Our Fishing Guides
Paul “Pablo” Blakely
I started guiding full time in 1976. I have worked at Morrison's Rogue River Lodge every fall fishing season since then. I also guided in Belize in the late 80's to mid 90's, fly fishing for tarpon and bonefish. I have been fly fishing for 6 months each year for the last 8 years. I fish in Fiji in the winter and the Rogue in the fall.
I fish mostly the traditional way, called swinging or pulling flies. It is a great way to fish, easy, relaxing, and productive. We let the flies out in front of the boat and the boat "swings" the fly lines across the water. You can cover every inch of water you want to, and the fish tend to hit the flies aggressively. I love it!
Darrell Hanks
Darrell has been a fly fishing guide on the Rogue River for more than 15 years and has been on the Morrison's lodge guide staff since 1997. Darrell has a vast knowledge of this river from one end to the other, its special history and has lived steps away from the Rogue for almost 20 years in the community of Galice.
Darrell is an accomplished spey caster whose skills include modern and traditional spey casting techniques. He is very knowledgeable in helping beginners and more advanced casters understand spey casting techniques and equipment to help them become a more effective angler. Spey cast instructing, Steelhead fishing and the Rogue River are his passions and he loves sharing his knowledge. Darrell occasionally carries his fiddle with him to share a tune with his guest and he knows a thing or two about a good dram of Scotch as well.
Dennis Nagel
Dennis grew up in Southern California and started fishing the high Sierras in the late 50s. Dennis got introduced to fly fishing on one of those trips, and has been ” hooked ever since! "It was a natural progression from catching fish to tying my own flies to getting my wife to join me on these trips [getting her hooked as well]. We decided we needed to move to somewhere there were forest and rivers to fish daily if we chose to. That brought us to beautiful Southern Oregon in 1991.
My wife and I joined Southern Oregon Fly Fishers. We have both donated our time and experience over the years to teach others of this great sport, through clinics and seminars. I was a carpenter by trade, decided my love for fly fishing and teaching was more important to me at this point in my life. So I built my beautiful wood drift boat, learned the waters of our area and started guiding. I have been a guide for several local lodges in our area and guide extensively for winter, summer and fall steelhead on the Rogue River, as well as the Wood and Williamson rivers in the Klamath Basin for huge Rainbows and beautiful Brown Trout.
Bryce Tedford
Bryce began guiding back in 1997. His guiding travels have included various rivers in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Argentina & Chile. Bryce has also fished extensively in Montana, California, Fiji, Cuba & the Bahamas to name a few. Bryce has been learning, enjoying & teaching two-handed Spey & Switch casting for over 10yrs & enjoys the opportunity to share his knowledge, expertise, enthusiasm & obsession for chasing Steelhead on the fly. Although Bryce is happy to guide & fly-fish for any fish using various styles & techniques, two-handed Spey & Switch casting has become his method of choice for Steelhead, Salmon, Trout and any sort of Anadramous fish he can target.
Jacob Lowry
I grew up here on the Rogue River. Professionally guiding river trips since 2004. I enjoy spending time with my wonderful family, guiding and teaching Fly-fishing, and Rafting. My other interests include, travel, photography, surfing. Sharing these wonderful experiences with people is the ultimate; most people do not get to experience wilderness, and beauty like this so we strive to make it the best river and family experience you will ever have. No matter if it is your first steelhead on a fly rod, or your first time down the wild and scenic Rogue River you will be returning year after year…
Brian Slusser
I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm for fly fishing with my guests, especially swinging flies for steelhead here on the Rogue River. "The tug is the drug" is an often used saying and it is true for me. After hours of casting the big jolt on the end of the line is powerful enough for me to recall days and even months after the event, like it just happened. It is what keeps me coming back every year. The rest of the year I split time between running my own guide service for trout in the Truckee/Tahoe area of California and managing the Alpine Meadows Professional Ski Patrol during the winter.
Stich
Hi. My name is Stich. Well, actually I was born with the name Steve Tichenor, but in eighth grade, a friend started calling me S. Tich, and a day later, it turned into “Stich.” That nickname has carried through my years as a river guide. I guided on the Stanislaus, American, and Tuolumne Rivers in California from 1972 through 1975. In 1976, some guides and I moved to Oregon to work on the Rogue, Klamath, and Illinois Rivers. I loved the area with its boating and fishing opportunities, so I made Southern Oregon my home.
I started commercial drift boat fishing for steelhead in the early 1980s, and I love getting out on the river early in the morning to watch the day turn from dark to light and see the dense fog on the river dissipate and then disappear. An osprey occasionally dives into the river to catch fish, and other animals keep us entertained as we drift down the river fishing flies and plugs.
I got a full-time job as an elementary school teacher in 1994, yet I worked as a backup fishing guide for Morrison’s Lodge on weekends because fall fishing can be very busy at the lodge. I retired from teaching in 2008, and now I’m guiding again as I work the summer vacation raft trips and the fall steelhead fishing trips for Morrison’s. I like to play my guitar on river trips at camp or in a lodge. Life is good!
Charles
Charles works for Fly Water Travel and specializes in the trout and steelhead fisheries of the Pacific Northwest, the Rockies, and British Columbia. A passionate and experienced angler, he has spent the past five years as a full-time trout, steelhead guide and Spey casting instructor on Oregon's Deschutes River.
Charles specializes in floating line fishing and shooting head casting techniques. During his tenure as an Oregon steelhead guide, Charles was part of a group of guides that brought Scandinavian shooting heads to the Pacific Northwest. Charles has fished extensively for anadromous fish from British Colombia to Southern Patagonia, he is an excellent fly tier, an extremely gifted spey caster and Morrison's lodge is excited to have him as one of our Spey casting Instructors.
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