Ever wonder why other anglers are consistently catching fish around you. Let me share my philosophy and tactics that I have learned from putting thousands of hours on the water fishing chironomids at one of the toughest and most technical Stillwaters we have in the West! I will show you all of my leader setups, type of fly rods and reels, fly patterns, the chironomid life cycle and how to make sure you are always putting your fly at the proper depths for success. Depth, color and size of bugs in that order are the most important aspect of learning how to fish chironomids. Let me show you my secrets for success and enable you build and have confidence to have great success on the water using my chironomid fly fishing tactics.
Ernie was born in southern California, and started fishing with his Dad as soon as he could walk. At age seven, Ernie and his family moved to New Orleans where he learned how to fish Lake Pontchartrain for speckled trout and other saltwater species. Later he moved back to SoCal and began fishing Lake Crowley, Bridgeport Reservoir and many lakes in Utah, Idaho and Nevada. (Ernie currently resides in Riverside with his wife Shannon and their two children, Logan, age 17 and Aidan, age 13.)
In 1997, Ernie’s curiosity about fly fishing began and a true love affair was born. This love affair blossomed and he never looked back. Ernie was mentored by Bob Slamal, one of Ernie’s legends in the fly fishing industry, and he also joined many local fly fishing clubs to learn as much as he could about fly fishing. In 2007, Ernie won the “Double Haul in the Fall” tournament at Lake Crowley, now his home waters for guiding; this is where he has won both individual and team division titles.
Ernie is currently a professional fly fishing guide in southern California and the eastern Sierra with 22 years fly fishing and is known as one of the Sierra’s premier Stillwater guides. Even when he is finished guiding for the day, you will find him back out on the water until sunset, always exploring, testing, observing, analyzing and putting in the extra time and effort to master his craft. His philosophy is simple: you can always learn something new every time you are on the water.
Ernie is a “Pro Ambassador” for the Hardy Fly Fishing Company and the Cortland Line Company, among others. He takes great pride in sharing his knowledge of fly fishing and his greatest passion is teaching Stillwater fly fishing tactics.
You can learn more about Ernie and his guiding by going to:
Website: www.erniegulley.com
Instagram: @erniegulley
Twitter: @gulleyernie
Facebook: Ernie Gulley and Ernie Gulley Fly Fishing Guide Service
Email: erniegulleyflyfishing@aol.com
