Guide spotlight- John Macmurray

Our boy J’mac, as we later began to call him, was a great addition to our guide staff in 2022. John Macmurray, originally from Silverthorne, CO, has spent a couple winters (20′-21′) in Jackson Hole as a snowboarder and began to see the charm of our valley right away and asserted himself well to score a guide position with GTFF. Instantly, I knew this guy was a passionate, young guide with a high ceiling. He has wisely created a free roaming lifestyle since his primary residence is his Sprinter van, a lifestyle that affords him to move seasonally to where the action and jobs may be. Once our ski season was over in March and he had committed to joining our team, John went to work exploring everyday to prepare for the coming high season. Furthermore, he was willing to be on the schedule everyday to maybe capture any early season work and made it clear he was highly motivated. I was first able to get on the water with John in March to confirm his rowing skills were high and again, instantly I knew with his inquisitive nature and study of the river, he was going to be a great addition.

The following is a summary from John’s first season with GTFF and a look into his fishing pursuits for the winter, he’s not wasting any time!

It always amazes me how quickly a guide season goes by. The daily routine of hooking the boat up, rigging rods, netting fish, and looking forward to a cold, yellow belly when its all done is something I truly live for. Looking back at an incredible season it is good to contemplate what I have gained and how I have grown as a guide. These are some of the things that come to mind.

I had a blast getting to know the rivers GTFF is permitted on. The Snake, Green, New Fork and Salt are truly unique and special rivers and I only scratched the surface on what these fisheries have to offer. I learned that trout really are products of their environment and the way they act differs on every river. Snake River cutthroats love the slack water I used to over look and you better fish every log jam in the river. This opportunistic nature and willingness to eat big foam dry flies astounded me. I will forever have visions of a big, fat cutty slowly rising to a water walker below the Tetons in my head and this goes to show how prevalent the stonefly population is on the Snake which is a good indicator of a healthy river and I hope it stays that way. Jackson Hole and the surrounding area is hard to beat and the public lands that GTFF guides on is something not to take for granted. I look forward to the bright future these rivers have and the fish that swim in them. For the winter season I will be headed South to push my craft further. I will be working for Patagonia Base Camp Lodge figuring out the incredible rivers and lakes the region has to offer. Big dries and streamers are the name of the game, so I will build off what I have learned at GTFF thus far. ~John Macmurray