New Guide Team Member Sean Wonders

Sean Wonders

We are excited to announce our newest member to the Silver Bow Guide Team, Sean Wonders. Sean will be guiding on our home water the Spokane River with Silver Bow veterans Kenyon, Jesse, and Bjorn. Sean has spent a tremendous amount of time on our local fishery and shares our same passion for fishing and protecting it. We are looking forward to a great season with Sean and hope you get a chance to share a boat with him! Check out our Q and A below to learn more about Sean.

When did you start fly fishing,or just fishing in general?
I’ve been fishing since I was a little kid (4 or 5 y/o) taking trips to the Sierra Nevada mountains. My father has been an avid fly fisherman his whole life and passed the sport along to me. I had dabbled with fly fishing growing up, but mainly stuck to conventional until my later years in college (around 2020), when my dad gifted me my first fly rod. I threw my first cast (conventional) on the Spokane river back in 2017. As they say, the rest is history.

Without giving away your secret fishing spots, where do you prefer to fish?
I’ve got an intimately deep connection with our home waters in the Spokane river. It gives me a place of solitude and the ability to walk out my front door, fly rod in hand, and on the river in a matter of minutes. I truly see it as a hidden gem right out our back door. Aside from the home waters, I’ve got a special connection with the mountains and streams of BC and Alberta. I’ve been on countless trips up north with one goal in mind every time: explore and find new water. Also, once a year (usually when all the other fishing sucks) I enjoy going to stare at bobbers at the famous Pyramid Lake in Nevada in search of the world’s largest cutthroat. In addition to these places, I love how fly fishing seems to take me to different places for different fish as the seasons change throughout the year.

Fish for anything or is your preference to target a species like trout, bass, etc?
I definitely have a preference, but I’m open to most any fishing. Two of my easy favorites are bull trout and steelhead. There’s something about the intense challenge of finding and catching these migratory fish that really draws me to the chase. In addition, coming tight on a swung fly absolutely lights up my world. Aside from those two, I would have to say I love the fight of a wild redband trout and I love a cutty’s willingness to slurp a dry.

Dream fishing destination?
Tough choice between a patagonia trout trip and a coastal BC steelhead trip.

Preference for type of fly fishing? streamer, dry, bobber, euro, swing, etc
I would say my favorite method is swinging flies, whether those be buggy streamers, intruders, or soft hackles. Tied for second would be dry fly fishing and mousing/night fishing in general. Third would be stripping streamers from the boat. While not my favorite methods, you will absolutely still find me with a bobber/euro rig in my hands because it simply catches fish.

What else besides fly fishing do you enjoy? Ski or snowboard? Biking? Cooking? Long walks on the beach, etc
You mean there’s other things outside of fly fishing?? I enjoy snowboarding in the winter and camping in the summer (usually mixed with fishing lol). I’ve always had a passion for playing and watching basketball (go Zags and …Lakers). I love a good night of bowling too. I will sometimes dabble on the piano, guitar, or drums and enjoy finding new music. Aside from that, I enjoy spending time cooking and going on walks along the river with my significant other and our dog Bumi, who happens to be a great fishing dog (until you actually have a fish on).