Meet The Staff
Jimmy Gabettas
What do you like most about working in the shop?
Well, we opened the shop in 1979 and after 35 years its always fun when someone from the earlier years drops in to say hello.
What other hobbies do you enjoy outside of fly fishing? Backpacking, Big Game Hunting, Winter Camping, and tending my vegetable garden.
Fly Fishing gear you couldn’t live without? Modern Trout leaders & tippets and high quality polarized sunglasses.
Favorite type of Fly Fishing? Anytime I can see the fish in the water whether they are Trout, Bluegill, or Bonefish.
Favorite Fishing Memory? Impossible to pick one so I’ll say two of my favorites are catching my first Steelhead in 1977 on the Deschutes River and hooking a large Tarpon in the Keys a few years ago.
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Jim Gabettas
Age: 83
Years in eastern Idaho: 54
Years spent fly fishing: 55
Favorite type of fishing: Dry flies and nymphs
Favorite spot for an afternoon: Lower Henry’s Fork
Favorite spot for a weeklong trip: Steelhead fishing on the lower Deschutes.
How many years spent fly tying: 35
Favorite pattern: Sparkle duns and soft hackles
Favorite fishing book: The River Why by David James Duncan
Favorite rod: Sage SP, 9 foot, 6 weight
Favorite reel: Lamson Waterworks, Litespeed
Favorite fishing memory: Fishing Silver Creek in the 1960s
Dry flies or nymphs: Dry flies
Steelhead or trout: Trout
Most exotic place you’ve fished: Patagonia
Place you want to go next: Tierra Del Feugo
Years with TU/FFF: 20
Idea of a perfect day: A good hatch, lots of feeding trout. 75 degrees and no wind.
If you could fish with one person — alive or dead — it would be: Lee Wulff
Most embarrassing moment on a river: I buried a No. 4 stonefly nymph in my eyebrow while fishing in Box Canyon
Who would you want in a bikini in your boat: Angelina Jolie or Helen Hunt: Either one. I’m not particular.
Number of days fishing last year: 30
Favorite fishing partner: My son, Jimmy.
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Bruce Staples
What do you like most about working in the shop?
I enjoy the Camaraderie and the opportunity to learn more about fly fishing and cold water fisheries.
What other hobbies do you have outside fly fishing?
Eastern European/Russian History and building spreadsheets.
Fly Fishing Gear you couldn’t live without?
A medium weight fly rod designed to present dry flies ranging in size from #4-#18.
What is your favorite type of fly fishing?
Dry fly fishing for large, wary Salmonids.
What is your favorite fly fishing memory?
Introducing my grandson to fly fishing.
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Parker Stenersen
What do you like most about working in the shop?
I like meeting all kinds of cool fisherman and hearing all the great stories they have.
What other hobbies do you have outside of fly fishing?
Attending College, Hunting Big Game and Waterfowl, and Mountain Biking
Fly fishing Gear you couldn’t live without?
I would have to say a good pair of polarized glasses, and a Rio Gold fly line.
What is your favorite type of fly fishing?
I love swinging streamers on the Henry’s Fork for monster Browns.
What is your favorite fishing memory?
Being able to fish the Clearwater for Steelhead, and catching two 30+” Steelhead.
Travis Toller
What do you like most about working in the shop?
Sharing my enjoyment of the outdoors with people. I always enjoy talking to people from different parts of the world too. It seems that we get a ton of foot traffic in the downtown area, and that brings in a lot of different, interesting types of people.
What other hobbies do you have outside of the shop?
I really enjoy fly tying. If I am not busy with everything else in life, I like to put in a couple hours on the vise, per day. Outside of fishing, I really enjoy learning about ecosystems, and broadening my abilities as a photographer.
Fly Fishing gear you couldn’t live without?
That is a ridiculous question, that will never apply to me.
What is your favorite type of fly fishing?
Sight stalking, really spooky, big fish with dry flies is by far my favorite pursuit. Attempting to tie a fly that in your mind will take a picky fish under a certain condition, then getting to the stream, and having it all come together, kind of rounds out what I consider to be the perfect chain of events in fly fishing. When I’m not caught up on chasing fish on dry flies, which is literally all summer, I really love to nymph. Call me simple, but watching a bobber is a real form of entertainment for me.
What is your favorite fishing memory?
I’ll just take the liberty, of grouping this into a general statement. My favorite memories, are the times when you plan out a big trip, some crazy stuff happens along the way, maybe some fish were caught, but at the end of the day there is a story there, and it is worth telling. Those are my favorite fly fishing memories.
Tom Banyas
What do you like most about working in the shop?
I like being able to see all of the new tying materials, clothing, and fishing equipment as it comes into the store.
What other hobbies do you have outside of fly fishing? I taught for 32 years in the Idaho Public Schools as an instrumental music instructor. I still enjoy performing with my trumpet.
Fly Fishing gear you couldn’t live without? I totally enjoy all of my Sage fly rods, especially my XI3’s and Method!
What is your favorite type of fly fishing? Anything with indicators!
What is your favorite fishing memory? The splendor of fishing the Yellowstone River in YNP and catching beautiful Cutthroat trout on large dry flies!
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Everet Evans
What do you like most about working in the shop?
I love being around the sport everyday and helping people get set up for the day, a big trip, etc… I also love seeing all the new stuff as it comes in.
