John Walker ~ fly fishing instructor & guide

I'm John Walker, a qualified (AAPGAI Advanced certificate) fly fishing instructor and Level 3 sports coach tutor and assessor. I formed Snowdonia Fly Fishing Guides ​in 2010 to help fellow game anglers who want a guide, fly fishing lessons or casting instruction in North Wales.
A guide in the region for many years I have a good local knowledge. Clients can fish a wide range of river and stillwater locations for grayling, wild brown trout, sea trout and stocked trout. If required I can provide clients with tackle at no additional cost and organise fishing permits.

Alongside my fly fishing and guiding services I give casting demonstrations at game and country fairs across England and Wales, am actively involved with a number of angling associations and I'm the General Secretary for The Grayling Society.
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The welfare and satisfaction of clients is important to me and I will always give them my personal attention. To assist with larger fishing parties I only use fellow qualified instructors and guides that I know and trust. I have public liability insurance, hold current certificates in emergency first aid and child protection and have a clean DBS record.

In order to give honest, unbiased advice on equipment and clothing I stay independent of sponsorship or affiliation to suppliers or manufacturers. Recommendations are only given on kit and equipment I've used and have confidence in.

I've been a keen angler and conservationist from a very young age and my passion and ethos has grown with me. ​I have a catch and release policy, using barbless hooks and minimal handling for all wild fish, to set an example of best practice and sustainable fishing. As a campaigner for cleaner waterways I'm a volunteer Riverfly Partnership monitor, sampling aquatic invertebrates to determine water quality.

Fly fishing services

  • Casting instruction ~ including single handed Spey casting, slack line and presentation casts and techniques for gaining distance
  • Fly fishing & watercraft lessons ~ tailored to rivers or stillwater
  • Fly casting fault analysis ~ got a casting problem? We'll fix it together
  • Fly fishing guiding ~ on rivers, upland lakes and larger stillwaters
  • Casting demonstrations ~ for angling clubs and country fairs​