Meet Your Guide Dave Neal

I was born and raised in Granite Bay, California which is nestled the Sierra foothills east of Sacramento.  I was very fortunate to be introduced to the High Sierra at an early age. My family spent winters skiing on the mountains and summers hiking among them.  This early and sustained exposure, to this day, leaves me with a greater sense of place being out-of-doors than in.

My earliest memory of “fly fishing” was the day I sneaked an old nappy, ragged dry fly from dad’s tackle box.  With my trusty spinning rod, I somehow managed to whip out a couple false casts, imitating the fly fisherman I watched so intently.  As the fly graced the water surface my father, an engineer, casually responded, “Dave…you don’t quite have the right equipment for that style of fishing”.  What happened next is the reason you are reading this now; a flash of color…the familiar tug…I landed my first “brookie” with a dumbstruck but proud pop doing the netting honors.  That trout was only hooked for a moment of its life...I have been hooked ever since.

A culmination of life experiences brought me to the Eastern Sierra…this place I love and call home. I live in Mammoth Lakes with my endearing wife Tracie, daughter Bella Ann and our faithful border collie, Luna. In 2002, I attended the highly acclaimed Clearwater House Guide School in Northern California and promptly began working & guiding for the Trout Fly & Troutfitter fly shops here in Mammoth Lakes.  I am a full-time year around fly fishing guide who is licensed, bonded, insured and carry forest service permits for all the necessary waters in our region.