Vancouver Fishing Store - Staff Biographies
Jason has 17 years of fishing tackle industry experience in both retail and wholesale and 10 years of guiding experience in both fresh and saltwater. He studied for 2 years at Malaspina College in Nanaimo in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Technician Program as well as 3 years at UCFV. He is President of the Steelhead Society of British Columbia, member of the prestigious Kingfisher Rod & Gun Club, and a former director of the B.C. Federation of Driftfishers. Jason is a regular contributor to B.C. Outdoors Sportfishing Magazine, has written weekly fishing reports for the Vancouver Sun and was co-host of the radio fishing show “BC Wild Country” on the Team 1040.
His passion for steelhead angling has led him across the province pursuing summer steelhead on the Thompson and Skeena, and winter steelhead on Vancouver Island, Central Coast and South Coast rivers. He also loves chasing Kamloops trout in the interior, jet boating the Fraser River to battle huge sturgeon and salmon. He is equally at home on the salt where he spent many seasons in Rivers Inlet, Queen Charlottes, and Dundas Island guiding for chinook, halibut and fly fishing for coho. Always ready for the next adventure Jason has fished Cuba for bonefish and tarpon and Patagonia for brown trout and rainbows.
Through his travels and countless hours on the water he has become a master at a variety of angling techniques from fly fishing to gear fishing in both fresh and saltwater. Eager to share his knowledge Jason teaches fly fishing courses, private fly casting lessons, and steelhead drift fishing and fly fishing courses for Pacific Angler.
Casey is the latest edition to the Pacific Angler team and is an up and coming angler to watch out for. At a tender age Casey is already a competent spey fisherman, his fly fishing skills make him a threat to any trout in the interior, and he is also an expert float fisherman for steelhead and salmon. In the fall look for Casey up North stalking Skeena steelhead and tying intruders, in the winter chasing local steelhead on his favourite creeks and rivers, and back to the interior for Kamloops rainbows in the spring and fall. When he is not fishing he is at the vise tying and is more than willing to tie custom flies, both for steelhead and for salmon.
Ron brings an immense depth of experience to the Pacific Angler team. If his vast fishing and tying experience didn't garner enough attention, his knowledge of gear and keen eye for great products surely does. As a former long standing manufacturer's representative for such prestigious brands as Rio, Simms, and Nautilus Ron has gained invaluable insight and you can be sure you are getting the best information to help you make the ultimate tackle choice for your fishing needs.
Ron's fishing knowledge extends from the Skeena region and many float trips down the fabled Dean, where he has spent considerable time chasing steelhead and Chinook on spey rods, all the way down the coast to the Lower Mainland where he loves to chase Coho and cutthroat in the Harrison and many sloughs and back channels of the Fraser. In the spring and summer months Ron is up in the interior chasing 'bows on lakes like Roche and Island.
When Ron is not on the water he is often found on the vice tying up not only beautiful but productive flies, in particular some outstanding tube patterns for Cutts and Steelhead. He also enjoys the art of photography and many of his pictures taken during his fishing adventures have been published in various fishing magazines.
Matt Sharp
We are extremely pleased to announce that Matt Sharp has joined the Pacific Angler Team. Matt is truly a passionate angler and his passion has lead him to guide for salmon, steelhead and trout for the last 10 years in some truly amazing parts of the province. Matt is also an amazing caster, as evident by competitions he has attended throughout North America and the world.
Matt is a humble angler that is eager to teach anyone who wants to learn. There aren’t too many times someone can really catch my attention when it comes to steelhead topics but listening to Matt talk about his steelhead observations and the way they take the fly had me taking notes. Matt welcome to the Pacific Angler Team!
Ben Gehrke
Ben is always a customer favourite with his seemingly endless amount of energy, positive demeanour, and passion for teaching people how to get into fish. His love of fishing is only surpassed by his love of gear. This guy has one of everything!
Ben spends most of his time on the local waters of Vancouver hitting the beaches for salmon and searching the waters of the Capilano and Seymour for both salmon and steelhead. Ben is a double threat as he is equally adept with the spoon and float rod as well as the fly rod and tying vice. Ben is a director on the board for the Seymour Salmonid Society and is also a brood stock angler on this system.
A true outdoor enthusiast, Ben also has a passion for mountain biking and rock climbing.
Pacific Angler is your Vancouver fishing store!