Presentations

Chris is the owner and founder of Living Waters Fly Fishing, a fly shop and guide service based out of Round Rock, Texas.  He has guided the Texas Hill Country for fifteen years, and has fly fished the heart of the state for over 20 years.  Chris has been a licensed guide in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alaska.  Chris is a FFI Certified Casting Instructor, Umpqua Signature Fly Designer, Tenkara USA Guide, and TPWD Angler Educator Area Chief.  He is also a pro team member for Whiting Farms, Scott Fly Rods, Dyna-King, and Scientific Anglers. 

Chris is dedicated to sharing his passion for the sport and investing in the next generation of fly anglers.  He often is a featured presenter/fly tier at fly fishing, outdoor, and community events throughout the state. 
Chris and his shop have also been featured in several outdoor publications including Trout magazine, Garden and Gun, and Tenkara Magazine.  He was also awarded the 2014 Man of the Year from the FFI Texas Council and in the same year, Living Waters was the recipient of the FFI’s prestigious Lee Wulff Award. 

In addition to fly fishing, Chris is passionate about film and photography.  He co-produced the short film “Unspoken,” in an effort to raise awareness for Rio Grande Cutthroat trout conservation.  As a result, Living Waters is working with Trout Unlimited as a Gold Level endorsed TU Business to restore Rio Grande Cutthroat throughout their native range. 

Chris is happily married to his wife Emily and together they enjoy fly fishing the world and raising their children in the sport. 

Donavan Clary is the only full time fly fishing guide in Oklahoma. He also guides in Missouri. He has been fly fishing since 1982. Spending an average of 250 days a year fishing, it’s easy to say he’s committed! He has been a volunteer with the Tulsa chapter of PHWFF for a number of years. He also supports and volunteers with KEKOA Outdoors, another nonprofit focused on exposing veterans to fishing and hunting. He is an avid supporter of Trout Unlimited, and very active with the local 420 chapter. His family owns and operates a lodge on Tenkiller Lake in northeast Oklahoma where they offer all-inclusive guide trips for individuals and groups. He loves Oklahoma and the Illinois River. The majority of his time is spent guiding float trips and wading trips above and below Lake Tenkiller for Smallmouth Bass, especially the Neosho strain Smallmouth. He will even take occasional trips on the lake with anglers ready to chase still water Bass on the fly. He is a master at finding and catching large trout, striper, carp, gar and Smallmouth bass on the fly. He holds classes and seminars around the region teaching all aspects of fly fishing and targeting numerous species on the fly. 

Brett will tell you that he’s been fishing longer than he’s been walking. His experience and skills propelled him to tournament fishing and a few sponsorships. Even though he enjoyed the thrill of tournament fishing, Brett’s real passion was wading rivers and chasing fish with a fly rod. This affection for fly fishing has grown into years of searching for fish around the world. Brett has also turned his love of fly fishing into a love of introducing others to the sport as well. Through classes, clinics, presentations, and hosted trips, Brett has introduced thousands to thrill of catching a fish on a fly. His favorite pursuit is catching fish on small technical streams with lightweight rods and exploring what’s around the next bend of the river. When Brett’s not waving a long stick in the air, you can find him managing the Orvis store in Fort Worth and enjoying life with his wife Kendra and their four-legged children Maddie and Ranger.

Frank Smethurst has been teaching and sharing Flyfishing for literally his entire life, and that’s why he again joins TRWD Flyfest. Frank was introduced to fishing at the age of two, he started tying his own flies at age seven and at the age of twelve, began work at an influential Atlanta tackle shop. Frank went on to spend the next thirty plus years immersed in the fishing and particularly flyfishing industries. While guiding and working for various manufacturers as a rep and consultant, frank began to make fishing films and programming. Some notable programs that Frank has either produced or was featured in include: Meateater Das Boat, Jim and Kelly Watt’s Flyfishing Video Magazine, The Reel Guys, Fishing with Micah Adams, Frank’s Fishing Problem, and Trout Unlimited’s On The Rise. He has also produced and starred in feature films such as Running Down The Man, and Eastern Rises, with Felt Soul Media, and Carpland with RA Beattie. Frank has competed and placed and/or won many flyfishing tournaments. From National events such as the OLN’s Flyfishing Masters, to the more Western based Conejos Superfly, The Denver Carp Slam, The Teva Mountain Games, The GoPro Games, The Caddis Cup, The Frostbite Fish Off and The Dos Mosca. Frank lives and guides in Telluride Colorado, and has begun his latest production, American Fishing Road Trip, and has released a collection of his deadliest Fly designs with Montana Fly Company.

Stephen has fly-fished for over 25 years. His passion for fly fishing has taken him to the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, North America, Canada and he has guided in Colorado, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Stephen has lived in Fort Worth for the past 27 years. Stephen has been President, Vice President and speaker chairman for the Fort Worth Fly Fishers and loves to fly fish anytime he can. He is the Fly Fishing Manager at the Orvis Fort Worth store.

Captain Stacy operates WOW! Fly Fishing, a business supporting the experiences, education, and industry of fly fishing.  She is a licensed Captain, operating a technical poling skiff from which she guides and instructs fly anglers on the saltwater flats of the Texas Coast.  The sport of Fly Fishing has been central in her life since 1995.  Captain Stacy has managed several of Texas’ best fly shops since that time and has 20+ years as a professional casting coach. She is a Fly Fishers Intl. Certified Casting Instructor and a graduate of Joan Wulff’s Fly Fishing Instructor’s School, and her instruction specialties are conducting casting diagnostics, and helping fly casters prepare for the challenging and exciting Saltwater Fly Fishing experience.  She is an active supporter and member of many of the Texas fly fishing clubs and related organizations.  She is a volunteer instructor for Texas’ Casting for Recovery program – a weekend fly fishing retreat for women surviving breast cancer – and has been a co-organizer for the Lydia Ann Fly Master’s saltwater fly fishing tournament benefiting CfR.  She has been a feature speaker, demonstrator and instructor at numerous events including The Fly Fishing Show, The Shallow Water Show, Fly Fish Texas, Flat Out Fishing!, TPWD Expo,  Oktoberfisch, the Houston Fishing Show, Texas Fly Fishing and Brew Fest, and several FFI Conclaves/Fairs.

Captain Stacy will be the GM of Galveston Fishing Company, a new fly shop on Galveston Island opening later this spring 2022.

Russell is a past President of the Texas Council IFFF and Fort Worth Fly Fishers. Russell spends most of his spare time fishing Texas Rivers and targets BIG Bass. He is an avid fly tier, focusing on simple patterns that are proven to do the trick. Russell loves urban bass fishing and enjoys spending time doing seminars and working with the youth.