Proven on the water by anglers who know the difference.
Cortland’s ambassador program brings together respected voices from across the fishing community. Their experience, standards, and time on the water help represent what Cortland has stood for since 1915.
Cortland legends who helped shape the sport.
Cortland’s place in fishing history was shaped by people who understood that a line is more than a product. It is the connection between angler, cast, water, and fish. Leon Chandler helped carry Cortland into one of the defining names in modern fly fishing. Flip Pallot brought a lifetime of backcountry experience, conservation perspective, and fly line design insight to the Cortland story.
Leon Chandler
Cortland’s fly fishing ambassador to the world
Leon Chandler joined Cortland Line in 1941 and helped carry the company into one of the defining names in modern fly fishing. His influence reached far beyond Cortland, shaping how fly lines were designed, developed, understood, sold, and matched to the rods anglers used.
His career touched nearly every part of the sport. Leon worked in product development, helped advance Cortland’s landmark fly line era, represented the company at sporting goods shows and casting demonstrations, and became a trusted voice for anglers, dealers, writers, and industry leaders.
In 1960, Leon led a group of manufacturers from AFTMA in establishing the first standards for fly lines, based on the grain weight of the first 30 feet of line. That work helped create the modern system of matching rod weight to line weight.
Through decades of teaching, travel, public appearances, dealer relationships, and industry leadership, Leon became known as Cortland’s fly fishing ambassador to the world. His legacy lives not only in Cortland history, but in the way fly anglers still think about the cast, the line, and the water.
Fly fishing pioneer, storyteller, guide, and conservation voice
Flip Pallot is one of the most recognizable voices in modern fly fishing, known for bringing the backcountry waters of South Florida, the Everglades, and the Keys into the broader fishing imagination.
His influence reached well beyond his own time on the water. Through Walkers Cay Chronicles, which aired original programming for 16 seasons on ESPN, Flip brought saltwater fly fishing, shallow-water adventure, and the character of wild fisheries into homes across the country.
Designed with Flip Pallot, the Cortland Hi-Vis Flip was built for anglers who need to track their line in stained or off-color water. Its short, powerful taper helps load the rod quickly, turn over larger flies, weighted patterns, and long leaders, and perform at both short and longer distances.
When Cortland asked Flip about his greatest contribution to the angling world, he pointed to the time and effort he spent creating awareness of water issues in Florida.
Through guiding, writing, outdoor television, and conservation work, Flip helped shape how generations of anglers understood wild water, careful casting, and the responsibility that comes with time on the flats.
Cortland’s ambassadors are guides, captains, competitors, instructors, and dedicated anglers who fish our lines in real conditions. Their experience connects Cortland products to the rivers, flats, lakes, tournaments, guide boats, and home waters where performance has to hold up.
Guides, instructors, competitors, and anglers with deep experience across trout rivers, warmwater fisheries, destination travel, and technical fly fishing.
Kelly Galloup
Guide, fly designer, and owner of Kelly Galloup’s Slide Inn
Guide, fly designer, and owner of Kelly Galloup’s Slide Inn
Montana | Streamer Fishing | Trout
Kelly Galloup began his fly fishing career at the age of 13, tying flies for a local tackle shop. He began guiding at 16 and now has more than 40 nationally recognized fly patterns.
Today, Kelly owns Kelly Galloup’s Slide Inn on the Upper Madison. The Slide Inn includes expert guides, fly tying videos, an online store, lodging, RV hookups, and a world-class fly and fly-tying selection.
Matt “Gilligan” Koles is the owner of Gilligans Guide Service and brings more than 35 years of experience fly fishing the Truckee River and Tahoe region of California.
Over the years, Matt has proven himself as a top guide and teacher, helping thousands of new anglers learn the sport. One of his favorite techniques is fishing jig streamers in deep pocket-water runs.
Lance Wilt resides in Central Pennsylvania and is the owner and operator of Outcast Anglers LLC.
Lance is a full-time guide and can be found on fisheries across the country as well as in South America.
