Tony Stark

Tony Stark grew up within casting distance of Utah's best trout water. For twelve seasons he has guided the Green River below Flaming Gorge and the Provo's middle reaches — drift-boat days built around blue-winged olive mornings, PMD afternoons, and the honest conversation every angler eventually has with wind. He rows a steady boat, reads a river the way a rancher reads pasture, and teaches without performance. Beginners learn mend and presentation before they learn hero casts. Experienced anglers get the small call: which seam, which dropper, when to wait out a gust and let the fish return to the feed. Half-days are for a focused beat and a single hatch window. Full days follow flows and weather — lunch on the gravel bar, a new run when the shade crosses the river, time to fix leader length without hurry. Multi-day trips are for anglers who want Utah properly: different stretches, different moods, the same calm voice when the take finally comes. Why clients return: Tony plans around flows and hatch calendars, not generic "best times." His instruction stays level when a rising fish refuses three perfect drifts. And the day feels earned — early rigging, cold coffee, unhurried rowing, honest talk when the weather pivots. A day with Tony starts in the dark at the ramp, rods rigged while the canyon is still black. Pace is patient — you move when the river and light say move. Style is technical walk-wade and drift-boat fishing: dry-dropper, nymph under indicator, streamer when the clouds stack. Expectations are clear: some days the river is generous, some days it teaches humility; Tony adjusts beats instead of promising numbers. The vibe is Rocky Mountain quiet — canyon walls, clean water, the soft push of oars, focus between runs and ease on the bank. Favorite species: wild brown trout on a late-evening rise. Favorite water: the Green below Flaming Gorge when the cicadas buzz and the light goes amber on the rimrock.