Tom Rushlow has been fishing since he was able to hold a rod.  He grew up fishing in southern Michigan where he learned how to angle for panfish. He moved to Texas in the early 1980s where he went to high school and university and continued to fish.   In 1996, after graduating from Southwest Texas State, he moved to the Vail Valley and fell in love with the mountains.  He took up fly fishing several years ago as a way to get outside more and to add a new dimension to his love for hikes.  “My all-time favorite hike here is the Lake Whitney hike, out of Homestake. Now that I fly fish, I have another reason to head up into the mountains.”  Tom spent enough time in the Minturn Anglers shop that they invited him to work as a guide.

Tom started guiding this year, 2014.  His gift is with teaching people how to cast. He spends a lot of time on the fundamentals, so his clients will be able to take what they have learned and apply it to future trips:  i.e. they will be able to fish!  Tom learned how to fly fish on Gore Creek.  “Fly fishing is much easier to learn when you have the help of a good guide.  I started out completely on my own with essentially no idea of what to do.  I turned to the guys at the shop (Minturn Anglers), and they provided a wealth of information.  They used to give me some good-natured ribbing as well because I was learning to fly fish on one of the hardest creeks to fish in the area.  There is a pretty steep learning curve when it comes to fishing Gore Creek, but I have learned a ton, and I catch fish pretty much every time I put my feet into The Gore these days.”

Tom is currently a part-time guide for Minturn Anglers and a full-time server at one of Vail’s premiere restaurants, Terra Bistro.  The best time to secure Tom is for our very popular Wade trips!