Eric Ratliff
Wyoming fly fishing guide
Wyoming | Trophy Trout | Pike
Eric Ratliff is a fly fishing guide located in Wyoming. He specializes in trophy trout and pike, focusing on trout through the summer before shifting toward pike in the spring and fall.
Eric has put Cortland’s Ultra Premium Fluorocarbon Tippet to the ultimate test in demanding freshwater conditions.
Cam Chioffi is a fly fishing guide from Massachusetts. He spends his summers in Gunnison, Colorado guiding for trout, and his winters in Baja, Mexico guiding for striped marlin.
Cam enjoys fishing for a wide variety of species and looks forward to helping develop the best lines for the new situations he faces on the water.
Brian “Lucky” Porter is the owner of Far Out Fly Fishing. Based out of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, he has spent the last 18 years guiding anglers into steelhead, muskies, and smallmouth.
During the winter months, Brian can be found pushing along the North Carolina shoreline for redfish.
Mark Wechsler
Guide with Anderson Fish Camp
Colorado | Vail Valley | Trout
Mark Wechsler brings more than 20 years of experience to the water. He began fly fishing a few years after moving to Colorado’s Vail Valley in 1994.
Since then, fly fishing has become more than a favorite sport or hobby. It is a passion he shares with clients, friends, and family. Today, Mark guides for Anderson Fish Camp.
Charles Card is a fly fishing guide based out of Utah. He started tying commercially at 13, and by 15, had sold enough flies to purchase his first boat.
Charles began guiding on the Green River more than 28 years ago. When he is not floating the river, he targets double-digit lake trout and pike with long sinking lines and bulky flies.
Dan & Tom Harrison
Owners of Harrison Anglers
Western Massachusetts | Guides | Fly Fishing
Dan and Tom Harrison have been professional guides for more than 20 years and own Harrison Anglers.
Their journey began in 2003, guiding the Flathead Rivers in West Glacier, Montana. Since then, they have had the opportunity to guide around the globe, though they call Western Massachusetts home and provide guided trips year-round.
Stephen Balogh is head guide and co-owner of White River Trout Club on Arkansas’s world-famous White River. He also runs hosted trips to saltwater destinations to satisfy his addiction to flats fishing, especially Mexican permit.
From summers in Alaska to nearly 10 years in Colorado, Stephen has been guiding since 2009. He began his fishing career while attending the University of Arkansas, just a few hours from the White River.
His dream was to own a fly fishing lodge, so he studied Hotel and Restaurant Management and still graduated despite logging more hours on the water than in class.
David Burgher
Head guide and co-owner of White River Trout Club
Arkansas | Chile | Saltwater Travel
David Burgher is head guide and co-owner of White River Trout Club on Arkansas’s White River, a world-famous brown trout fishery.
He started guiding in 2008 while attending the University of Arkansas. After graduation, he began what turned into a 10-year guiding road trip across some of the best trout fisheries in North America, along with five seasons in southern Chile.
Fly fishing and casting competitions have been a big part of David’s career, and he gets to the salt whenever he can to chase two of his favorite fish, permit and redfish.
Jason Haddix is a commercial fly tier, instructor, and guide located in northern Colorado.
He has spent most of his life in the fly fishing industry, specializing in techniques that range from warmwater fishing to picky, technical tailwater skills and everything in between.
Most of Jason’s time is focused on helping anglers master the sport through classes, instruction, and dedicated trips through Arbor Anglers fly shop.
Educator, comedian, creator, conservationist, and filmmaker
Denver | Conservation | Education
Eeland Stribling was born and raised in Denver. He attended Colorado State University, where he studied Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and helped create the CSU Fly Fishing Club.
Since then, Eeland has taught hundreds of kids and families across Colorado how to fly fish. When he is not catching fish, he is on stage telling jokes and is Denver’s back-to-back Comedy Works Champion.
Eeland has also directed and shot two award-winning films: I’ll Wait Here Forever, a story about chasing permit, and All Jokes Aside, which explores diversity and conservation.
