Dan with a fat Provo River Brown Trout.
Dan – I was born and raised in North Carolina and came to Utah in 1992 to continue Graduate School at Utah State.
I worked as a wildlife Biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife for 14 years.
Part of my job was wildlife monitoring on the Middle Provo before the Restoration Project beginning in 1997.
As a young man, I lived in West Africa for almost three years where I built fish ponds to grow fish for food.
I’ve been a lifelong fisherman, but my fly fishing education really progressed after Jim O’Neal and I started fishing together in 2013.
Jim is no longer with us, but we fished together for many years and made many fishing videos (see below).
Jonathan Kee
Jonathan also has a nice Utah brown trout
Many of you will recognize Jonathan because he seems to always be on the river and always seems to know where to find the hatch.
Jonathan – was born in Provo, Utah and began fishing the headwaters of the Provo river at 8 years old in Kamas, Utah (gateway to the Uinta Mountains).
He graduated high school in Heber City, Utah and attended College in Durango, Colorado. Always close to a river or stream teeming with trout.
Jonathan started guiding the summer of 1997 on the lower Provo river and then went back to Durango and guided on the multiple rivers and creeks in the surrounding area. Jonathan returned to Utah in 2009.
Passionate dry fly gentleman. Masterful nymphing technician. Methodically patient Streamer presenter (strip, swing, dead drift).
Fly tier since summer camp of ’84 and has been fishing with barbless flies since ’99 and fishing a single fly since 2009.
Always looking forward to spending time standing in a river facing the challenges the elements and trout throw my way.
Honoring the trout and respecting the art of fly fishing.
Check out what Jonathan has been up to at @jonathankee886
Mike Raynis
Mike was born in Los Angeles County in California. He studied international relations at Harvard University in Massachusetts. After graduating in 2014, Mike moved to Brooklyn, where he worked in New York City in financial services.
Mike spent much of his childhood and early adulthood fencing epee on the national, world cup and NCAA circuits.
In 2017, Mike was transferred to Utah, where he quickly immersed himself in the outdoors and everything Utah had to offer, including world class fly fishing and elk hunting.
Mike met Jim and Dan in 2019 and is a proud student of theirs, having been trained in their methods and taught to fish all stretches and seasons of the Provo River.
Mike primarily guides on weekends. When he is not guiding or working, he will almost always be on the Provo River fishing.
Check out Mike at @mystyle9876
Jim with another nice Utah Brown Trout.
Jim O’Neal passed away in May, 2021.
Many of you knew or recognize Jim O’Neal and fished with him as he guided many folks for the years on the Provo River and surrounding areas (including a National Geographic crew in the early 60s).
Jim fly fished the Provo River for over 50 years and guided before it was “cool” and long before guiding became a way to make a living.
Jim was a lifelong fly fisherman who was taught by his grandfather (also a lifelong fisherman). Jim tied his first dry fly and caught his first rainbow trout in 1953.
Jim was my fishing budding since 2013 and my business partner since 2017.
He is missed, but I know he is fishing on the other side.
Check out our fly fishing videos at Our YouTube Channel and check us out and follow us on Instagram (backcountrychroniclesdotcom) to see what we have been up to.