We provide top-quality teen and custom wilderness fly fishing expeditions at Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions. Therefore, our guides must possess diverse skills not required of a typical fly fishing guide. This is why our team of Trip Directors and Guides are almost entirely returning staff and alums of our programs. Their LFFE experience had a lasting impact on their lives, and now they work to provide that same experience for the next generation of LFFE guides. Many of them have been a part of LFFE for over five years, and we are proud to call all of them a part of the Lillard Fly Fishing Family. They are excellent guides, great leaders, and, most importantly, great people.
Montana Regional Director / Head Guide
Pat Sheehy
Another NJ native, Pat Sheehy, first learned about LFFE when Will gave a presentation to his Boy Scout troop. Already an experienced angler Pat jumped at the opportunity to refine his skill on our 2012 Blue Ridge Adventure. Three trips later, he started working as a co-leader while attending Montana State. He earned a degree in Early Childhood Education in 2020, and we are lucky to have him direct our Montana and Yellowstone Expeditions. Pat's participants love his sense of humor, patience on and off the river, and knack for putting kids on big fish. When he is not on the water, you can find him hunting ducks and turkeys. Pat is a certified Wilderness First Responder and licensed Montana Guide.
Rocky Mountain Regional Director / Head Guide
Jack Seiver
Jack was the first person to ever sign up for a Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions trip. We have lost count of the number of LFFE trips he has participated in, but they have fostered a love for outdoor education. After receiving an Environmental Science degree from Santa Clara University, Jack mastered the art of leading wilderness trips for teens. He followed Will's footsteps and further trained his outdoor education skills while working for Naturalists at Large during the Fall and Spring. Most of his LFFE experience has been in Colorado, but he also led two Yellowstone Adventures in 2018. Jack is currently based out of Crested Butte and directing the Colorado Expeditions.
Trip Director
Will Yantis
Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Will grew up fishing and hunting in the fields of Western Kansas and the Ozarks of South Missouri. After a trip with his father to Montana at the age of 8, he knew he would eventually move out west. He started with LFFE in 2015 as a participant in our Yellowstone Adventure. After a few more LFFE trips in Yellowstone, Maine, and the Winds, Will graduated high school and made his way west to the University of Denver, where he is majoring in business marketing with a minor in sustainability. When Will isn’t in class or at Pioneer hockey games, you will find him on local rivers or in search of the next storm. Will joined the LFFE team as a co-leader after his freshman year and is looking forward to his fourth guiding season and second as Director of the Thorofare and Yellowstone Expeditions.
Trip Director
Ed Dujardin
Ed moved west for the mountains and snow. His love of competitive, big mountain skiing and hard work allowed him to travel the world doing what he loved. A season-ending injury and long recovery turned Ed to fly fishing (if you're a skier, his recovery edit is well worth a watch). What he didn't realize was that he’d ultimately spend more time on rivers learning to fly fish than anything else. After 14 years of living and fishing out of Colorado, Ed now lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. He spends the school year teaching Social Studies and most of his free time skiing, fishing, and enjoying the outdoors. Ed's teaching skills and schedule make him the perfect addition to our team.
Whether through skiing, biking, hiking, or fishing, Ed has worked with youth of all ages to share his appreciation for the outdoors through organizations like Western Colorado University, Irwin Guides, and the Fly Fishing Show.
Trip Director
Remi Bermingham
Remi’s love for fishing brought him to discover LFFE in 2016. It was his first introduction to fly fishing and the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains. After returning every summer for four years as a camper, Remi now eagerly helps guide the Colorado and Wind River expeditions. His passion for the Colorado mountains led him to attend Colorado College in Colorado Springs, where he graduated from in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Organismal Biology and Ecology. He has experience both fishing and guiding the Colorado Rocky Mountain Expedition, as well as the Colorado West Elk Expedition, the Yellowstone Expedition, and the Wind River Expedition. His home waters remain in and around the Shenandoah Valley near Washington DC, where he fly fishes for smallmouth and native brook trout.
Trip Director
Shane Behler
Shane hails from the small town of North Salem, New York, where his passion for the outdoors and conservation first developed. A lifelong angler, Shane was introduced to fly fishing in his early teens and has never looked back. He has since pursued fish on the fly up and down the east coast and in Montana, Wyoming, and abroad. Shane received a degree in environmental science from Clemson University and is pursuing a master’s degree in applied economics and public policy from the same institution. Beyond fly fishing, his hobbies include hunting, reading, skiing, and traveling. This will be his second summer working with LFFE.
Trip Director
David Streiler
Born and raised in Kansas, David has been an avid outdoorsman for as long as he can remember. His introduction to fly fishing came through annual trips to the Rocky Mountains with his family. He first learned about Lillard Fly fishing through a friendship with another guide. Less than a year later, he worked as a co-leader on Yellowstone trips. David is currently earning a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Kansas. At home, you can find David hunting waterfowl and fishing the trout streams of southern Missouri and Arkansas. David is a certified wilderness first responder and will be based in Montana and Maine this summer.
