CONTRIBUTORS
CHRIS SANTELLA
Chris Santella could be the most successful fly-fishing author of all
time. If he is not, he’s close. His books, Fifty Places To Fly Fish Before
You Die, Fifty More Places To Fly Fish Before you Die, and Fifty Places
To Drink Beer Before You Die, among many others, are perennial sellers.
When not managing dad duties at home in Portland, Oregon, Santella
is fishing for steelhead on the Deschutes and beyond. Need marketing
services?
STEPH AVENA
Hiking the rivers and creeks east of Seattle hooked Steph Avena on a
passion for fly-fishing. Teaching himself to fly-fish on streams like the Tolt,
Raging and upper Snoqualmie forks showed him that trout and steelhead
don’t come easy and that you have to be dedicated to have success. Now
residing in Omak, Washington fish come a bit easier. But that doesn’t
temper Avena’s love for the sport.
Check out his operations at www.steelhead-communications.com
KEITH ROE
I have been tying flies and fly fishing for over 45 years. I grew up in
western Washington, then moved to the eastside of the state, where
I have called the Methow Valley my home for about 35 years. Moving
here gave me the opportunity to hunt and fish with in a stone throw of
my home. Chasing steelhead across the state was my passion. I came
to work at the North 40 Flyshop about 5 years ago. Before that I spent
almost 13 years working for the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife. I have seen a lot of change in the world of fly fishing but one
thing still stands the same and that is the passion I have for it.
ROBERT ROBINSON
Robert Robinson’s work has appeared in Fur, Fish & Game, Fly
Fisherman, Fly Rod & Reel, Flyfish Journal, World Unknown Review, and
Antioch University’s literary journal, Lunch Ticket. He was a Pushcart
nominee in 2016. He lives in Utah and spends his time chasing wildly
colored native cutthroats in the high country.
LUKE McKEE
Luke was raised in North Central Washington where his first profession
as a cowboy took him all over the United States riding saddle bronc
horses. After marriage to his wife Haley, years chasing the cowboy
lifestyle and the birth of their first child, they decided to return to the
Okanogan. Luke brings to the North 40 Fly Shop in Omak a wealth of
knowledge, whether it’s in the form of single hand rods or his favorite:
the spey rod. Besides casting a mean line, he is quite the master at the
fly vice, creating some of the best bugs around. His passions include:
Anything he can do on horseback, finding more excuses to fish a spey
rod, and Nebraska Football - ”GO BIG RED”!!
MICHAEL WHITE
If you want to hear a good story look no farther than fly-fishing guru and
hunting fanatic Michael White. White is known widely in both industries
and now serves as a marketing guru and sales rep for Sitka Gear, the
Bozeman, Montana-based hunting apparel company. When not in the
woods bowhunting elk you’ll find White on one of Montana’s trout streams
or deep in the British Columbia wilderness chasing steel.
JOE CUMMINGS
Cummings is a former NFL player and Stevensville, MT native. He’s been
outfitting in western Montana for the last 18 seasons and is the owner of
Missoula River Lodge—www.montananflyfishingguide.com;toll free 1-877-
327-7878. When not on the water leading clients to fish—or catching them
with his children on his days off—he’s wandering the woods hunting with
a rifle or a bow, or simply with a camera in-hand.
FRED TELLEEN
I live to fish and have spent 25 years guiding anglers to great days on
the water. For me, it’s an obsession. At the age of two, I captured my first
bluegill in southern Michigan. I caught my first wild trout shortly after in
Glacier National Park. I spent much of my youth chasing fish in Wisconsin,
the Great Lakes area and Canada. I went to Alaska in 1989 and started
guiding. Alaska is where I also met my wife and started a family. Today we
call Great Falls home while I manage the North 40 Fly Shop. Stop by the
shop, anytime, and we can talk fish, bear encounters, and my experience
with Bigfoot.