Meet The Team

Ed's fishing journey began when he was 8 years old and decided to try fishing in a canal near his house in Florida. After catching a few bass, he was hooked. He continued his time on the water when he moved to Pennsylvania, and it was only natural to try fly fishing when he moved to Colorado. Fly fishing became a genuine passion for Ed because it combined the enjoyment of fishing with being outdoors in the water. In combination with being on the river, Ed started tying his own flies. He found fly tying to be engaging and gratifying. He would spend hours in front of a fly tying vise perfecting flies for his next fishing adventure. He was approached by a machine shop, that made the fly tying vise that he used, to sell their vises. Without hesitation, Ed began sharing his knowledge and selling vises to fellow anglers. Over time, Ed expanded the shop's product offerings and grew lifelong friendships in fly fishing. Ed finds it most rewarding to help new and experienced anglers, alike, with their fly fishing queries and determine the right gear for their fly fishing needs. To date, Ed's most memorable fishing adventure was in Alaska where he caught a 30-inch rainbow on the Kenai. 

Brandon VanNooten was born and raised in Montrose Colorado where he spent the first decade of his life along the Uncompahgre River, being born into a fly fishing family Brandon spent many days on the Gunnison, San Miguel, Dolores, and many other rivers and lakes. Fishing came natural from Brandon to which he joined the fly fishing industry straight out of high school Brandon is currently working towards a business degree at Western Colorado University where he probably fishes more than actually studying. You’ll often find Brandon working and sharing his love of fly fishing in Ed’s Fly Shop but when he’s not in the shop you’ll find him in the woods somewhere doing what he loves.

Adam Parrett was born in southern Mississippi, where his love for fishing began with his grandfather catching stocked catfish in the family pond. After moving to middle Georgia at a young age he cut his teeth fishing the muddy waters of middle Georgia running jon boats in the Oconee river fishing for brim, bass, and catfish where his passion grew even larger. Camping and fishing trips with his father to the Blue Ridge mountains grew his love for trout fishing through his school years.

After school Adam traveled and did odd jobs for a few years before meeting his lovely wife Heather. They moved to Colorado together in 2010. Montrose presented many fishing opportunities, he picked up fly fishing shortly after the move. It began with a short 3wt fly rod and chasing brookies and rainbows in small creeks. Then moved to tying his own flies, and exploring new waters around Western Colorado.

Currently you can find Adam and his dog Lucy in a boat or walking the waters of the gunnison river, and surrounding areas in the summer. In the winter you can find him teaching his son how to ski on the local mountains, ice fishing with the family on the Grand Mesa, or Blue Mesa lake.

With all of these experiences under his belt, Adam enjoys sharing his knowledge, positive attitude, and willingness to learn with new and old friends along the way. With great adventures in the future, Adam is happy to share the river and lakes with all the guides at Ed’s Fly Shop!

Tres is one the friendliest people you will ever meet - even the fish stop by to say “hi” when he comes around!  After seeing the movie, A River Runs Through It, at the age of 10, Tres bought his first fly rod on layaway.  He then taught himself to fly fish by reading every book he could find on the subject, and casting to hula hoops in his front yard. In his native West Texas, he rode his bike to any pond or trickle of water that he could to catch bass and panfish in. By the age of 13, he was tying his own flies and leaders because he "didn't have money to buy stuff like that!" Every summer for his dad's 2 weeks of vacation, they loaded up the station wagon and headed to the Colorado mountains to camp and fish. He would cry every time he had to head back home, seeing the Rocky Mountains get smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror. Although he could catch bass in Texas, it was the trout, clean waters, and mountain landscapes he craved. He joined Boy Scouts and quickly became an Eagle Scout solely in order to "get more rides to the mountains" In his search for more, and bigger, fish, Tres moved to Salida, CO in 2007 and wasted no time learning to raft whitewater. He has now rowed almost every major stretch of river in the West, including the Grand Canyon multiple times.            

     In total, Tres has been fly fishing for 36 years and whitewater boating for 33, and he brings these decades of experience to our 3 day Gunnison Gorge float trips. But just as important, Tres also brings a spirit of patience, kindness and humor to guiding - qualities he hones through his day job as a special education teacher at Salida High School (Mon-Thurs during the school year) . The one-on-one attention he gives his students is the same level of attention he brings to his fly fishing clients. Twenty-three years of teaching experience also gives him the ability to quickly identify each client’s individual learning style and teach directly to that. He loves simplifying and demystifying the sport of fly fishing. His positivity and laugh are infectious, and his love for the outdoors is unmatched. Tres makes a day on the water, not just enjoyable, but memory-making! 

     Ed's Fly shop is proud to be able to share Tres with ArkAnglers Fly Shop in Salida, and Buena Vista, where he is a float fishing guide on the Arkansas River. When he has a rare day off, you can find him backpacking, bowhunting elk, snowboarding or mountain biking with his 2 coonhounds Lali and Jesse.