Guide
Zach Christiansen
Zach was born in Wyoming, raised in Colorado, and now calls Montana home— easy access to world-class fly fishing opportunities have been a privilege he hasn’t taken for granted. Zach is currently in the process of finishing a master’s degree in education and will soon be a licensed teacher. Throughout his undergraduate summers in Colorado, Zach worked as a guide and shop manager in both Estes Park and Grand Lake. His favorite trips to guide during these years were overnight backcountry trips into RMNP’s alpine lakes. Zach has a passion for remote locations and cutthroat trout and he belongs to a small group of individuals who have completed the ”master caster” level of the western native trout challenge, having caught 20 species of native trout across 12 states. From his home in Missoula, Zach enjoys floating local rivers during the shoulder seasons, exploring new creeks, and making trips up to British Columbia.
Guide
Will McDonald
Will grew up fishing and exploring Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, but it wasn’t until his first Lillard trip that he developed a passion for fly fishing and backpacking. After three summers as an LFFE participant and LIT, Will took his newfound love for backpacking abroad and completed the 560 mile Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2021. The following summer, Will worked as an LFFE co-leader in Massachusetts and Colorado. Will’s passion for the outdoors has always been coupled with an interest in conservation; he is currently studying Earth and Climate Science at Middlebury College in Vermont. When he’s not backpacking or fly fishing, Will enjoys telemark skiing and playing the guitar and drum kit.
Guide
Cole Hauswirth
Cole's first summer guiding was in '22. He did his first Yellowstone expedition as an eighth grader, and after that trip, he fell in love, doing three more Yellowstone expeditions in the years to come. He went on the first Thorofare trip as a camper and later returned to co-lead the second one. Cole grew up in San Francisco and is currently a Sophomore at Colorado College, where he is pursuing a major in Economics and a minor in Environmental Studies. He grew up fishing the native trout and steelhead rivers of California and exploring the bay and delta for striped bass and halibut. When he isn't fishing, he can be found on the ski slopes!
Guide
Josh Glassman
When he first placed his luggage in the trailer and saw the boatload of rod tubes and nets, he knew he was in the right place. He was a participant on the Yellowstone Expedition and Montana Expedition and guided his first Montana Expedition in 2021. Hooked on any and all sorts of fishing, from offshore kayak fishing to surfcasting off the rocks of Montauk to fly fishing out West, Josh is always eager to be on the water. He is currently a student studying finance at Indiana University, but he cannot wait to be in Montana for the summer to put some kids on big fish! When he’s not fishing, you can probably find Josh on the ice playing hockey or working on cars.
Guide
Hunt McClary
Hunt grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, but has since lived in a few different places, including Steamboat Springs. He is a student at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, and is pursuing a degree in Health and Exercise Science. Hunt went on his first Lillard trip seven years ago and immediately fell in love. He knew he wanted to work for LFFE after his first trip to Maine; he hopes he can help ignite someone’s passion for fly fishing just like the Lillard guides did for him. When he’s not on the river, you can find him hunting ducks, trail running, skiing, or camping. Hunt is a certified Wilderness First Responder and loves throwing meat for buck nasty browns.
Guide
Jacob Gallagher
The 2017 LFFE Yellowstone Adventure was the first time Jacob had ever fly fished, but he immediately fell in love with the sport, the fish, and the places that he got to see during the trip. A Maryland native, Jacob spends most of his year studying Environmental Biology at Plymouth State University just south of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Much more experienced in the hobby years later, he has taught his dad to fly fish so they can go together, and it’s probably his favorite part about going home from college throughout the year. When not chasing beautiful brookies in the picturesque mountains of New Hampshire, he enjoys playing sports and running with his collegiate cross-country and track teammates.
Guide
Connor Stanley
Born and raised in North Carolina. Connor grew up with the abundant small wild trout streams in Western NC and East TN. What started as a hobby turned into an obsession. Connor first started with Lillard on the Yellowstone expedition in 2018. He returned the following summers to do other Montana and Maine expeditions. Since then, Connor has guided the Montana Guide Schools and Road Trips. His time working for LFFE has assured him that guiding is a full time passion. Most recently, Connor is working at Trophy Water Guide Service in East TN back near his home waters doing float trips on the South Holston and Watauga rivers. Getting others on fish is definitely Connor's focus most of the time. You can find him skiing, hunting, and camping all throughout the East Coast the rest of the year.
Guide
Max Fishman
Originally from Sudbury, Massachusetts, Max has been fishing since age 14. Now a 20-year-old living in Montana, he still strives to get on the water as much as possible. After graduating high school and two LFFE trips, he knew moving out west was the right move. Even though he is an experienced fisherman, Max enjoys almost everything outdoors. From skiing after class on a Tuesday afternoon to camping in the backcountry, he demonstrates and carries the knowledge of an outdoorsman. On top of this, Max earned the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 63 Sudbury, MA. Currently in school and working as a line cook, he is very excited for this summer and all that it has to bring!
Guide
Maxwell Wallace
Max was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He was connected with LFFE through another outdoors program, Virginia Outside. Max grew up an avid hunter and fisherman, but didn’t get his first taste of fly fishing until 2019 on the Yellowstone Adventure, and he was hooked. He has remained with LFFE each summer since, most recently guiding and rowing on the Montana Road Trip Expeditions after attending the first ever LFFE Montana River Guide School. He is now attending the University of Virginia, pursuing a degree in Environmental Science and spending free time catching native brook trout in the Shenandoah Valley. When Max isn’t fishing, he can be found pursuing ducks, deer, and turkey across the state of Virginia.
