Name: Gareth Lewis
Where Based: South Wales, UK
Tuition Offered: Casting tuition (both one to one and group-based) and guided river fly fishing trips.
Target Species: Trout and grayling.
Tell us about yourself: Fly fishing since I was 10 years old (and tying flies since I was 11), fishing has (without trying to sound too cheesy/cliché) deeply entrenched itself into my life, my way of thinking, and my general outlook on things.
Back then, it was a case of trying to cast like Dad, trying to save up enough pocket money by working the paper-round for that new ‘killer’ fly line, and eagerly trying to find as much fly fishing and fly tying material as possible (these were pre-internet days after all).
These days, my fishing is somewhat of a more professional affair, however, is still laid back, and something of a relationship which has bloomed and grown over the years.
Back in 2005 I started my fly fishing blog, Fly Fishing in South Wales (www.ffisw.com), and this became one of the most visited in the UK. Later, in 2010, I made the decision to further my knowledge by jumping into the world of game angling instruction, and qualified shortly after as a professional game angling instructor with the Game Angling Instructors’ Association. The qualification was by no means an easy task, and I am forever thankful to those who helped mentor, coach, and support me down this road.
Since 2010, I have been teaching and guiding on a part-time basis via Gareth Lewis Fly Fishing (www.garethlewisflyfishing.com). Like many other instructors and guides out there, I also hold-down a full-time job so, when not working in the world of IT as an Infrastructure & Network Engineer, my time is either spent on the rivers Usk, Wye and Taff guiding and teaching, or behind the vice tying a range of flies for my clients. Believe it or not, I also manage to find time to go fishing.
Due to this vast difference in jobs, and due to the contrast between air-conditioned datacentres and the freedom of casting a dry fly to rising fish in the middle of nowhere, I’m able to enjoy every second when out on the water; and I have just as much fun watching my clients catch fish, as I do landing my own.
As mentioned, and outside of my instructional duties, I also tie flies commercially (www.garethlewisflytying.com), and am a member of the Partridge of Redditch Pro-Team and Funky Fly Tying Pro Team. I am thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given in the past and these have allowed me to represent Wales at a number of fly fishing and tying events, including the British Fly Fair International (BFFI), the Welsh Fly Fair, the recent and brand new Fly Fest, as well as hosting a number of demos for clubs and for members of the Fly Dressers’ Guild around the UK. I’m proud that my flies are fished around the globe, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and throughout Europe.
What is your angling ethos? Since day one, I’ve always tried to ‘keep things simple’, and that hasn’t changed one bit.
Even today, whether I’m teaching a new cast to a client, tying a batch of flies, or demonstrating a new nymphing technique and leader system to a group of students on the river, I will always try to keep things as simple as possible, and without technical jargon (where required).
That said, knowing your client is one of the most important aspects of guiding and teaching, and so when required (or asked), things can get deep and technical. Just as important, is knowing your subject as, when required, you can get deeply technical.
Whether it’s casting, a fishing technique, or a fly though, it always comes back to catching fish. So let’s keep things simple, but with quality knowledge, tuition and services, and with robust, high quality flies.
Your angling influences: Not wanting to name them publicly, there are a huge number of anglers, instructors, fly tiers, bloggers, video makers, magazines, rod makers, organisations, authors, etc., who push my buttons and keep fly fishing current, exciting, and passion fuelled.
I’ve met a number of very close friends through this weird pursuit of catching a fish, and this is the very thing that makes this passion a way of life. It’s the people we meet along the way, it’s the stories we share, and the knowledge we pass on.
To contact Gareth please visit his website Gareth Lewis Fly Fishing