Guide School Instructors
Meet the professional guides, outfitters, captains, teachers, and working instructors behind Sweetwater's fly fishing guide school in Montana.Sweetwater Guide School is taught by guides who have spent real time doing the work they teach. The instructor team brings experience from Montana, Alaska, Mongolia, Brazil, Royal Coachman Lodge, and waters around the world, with a practical focus on boat handling, client instruction, fish handling, safety, and the daily realities of professional guiding.
The goal is not to turn students into polished guides overnight. The goal is to give serious anglers the foundation, habits, judgment, and industry connection needed to start a career on the water.
Guide School Director
Corey also guided at Royal Coachman Lodge in Alaska for more than a decade before taking over the guide school program. His attention to detail, calm instruction style, and practical guiding background shape the tone of the course.
Corey Koff
Corey Koff has been a Sweetwater Guide School instructor since 2012 and serves as the Guide School director. He is a professional fly-fishing guide with worldwide experience, and he holds a United States Coast Guard Captain of Un-inspected Passenger Vessels license for Inland Waters.Corey also guided at Royal Coachman Lodge in Alaska for more than a decade before taking over the guide school program. His attention to detail, calm instruction style, and practical guiding background shape the tone of the course.
Alaska, Montana, Mongolia
Brad is also a United States Coast Guard Captain of Un-inspected Passenger Vessels for Inland Waters. His background gives students a strong working view of remote lodge programs, guide expectations, and safe boat handling.
Brad Kastner
Brad Kastner has been a Sweetwater Guide School instructor since 2004. He worked as assistant manager and guide at Royal Coachman Lodge in Alaska from 2004 through 2021 and has guided professionally in Alaska, Montana, and Mongolia.Brad is also a United States Coast Guard Captain of Un-inspected Passenger Vessels for Inland Waters. His background gives students a strong working view of remote lodge programs, guide expectations, and safe boat handling.
Teaching and International Guiding
Matt also holds a master's degree in education, Spanish K-12, earned in 2012. That mix of field experience and teaching background is exactly the kind of overlap that makes guide school instruction useful.
Matt Davies
Matt Davies has taught with Sweetwater Guide School since 2009. He has worked as a professional fishing guide in Montana, Alaska, Brazil, and Mongolia since 2004, bringing students a wide view of what guiding looks like across very different fisheries and operations.Matt also holds a master's degree in education, Spanish K-12, earned in 2012. That mix of field experience and teaching background is exactly the kind of overlap that makes guide school instruction useful.
Montana Outfitter
Callan is also a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, earned his MFA from the University of Wyoming in 2013, and earned a BA in English Literature from Montana State University in 2006. He is the author of the novels Beartooth and August, and the short story collection Dog Run Moon.
Callan Wink
Callan Wink has been a Sweetwater Guide School instructor since 2007. He is a licensed Montana fishing outfitter with 16 years of professional guiding experience.Callan is also a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, earned his MFA from the University of Wyoming in 2013, and earned a BA in English Literature from Montana State University in 2006. He is the author of the novels Beartooth and August, and the short story collection Dog Run Moon.
Montana Instructor
Patrick's Montana background helps ground the course in practical, local experience: real rivers, real guests, real weather, and the kind of steady judgment new guides need to develop.
Patrick Joyce
Patrick Joyce has been a Sweetwater Guide School instructor in Montana since 2010. He holds a bachelor's degree from Montana State University and has also worked as a Bridger Bowl Community Events staff member.Patrick's Montana background helps ground the course in practical, local experience: real rivers, real guests, real weather, and the kind of steady judgment new guides need to develop.
Train with experienced working guides. Contact Guide School Director Corey Koff at 423-618-0735, toll free at 1-866-GO GUIDE, or email corey@sweetwatertravel.com.