Cody Lujan

Cody Lujan was born and raised in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and grew up chasing elk and fishing the Yampa River and its headwaters in the Flat Top Wilderness area. Lujan’s flyfishing adventures have taken him from the tip of the Tierra del Fuego for sea run browns, through the jungle rivers of South and Central America for freshwater dorado and peacock bass, through the flats of the Caribbean, the blue water of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, throughout the lower 48, and North into Canada and Alaska. Cody guided for several seasons on the Talachulitna and Aniak Rivers in Alaska and recently settled down with his wife and upland lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Despite his gig as a real estate law attorney, Cody can be found chasing large bull elk in the Gila, running quail in the desert, fishing for browns in the Jemez Mountains, or putting on a clinic with large dry flies on the banks of the San Juan River. His unique hunting photos frequent the pages of hunting magazines and have won awards from outdoor clothing makers and websites. Cody’s favorite fish to target are large Alaskan ’bows and big browns in small creeks (although it is rumored that he has mastered nymphing techniques for pure Rio Grande strain bullhead catfish). Lujan is affectionately known as Eric Shoemaker’s idol and mentor.

Interesting facts:
Cody and Eric Shoemaker were once taken peacock bass fishing in Panama by a well known Panamanian Senator who wanted to use them as a photo opportunity for a publicity stunt. Sadly, Cody and Eric were out fished by a 9 year old local boy with 10 feet of fishing line tied to the end of a broken fishing rod....

Notable catches:

• A squirrel and the trailer of a semi doing 65 mph down a road in rural Minnesota.
• 45 pound king salmon on a stripped streamer in saltwater.
• 27 inch Snake River Cut on a dry fly.
• His wife Bree

Favorite Flies:

• Dave’s Hopper and any big ugly mouse pattern

Eric Shoemaker

Eric can’t remember when he started fishing, but it was either shortly before or after he learned to walk. In the 30 years since then, his passions for water, fish, and the conservation of both have taken him to such far flung places as New Zealand, Alaska, British Columbia, continental Europe, the British Isles, Chile, Panama, Mexico and back and forth across the US more times than he can count. Eric began his career in the fly fishing industry with his first job, as a clerk in Phoenix fly shop, at the tender age of 16. Building on this experience, Eric spent summers in college and thereafter guiding in Alaska and the Rocky Mountains. In addition to guiding, Eric’s photography and writing have been published in magazines like Fish & Fly. When reality hit finally hit, Eric hung up his guiding spurs to spend a couple years on Wall Street before wisely moving back out West to his beloved Portland, OR. The upside of Oregon’s long, and frequently wet, winters are rivers full of fresh steelhead, Eric’s favorite fish, nearly twelve months a year. When not masquerading as a lawyer turned real estate developer, Eric fishes more than he should, taking only the occasional break to shoot pheasants in October.

Interesting facts:

• Eric is a terrifying gear fisherman. He can pitch a 6 inch pink worm into a shot glass from 40 ft.
• While landing his “career” brown trout, taken on a skated dry fly at night from a remote South Island river, Eric was bitten by a giant freshwater eel. The resulting scream was heard clearly within a 40 mile radius. The offending eel, one of five that had honed in like a circle of hyenas on the struggling fish, was dispatched with a large rock and served for breakfast the next day.
• Testimony to the contrary notwithstanding, Eric taught Cody Lujan everything he knows about fishing.

Notable catches:

• 2 otters (at the same time – double rig), a 4 ft alligator, and a bat (on a dry, in the air)
• At least 5 different line class record Mountain Whitefish (all released)
• Every single wild steelhead

One fly for the rest of your life:

• Size 2 dark purple Muddler with pink flash (tied on a tube). Wet, dry, damp, salt, fresh, brackish, steelhead, snook, or bluegills - fish will eat it.