Meet Our Guides
BENJAMIN TODD
Date of Birth: 10/26/76
Home Town: Bend, Oregon
Years Fly fishing: 14 yrs
Years Guiding: 8 yrs
Favorite Rivers: Kamishak, Funnel, American
Favorite AK Species: Silver salmon, Sea run Char
Favorite Style of Fishing: streamer fishing, Wogging for Silvers
Other Hobbies: Golfing, snowboarding, rock climbing, mountain biking
DORIAN THOMPSON
Home Town: Glide, North Umpqua, Oregon
Years fly fishing; 20
Guiding: 11 years
Favorite River: anywhere that holds Steelhead
Favorite AK Fish: Hog Bow’s
Style: “Mouse Em Up”
Hobbies: “I love chasing fish And rowing Boats, I guess tying flies would be the only other thing I know how to do…”
TIM PEARSON
Date of Birth: 8/4/79
Home Town: Silver Bay,MN
Years Fly fishing: 22
Years Guiding: Total of 12, with 5 in AK.
Favorite Rivers: Any with wild rainbow trout or steelhead.
Favorite AK Species: Rainbow trout of Bristol Bay
Favorite Style of Fishing: Streamer fishing and dry fly fishing of the mouse variety.
Other Hobbies: painting, hunting, birdingLinks to you blogs or website etc…riverblendstudio.com
CHRIS LEEMAN
Date of Birth: 11/29/1983
Home Town: Bend/ Sunriver, Oregon
Years Fly fishing: 10-11 Years
Years Guiding: 5 years in Southwest Alaska at Rainbow River Lodge
Favorite Rivers: Lower Deschutes, OR North Umpqua, OR
Favorite AK Species: Big wild rainbows and Silvers!
Favorite Styles of Fishing: Bringing fish to the surface, and Swinging the Thing!
MONTY THIERRY
Date of Birth: OLD
Home Town: Woodland WA
Years Fly fishing: 30+
Years Guiding: Full time Steelheadguide for 9 years. Owner/Operator of Reel Adventures Guide Service offering premium fly fishing and conventional gear drift boat/raft float trip throughout Washington State.
Favorite Rivers: Kllickitat, Sol Duc, Funnel Creek
Favorite AK Species: Rainbow and Silvers on the fly
Favorite Style of Fishing: Any method my clients prefer to target Steelhead is my favorite. Fly fishing, spinning gear, conventional tackle and any combination.
Other Hobbies: Just celebrating our 33rd year of marriage my wife and I enjoy to sea kayak in the San Juan Island near Seattle WA. We also enjoy photography, mountain biking, hiking, camping and spending time with our 2 daughters who are now 23 and 27 years old. Links to you blogs or webiste etc…www.reeladv.com
Other Hobbies: Golf, Fly Tying, Videography, Snowboarding
ZACH BENSON
Date of Birth: January 21, 1980
Home Town: Upstate NY – as far as you can go before hitting Canada.
Years Fly fishing: 20
Years Guiding: 9
Favorite Rivers: Back home my favorite has got to be The Deerfield River in Charlemont, Massachusettes… but here in AK its a river where the water is blue, the Char are big and the Bows are transparent… Come to lodge and I’ll tell you its name.
Favorite AK Species: Bows and CharFavorite
Style of Fishing: I’m pretty traditional – dries and indicators with a single handed rod… however with all the Salt water fishing I have done throughout New England I love taking heavy sink tips and big flies into deep pockets to see whos hungry!
Other Hobbies: Carving decoys and fish plaques.Links to you blogs or webiste etc… www.thewhistlersinn.com
MIKE GOESER
Date of Birth: September 10, 1982
Home Town: Scandinavia, Wisconsin
Years Fly Fishing: 20 years
Years Guiding: 8 years
Favorite Rivers: Gibraltar, Kamishack, Iliamna, small tribs of Lake Iliamna
Favorite AK Species: Rainbows of Bristol Bay, Coastal Silvers
Favorite Style of Fishing: Mousing, Drys and Large Streamers
Other Hobbies: Tying flies, Running jet sleds, rowing rivers, chasing midwest whitetails and Rocky mountain elk
What is the guide to fisherman ratio?
We have 7 guides on staff for a max of 14 fishermen. We are very proud of our guide team. No young kids here that are just going to take you on a boat ride or a hike. These are all older professional men who have made guiding their life. They have multiple seasons of guiding in our area with valuable local knowledge of our fisheries guaranteeing you a great day on the river.
Does the lodge provide fishing equipment?
If you don’t have the proper rod selection for your week of fishing or just don’t want the hassle of traveling with your rods, we will provide you with the necessary gear. Iliamna River Lodge provides rods, reels, flies, leaders, tippet and everything else needed to fish our rivers. We also provide waders and wading boots. You can leave your waders at home or bring your own. This has been a great service for our guests (NON-felt bottom wading boots per Alaska Department of Fish and Game rules and no-studs). We ask that you bring a great Gore-Tex rain jacket . In case you forget it though, we have a stocked pro shop at the lodge for all your needs. For more info on this please refer to our equipment page.