About Ralph

I first picked up a fly rod at the age of 14. By the time I got my drivers license I was taking advantage of any chance I could to explore the waters around Saratoga. It wasn't hard to find and fall in love with the Battenkill. Many of my early lessons in fly fishing were taught to me by this beautiful and challenging river. After high school I enrolled in a NOLS/Orvis course which gave me the opportunity to fly fish for nearly a month straight; I was hooked. I thought I might have wanted to guide before this trip, now I knew I had to.        I began my guiding career working at a lodge just north of Yellowstone National Park. Guiding mostly the Lamar valley in Yellowstone NP as well as some of the spring creeks of paradise valley. While the fishing was great, by the time August came around the smell of cigar smoke would become a pining reminder of the race track and home in Saratoga. Upon making the transition back east I started guiding for Orvis in Manchester VT and have done so for close to 10 years now.      I love to fish everything from high up tiny brook trout streams in the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains all the way down stream to the Hudson River for small mouth, and everything in between. Whether you prefer to fish dry flies, get down with nymphs, or like stripping big streamers; I love teaching the tactics and techniques of all facets of the game. My goal with any client on a river trip is not to just get you to catch fish but to teach you how to be a better angler.