Great Profiles

With the sun shining down, and trout rising for mayflies, Dan Shepherd can’t help but smile as he gets ready to make the perfect cast. Standing in the middle of one of his favorite rivers, he has no idea that this will be a day he will never forget.

The river peacefully flowing by all around him, Shepherd spots a large fish rising near the bank. His excitement building, he wades a few steps to his left to get in position to make a cast. As he bring his rod forward his line shoots out and he lays his fly down perfectly. All he has to do is wait for it to float right over the fish’s head. He holds his breath. Time seems to stand still. All of a sudden, the river explodes around his fly as a monster cutthroat trout devours it. The fight is on.

For the past seven years, Shepherd has owned the Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop, and has become very well known throughout the fly-fishing community in western Montana. His passion for fishing and his desire to share his love for fishing with others is second to none.

Dan Shepherd was born in Ogden, Utah, on July 16, 1957. He learned to fish when he was twelve while on a family trip to Montana. The first river he fished was the famous Madison River near Bozeman, and ever since that day nearly all of his free time has either been spent fishing, or teaching other people how to fish.

He says that his desire to teach others about fly-fishing is probably what led him to eventually become a fishing guide. His patience and ability to help people learn has made him one of the most respected fishing guides in Missoula. Before he became a guide, he bought the fly shop he had dreamed of owning for a long time.

Shepherd attended Utah State University where he earned a degree in education. He became a teacher, then switched over to working for an insurance firm.

Shepherd says that, “The whole time I was a teacher and in insurance I always thought about how cool it would be to own a fly shop. I figured if I thought about it long enough it would eventually happen.“

He also describes how he used to daydream about fly shops, “I used to sit in my office and draw fly shops and lodges. I also used to draw up different business plans.”

It wasn’t until 1995 that Shepherd actually made Montana his home, and in 2001 he fulfilled his longtime dream. With the help of some investors he bought Grizzly Hackle, and fishing became not only his hobby, it became his life.

According to Shepherd, there is more to owning a fly shop than one might think.

The obstacles he has over come have been many. He describes the shop as a “machine” with lots of “moving parts,” and most of the time the parts don’t work as they should.

Every person who knows Dan Shepherd knows that he lives and breathes fishing, and they will also tell you that he is one of the friendliest people they have ever met. They might also mention the time they spent 45 minutes listening to one of Shepherd’s famous fishing stories.

Evan Phillipe has known Shepherd for about four years, and is one of Grizzly Hackle’s fishing guides. He is also the outfitting manager.

Phillipe remembers the first time he met Shepherd well, “I just remember being really amazed with how nice the guy is. He is also amazingly easy to talk to.”

Phillipe also remembers when he got to witness first hand how much Shepherd loves to fish.

“We were wade fishing a little side channel down on the ‘Root, and Dan had spotted a big fish swimming around near a log that was half way out of the water…We ended up crawling on our hands and knees, trying to sneak up on the fish because Dan was afraid that we would scare it off. When I finally hooked the thing, Dan started yelling like he had won the lottery or something…It ended up not even being the right fish, it was just a little one…I seriously think that Dan was more excited that I caught the fish than if he had caught it himself. That’s just how he is.”

Phillipe describes Shepherd’s passion for fishing as “hard-core.”

“The guy is all about fishing. He has fished all over the place, he owns a shop. Fishing is all Dan talks about, and when he’s talking about it he gets really excited about it. It’s pretty awesome.” said Phillipe.

Jamie Rodgers has been guiding for Grizzly Hackle for a year, and has known Shepherd for about two years. He also remembers when he met Shepherd, describing him as the most honest person he knows.

“If I had to pick one word for Dan it would be trustworthy. I don’t think the guy has ever lied or cheated in his life.” said Rodgers.

David Baker, the retail manager at Grizzly Hackle, has the same opinion saying that, “Dan is very honest. It wears off on the people around him.”

Baker believes that Shepherd’s honesty has led to the success of Grizzly Hackle.

He says that, “Dan is very friendly with customers, and the customer is always first. He will go out of his way to make sure that they are happy, and that they get what they want…I think that he inspires all of us to act the same way he does, and it has made this shop’s customer service unbelievable.”

He also says, “Dan truly cares about people catching fish. So many fly shops wont give you good advice, simply because they want to catch all the fish themselves. Dan will tell you all the secrets…He really wants people to enjoy fishing, and he wants them to be successful.”

Go into the Grizzly Hackle and you will most likely witness Shepherd’s kindness first hand. Often times Shepherd introduces himself to every customer that enters his shop, and it is easy to tell that he makes his customers feel right at home. Even though he stands about 6’ 3” he isn’t the slightest bit intimidating, and he always has a big smile when he listens to a fishing story.

Shepherd has also taught his family how to fish. Shepherd has two daughters and a son, and his wife Diana owns the coffee shop next door to Grizzly Hackle. Shepherd’s son J.C. learned to fish when he was only three years old.

“He was awesome when he was five. People couldn’t believe how well he could cast at that age,” recalls Shepherd.

He also admits that, “J.C. loves to fish more than I do…His cast is even better than mine.”

It is almost as if the love for fishing is in their blood.

Shepherd remembers vividly how the fight unfolded.

With a splash, the large fish at the end of Shepherd’s line makes a hard run upstream. The sound of his line flying off his reel causes Shepherd to worry a little bit, but years of experience tell him that everything is fine. He just needs to be patient and wait for the fish to get tired. He yells at a friend fishing downstream to grab the net.

After a few minutes, the fish starts to give up, exhausted from a valiant effort. Shepherd can now reel the huge trout in.

As his friend finally nets the fish, both fishermens’ mouths drop wide open. Shepherd can’t believe it as he removes his fly from the mouth of a 24-inch cutthroat. This is a moment that no fisherman would ever forget, and Shepherd is no different. He revives the fish by slowly moving it back and forth through the cold water, the whole time wondering why in the hell he didn’t have a camera. After a few minutes, the beautiful fish gives one quick flip of its tail and is gone.