| Guide Services - Guide Profiles | |||||||||||||||||
With a broad range of skills, interests, backgrounds and personalities, our team of Guides is well suited to handle a broad range of skill levels (from beginner to expert), physical abilities (from fit to not so fit..) and personalities (it takes all kinds!..). In addition to their primary function (locating fish!), our Guides will shuttle you between the shop and the water, handle all aspects of the watercraft (launch, row, take-out), prepare and serve meals, assist with terminal tackle (knots, etc.), take photos, net fish and most importantly instruct you in the fine art of fly fishing Bob Mallard
A 30-Year fly fisherman, 12-Year driftboat and 10-year raft owner, Bob has fished extensively (and rowed!) all through New England, most of the Rockies (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho), the Southwest (Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico), and Middle Atlantic (Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York). Several of Bob’s own flies have been featured in books. He has written fly fishing articles at the local, state, regional and national level. He has been featured in numerous books and magazines and recently had a picture of a trout he caught (and he never said where..) appear on the cover of a national fly fishing magazine (Fly Fishing & Tying Journal – Summer 2008). Our resident "Gear Head" and "Technician", Bob knows all the tricks and is more than willing to share his knowledge with anyone wanting to hone their fly fishing or fly tying skills. When things settle down in the shop, Bob has promised to get licensed and on the river, at least part-time… Maybe this will be the year? Bob lives five or so miles (as the crow flies..) from the shop with his wife Diana and their yellow lab Sage who accompanies him to the shop everyday to help greet people, beg for snacks, and keep him company when things are slow…
Mike Butler
Mike was our first full-time guide.. He is a 35-Year Maine resident who has fished all over New England, Chile, the Northwest (Washington, Oregon, California), Canada and New York. Mike is a long-time and active dedicated coldwater conservationist (especially in regard to endangered Atlantic salmon..) and former TU chapter president. At the helm of his beautiful custom made (by him…) mahogany 18' Rogue River Driftboat, Mike is at home on the Bingham, Solon and the East Outlet stretches of the Kennebec River. His boat was featured on the cover of Trout magazine several years ago. Mike prepares his own gourmet organic lunches to round out his unique offering… Mike is a 20-year fly fisherman and 10-year Registered Maine Fishing/Recreation Guide. Mike is available for trips full-time when here and is known for his "Oarsmanship", hand-crafted boat, technical fishing skills, and sound conservation ethics. During his time in Maine, Mike lives less than an hour northeast of the shop where he plies his trade (carves fish…) and takes care of his young son Zeke. Todd Stevens
When Todd is not working (and probably times when he should be…) or guiding, he is fishing – and this is an understatement.. Known throughout the area for his knowledge of our fish and how to catch them, Todd is a fisherman’s fisherman! As likely to be on the river for pleasure as he is work, Todd’s passion for fishing pays dividends for our clients. If you like long days on the water with a guy who loves fishing, Todd is your man! Todd is available for trips starting in mid-May and until there is nothing left to fish for. After that he goes fishing… Whenever I see a trail through the snow to the river I suspect Todd… Chris Russell
Chris owns a driftboat, raft, and the only jetboat associated with the shop. By far the best bass guide in the shop (and entire area for that matter..), Chris is also an outstanding trout and salmon guide.. His work ethic makes him an invaluable asset to the shop - he guided more than anyone else in his first season with the shop… Living and working in the upper Kennebec Valley most of his life, Chris knows the upper river better than pretty much anyone else out there.. His remote Gorge trips are as much an experience as they are a fishing trip – Maine’s answer to Colorado’s Black Canyon.. His love of remote small pond brook trout fishing is unmatched in the shop… Unlike many nine-to-fiver’s out there, Chris is willing to float the gorge at the crack of dawn, break for lunch, ditch the boat, and go wade the Dead or fish a remote pond until dark – talk about getting your money’s worth… An expert outdoorsman, no one can get you into and out of the local backcountry to fish safer than Chris. Chris lives with his wife Cindy and two hunting dogs less than 40 minutes north of the shop.. If it is the Gorge, lower Dead, remote ponds, or smallmouth bass you are looking for, Chris is absolutely your guy.. He is also available for Solon and Bingham trips and is equally well versed at both. Mike Pilsbury
An expert rower and experienced whitewater paddler, Mike owns his own raft and is one of the few people in the area qualified to guide the Kennebec gorge. Mike is also a willing and eager remote pond guide – something very hard to find in conjunction with invaluable downriver rowing skills and modern fly fishing knowledge…. Mike lives with his wife Kim, two children and two hunting dogs. He lives roughly 40 minutes north of the shop.. Mike is a University of Maine graduate with a degree in Biology. Mike is also a marathoner and triathlete. Who better to get you and out of those hard to get to places safely… Mike has fly fished and hunted the area north of the shop for twenty years.. In addition to all season float, wade and hike-in fishing trips, Mike is available for fall “cast-and-blast” specials.. Mike is willing to split the day between fly fishing in the AM and hunting birds over his trained pointers after lunch. If it is the Gorge, lower Dead, or remote ponds you are looking for, Mike is one of the guys you want to fish with. Mike is also available to float Solon and Bingham and is very familiar with both.. Mike is the only one in the shop who offers hunting trips over his dogs.. Want to try something truly unique; book a fall cast-and-blast with Mike. Note: In the interest of sound conservation and fair play, we do not offer guided trips for smallmouth bass where they have been illegally introduced at the expense of the native and/or wild salmonid population. As such, we guide for bass on the Kennebec River below Madison only and do not offer smallmouth trips on the upper Kennebec River or Indian Pond.
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Kennebec River Outfitters has worked hard to put together a team of Professional Guides that share our passion for quality fishing, our support for coldwater conservation and our vision in regard to how a guided fishing trip should be conducted.
Although not officially a "Guide" (he needs to get away from the shop long enough to get his Maine Guide license!), our shop owner and manager Bob Mallard handles most of our "Complimentary" trips (sportswriters, tackle reps, VIP's, key customers, etc.) and is on the river as much as anyone. 
A "Craftsman" and nationally known wood carver (fish and working duck decoys are his specialty), Mike’s work (a fine-spotted cutthroat weathervane) can be seen on the roof of the Orvis Shop in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.. Wintering in the artist town of Ashville, North Carolina; Mike is available for trips in the spring/summer only.
A lifetime resident of Central Maine, Todd knows the middle Kennebec as well as anyone. In fact, Todd has become our Solon specialist with an odd knack for catching fish when no one else can… As for the upper Dead River, Todd may know it better than anyone! Todd is also well versed in regard to the lower Dead, East Outlet and Bingham. As comfortable in his Hyde driftboat as he is simply wading, Todd is game for any and all excursions that involve fishing for trout and salmon in the Kennebec Valley. His work ethic is unmatched having left more than one worried wife at home while he and his clients row off the river in the pitch dark.. Todd is just as likely to shove off at first light…
We had our eyes on Chris for several years.. Part owner of a youth rafting/outdoors company, fishing guide for a large rafting company, former raft guide, outdoor skills trainer, and all-around darn busy guy; Chris has been a fixture in the outdoor recreation scene in the Kennebec Valley for years.. Looking to do more trout and salmon guiding, we were finally able to make it work…
Mike comes to KRO from the whitewater rafting industry. With twenty years of experience working with people in a tourism and recreation capacity, Mike is well suited for his role as a fly fishing guide… He specializes in the upper Kennebec River, Dead River and remote ponds and streams…