About Sweetwater Travel Company

Exploratory fly fishing travel, built by the Vermillion brothers from Montana to Mongolia, Alaska, Brazil, British Columbia, and beyond.

The three Vermillion brothers grew up hunting and fishing in Montana whenever possible. Sweetwater Travel became the vehicle that let them see some of the world's greatest waters. Their travels have taken them to nearly every continent in search of strange fish that simply had to be experienced. Along the way, they found fisheries worth investing in, operating, and helping preserve.

It should also be noted that Sweetwater has run countless exploratory trips that were, plain and simple, an extended wild goose chase. Exploration remains one of the company's specialties, and it is how great destinations come to be.

From Mongolia to the Amazon

Sweetwater's first operation was Mongolia, a destination previously unknown to Western anglers. Together with Ron Meek and Hubsgul Travel, the team built the first fly fishing camps for taimen. Financing that camp meant selling personal vehicles, relying on client deposits, and getting help from their parents.

During week one, the team suffered floods, a near-death collision with a cable on the first jet boat ascent of the Eg River, a near gas-can explosion involving the chef, a cholera epidemic, clients who had never peed outdoors, and a fishery that was totally unexplored. Somehow, everyone survived, and the clients had the experience of their lives.

Mongolia taught Sweetwater that running a fishing company should not be about taking all of the adventure out of a trip so clients receive a brochure-consistent program. It should be about encouraging clients to enjoy the bumps and adventure that come with fishing exotic, undeveloped places.

How Sweetwater Works

Sweetwater is not the Hilton, though operations like the Dean, Royal Coachman, and Mangrove Cay rank higher on the scale of cuisine, service, and comfort than almost anywhere the team has been. The company's style has always leaned toward the exploratory side of the adventure. That shared discovery is a bonding experience, and it beats the usual fishing lodge routine of wake up, eat, fish 9 to 5, drink, eat again, and check email until you pass out.

Those explorations helped create destinations such as the Agua Boa. The idea was simple enough: fly jet units to Brazil, set up boats that could run in an inch of water, put poling towers on them, and see how far up the river they could go. Those Agua Boa explorations led to one of the greatest peacock bass fisheries anywhere.