JOSHUA SCHWARTZ

Trish is one hell of a Striped Bass Guide. Check out his website and book a trip with him on the Napa River. Another chef trained in the kitchens of the Napa Valley, Patrick has become my right hand when it comes to Creel Cooking. We have traveled quite a bit together over the past decade fishing, cooking and always laughing. Most often he will be the first face you see in the morning. Ready with a fresh pot of coffee and a smile. He runs “Trish’s breakfast cafe” like a champ!!!!!!

Jimmy is a BUTCHER…No.. Seriously! Visit his Butcher shop next time you are in Portland. We both went to Culinary school in Vermont and moved across the country to work in Napa where we met. Jimmy and I have been cooking together for over a decade. Jimmy is a blast to travel with and when I call him to cook he always shows up, stoked!!!

Jeffe is one of the fishiest saltwater dudes we know.. Pretty sure he communicates with Roosterfish in his sleep. We met him in Mag bay where he guides in the winter months for the Los Locos boys. Check out the La Ribera page under Destinations to learn more about what Jeffe is up to. “note” he is a signature tyer for Rio and has an award winning fly called the cheeseburger. Pretty Cheffy rite?

Ben Whalley knows where just about every Striped Bass lives in Casco Bay. He is a calm and patient guide as well as an incredably talented fly tyer. We are lucky to have Ben on our team and get to visit him in the summer months when Maine is in its full glory. Check out our program with this outstanding Captain on the Destination page under “Maine”. When Ben is off the water he is spending time with his wife and daughter or at the vice creating a new effective patterns to fish off of his skinny water skiff..

Alex Castillo and I met two decades ago while working in fine dining restaurants in the Napa Valley. He worked his way up the ranks of the Hospitality Industry before transitioning into the role of Head Wine Maker for his famiy’s winery. Several years ago he moved to Colorado with the prospect of growing grapes in the Gunnison River Valley. Lucky for us he has settled there where he spends most of his time looking for rising trout on the banks of the Black River Canyon.

John Fochetti and I met while working at a fishing lodge in Northern California. He took clients fishing and I fed em”. John loves great food and is an outstanding human being so it didn’t take long for a mutual man crush to form. Over the years we have spent many hours on the boat laughing and harassing Bass, Trout and Steelhead together. When he made the move into guiding independently it was clear he would be the man to drive NorCal group trips with Creel Hospitality. Check out our Fall River program where we are back to our old tricks.

Steelhead in common….. That’s what brought Jesse and TravelCreel together and that’s exactly what keeps us together now. An honest professional guide, father and all around fantastic human being. Jesse and I started talking in the beginning phases of Travel Creel. I told him what we were setting out to do and he was enthusiastic and supportive from the get go. He wrangled up a killer crew of guides for our very first trip and look at us now. If there are fish in the river Jesse will find em. Best part is anyway you choose to fish on his boat he treats you the same. Jesse’s passion for Steel-heading is apparent and we are lucky to have him as our head Guide for our Oregon adventures.

R. Valentine Atkinson is an internationally acclaimed and much-published photographer specializing in flyfishing lifestyle and travel worldwide. His assignments have taken him to 29 countries. He divides his work between advertising, corporate and editorial photography and is published in most major fishing and outdoor magazines regularly.

He has been the staff photographer for Frontiers International Travel for 18 years and operates his own stock photo library with 80,000 images on file.

He studied commercial art and photography at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio.

Val is very proud of his 4 books; "Distant Waters", Trout and Salmon", "The Greatest Flyfishing Around the World" and most recently; "Friends on the Water"

He was recently inducted into the Flyfishing Hall of Fame.