seem him try and throw a spin lure, its not pretty. At the age of 16 he was transplanted to the trout streams of Pennsylvania. He began working at a local fly shop in high school and picked up fly tying. After attending and studying environmental engineering at San Diego State University, he traded in the board shorts and grabbed the waders. Since arriving in the valley Sam has become a fantastic angler and teacher. “Fishing with talented anglers is a major passion of mine. But helping someone hook, fight, and land their first fish on a fly rod is an experience that is hard to get tired of” When Sam isn’t guiding he is at his tying desk twisting up some new patterns to test or chasing big brown trout with a streamer.
Austin Johnson
Float Guide
Born and raised right here in the Roaring Fork Valley, Austin has spent his entire life exploring the rivers, streams, and mountains that this beautiful area has to offer. It was on a three-month bike tour throughout the state of CO where he finally understood how serious of a drug the tug could be. After the bike tour in 2014 he continued to devote his time to the fly rod and had landed a guide position by the Spring of 2015. While most of his time is spent floating the Roaring Fork River during the summer, he spends the rest of the year traveling and pursuing his other passions in skiing, climbing, and cycling. Needless to say, the guy belongs outside – even in his new found love for golf where he hopes to qualify for the Senior PGA by 2041.
Pierce Klingbiel
Float/Wade Guide
Originally from Southwest Florida, I grew up running around backwater looking for largemouth, peacocks, juvenile tarpon, and snook. I came to Colorado for college but quickly fell in love with the mountains visited as a child. I found myself teaching golf and snowboarding. Fishing whenever I could. I bought a raft before Covid, and by the time the world shut down, I found my new passion. I spend most of my days on the water. Whether that be guiding my clients, or my fellow guides and friends. I tie almost every fly I throw, and tie flies constantly. I have a love for people and a love for chasing fish on fly.