Spencer Morley of Elusive Fly Fishing guides on some of the most prized waters in Utah. Morley recently sat down to take on some questions for the Venturing Angler:
1. Why do you guide where you do?
Elusive currently guides on Utah’s Northern Rivers including both the Lower and Middle Provo, Weber, Diamond Fork, and the Green. I grew up on these waters, which includes over 20 years of experience fly fishing on them. This background gives me a unique advantage that can only come with a lot of time spent on the same waters. I guide where I do because of this experience, and because Utah holds some of the greatest locations in the world.
2. What is your favorite fish specie?
Fly fishing for me is all about the challenge and the chess match between you and the fish you are pursuing. This makes steelhead the ultimate species for me because of the challenge they present.
3. What is your favorite thing about guiding?
The simple answer is getting to do what I love, and that is still true. My favorite thing about guiding however is introducing friends, clients, family, etc. to the sport. I explain to every client new or old, that fly fishing is much closer to big game hunting than other types of fishing, the common theme being passion. True fly fisherman are passionate about their sport and the species they catch, just as true as big game hunters are passionate about their big game. Its the passion I want to share and pass on to my clients, and I feel I am doing my job right when I hear stories and see pictures from former and current clients of their own success.
4. What is the most memorable trip you’ve guided and why?
The most memorable trip would have to be my very first trip as a guide on my own, there is no doubt that you are nervous about your clientele, the type of fishing that day, and most of all how successful you will be on your own. From the previous days preparations and the drive up to the river, each of those things ran through my mind. That all went away after the first ten minutes with my first clients, they were excited, anxious and filled with anticipation of getting out on the water. Seeing this excitement took erased any concerns I might have had, and each and every trip following has brought with it that same excitement and anticipation. It’s not a grand story, but it’s the first of a lot of great memories.
5. What makes your guide service great?
What makes Elusive guiding so great is the unique trips that we offer. Not only do we fly fish for trout from the shores of the Provo and Weber Rivers, but we seek out unique species and a unique way in chasing them. From float tours on the Lower and Middle Provo to chasing pike on Yuba Reservoir, if there is a fish to be caught on a fly rod in Utah we will help you go after it. Fly fishing has evolved both in its technique and its arena, at Elusive we embrace this evolution.
6. If you had only one day off all year, where would you fish and what fish would you target?
Steelhead on the Skeena, one of the most challenging fish in one of the most beautiful locations in the world.
Or
Kamchatka, I do not need to explain.
7. What are your favorite three flies?
Prince Nymph, Renegade and Stimulator (I can catch fish on any river in Utah with these three flies alone)
8. What is the one piece of gear you couldn’t bear to leave at home?
Outside of my fly rod and flies it would have to be my hat. My hat drives my wife nuts, but fishing without my hat makes for an extremely frustrating day on the water.
9. Do you have any other passions?
Passion is deeper than a hobby or a past time; its something you dedicate your time, money and soul too. This makes for a short but important list; My Savior Jesus Christ, My Family, Big Game and Turkey Hunting, and Golf. The first two are self-explanatory, without them the rest wouldn’t mean anything. Without my Savior everything I am passionate is mute and without cause, but because of his sacrifice it brings meaning to what I do. My wife Caroline has been and continues to be the love of my life since I was 17, and just two years ago she and I had our first baby boy, William Shawn Morley. With one more addition coming in August of 2014 I can think of nothing that brings me more joy than my Family. Big Game hunting is fly fishing in a different scene with different gear, but it comes with the same passion as any day on the river, and the Pursuit brings teaches a respect for nature and God’s creations. I love the challenge of calling in a big bull or stocking a monster Muley, as much as I love presenting my flies to a rising trout. My passion for golf is simply the challenge of the sport and being outdoors.
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