Kolby Johnson - Head Guide, Relentless River Guides

Kolby Johnson's relationship with fly fishing started early. At 11 years old, on a family fishing trip to Bennett Springs, Missouri, the men in his family gathered around him on the river and passed down what they knew. The skills, the patience, the feel of the water. Something took hold that day that never let go.

Before he could finish high school, Kolby had already set his sights on the United States Marine Corps. He entered as an infantryman and rifleman, stationed in the dry mountains of southern California, a long way from any trout water. But whenever he could get out, he was blue-lining the streams of SoCal, chasing fish in whatever trickle he could find. Old habits do not die easily.

After his service ended, he tried a few different jobs: warehouse work, dump truck driving, heavy machinery mechanics. Good work. Honest work. But none of it was the river. So every weekend, without fail, he was loading up and making the drive from Kansas City, down to Cotter, Arkansas, to fish the White River. Nearly two years of weekends. Nearly two years of knowing exactly what he was supposed to be doing.

Then he stopped waiting. He made the move, chased his dream of guiding the White River full-time, and has not looked back. Now he is here, fully immersed in the Ozarks, hand-tying flies, running boats, and doing whatever it takes to get his clients on fish. That relentless drive did not come from nowhere. It is the same thing that got him through the Corps, the same thing that kept him on the road every weekend, and the same thing he brings to every single guided trip.

His goal is not to run a guide service. It is to make friends on the water.