Valerio Santi Amantini’s fishing dates back to his childhood in Genoa, Italy, jumping from stone to stone in rivers and finding ways to catch more fish than his friends.
Today, he is best known for competition fly fishing, traveling the world, and fishing some of the most famous rivers.
His career includes 18 international medals in World and European Championships, including two individual World Championship golds in 2011 and 2013. He now shares his passion with fly anglers around the world.
Christiaan Pretorius started competing in fly fishing tournaments at the early age of 14. Since then, Christiaan has been traveling to the most sought-after and remote fisheries he can to host guided trips and share his experiences with the rest of the fly fishing community.
Captain, world traveler, guide, and content creator
South Africa | Remote Fisheries | Content
Captain Jako Lucas is a world traveler and content creator from South Africa with over a decade of guiding experience in some of the world's most remote and complex fisheries. Jako's goals are to entice the younger generation to explore some of the less known locations in the world by sharing these exclusive settings that he travels to.
Vincent is the owner and operator of Long Island Fly Fishing. He has over 20 years of experience and provides guided trips on the North Shore of Long Island Sound, North Fork, and Montauk.
Keith has been a fly fishing guide for over 25 years and has done so throughout the world. He is the co-founder of Alphonse Fishing Company, which is located in Seychelles.
Paul has guided the waters from Miami to Key West for over 40 years, guiding anglers to winning the most prestigious tarpon and bonefish tournaments in the world. He is a fly fishing instructor and winner of the Best of the West Casting.
Willy is a full-time guide in the East Central parts of Florida. Born on the island of Guam with a Vietnamese background, Will was 1 year old when he, his mom, dad, and five siblings moved to Florida in 1980.
He grew up fishing the lakes and ponds of Orlando and the saltwater flats from Flagler County down to the Florida Keys. Today, he owns and operates Native Fly Charters. Willy is known for his hard work ethic on the poling platform and his ability to teach the art of sight fishing.
For 25 years, Matt Perchio has been fishing around Cape Cod, MA. Over the years, he has mastered the techniques needed to catch bluefin tuna, striped bass, cod, and bluefish. Matt is the owner of Tighten Up Charters CC.
At an early age of 3, Paul was destined to be a charter captain. Paul has been featured on a variety of TV shows and was even named one of the Top 50 Charter Captains by Salt Water Sportsman. Nowadays, he provides charters on Long Island's East End.
Greg grew up in Southern California and spent his childhood fishing on the Pacific Ocean. In 2008, he decided to move to New Orleans and started Louisiana Fly Fishing Charters. Today, Greg and his team of guides regularly put people on their trophy redfish of a lifetime.
Johann is an artist, fly fishing guide, filmmaker, and all-around fishy dude. He calls South Africa home and got his start fly fishing on the Eastern Cape rivers. He now spends his time fishing and guiding remote destinations including Bolivia, Guyana, and Sudan.
When he is not traveling internationally, you can catch him drawing and painting fishy art for his personal collection and for fly fishing companies.
Full-time flats guide and owner of Hook 1 Charters
Florida Keys | Flats | Blue Water
Chandler Williams has fly fished and guided all over the world, becoming highly experienced in blue water fishing and shallow-water sight fishing. He is an athlete for Under Armour Fish and is a full-time flats guide in the Florida Keys, where he owns and operates Hook 1 Charters.
Outdoor writer, instructor, lecturer, and tackle consultant
Saltwater Fly | Author | Instructor
Nick Curcione is an internationally recognized outdoor writer, instructor, lecturer, and tackle consultant with a lifetime of angling experience. He is truly an ambassador for the sport of fly fishing.
Nick has authored four fly fishing books: The Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fly Fishing, Baja on the Fly, Tug-O-War, A Fly Fishers Game, and The Saltwater Edge.
Travis Manson is a Wisconsin native and has been fishing since he was a kid.
He gained recognition from competing in the Bassmaster Elite Series and through his YouTube channel. Travis offers guided trips on Upper Chesapeake Bay, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River.
Owner and operator of Spencer’s Angling Adventures
Lake St. Clair | Musky | Walleye
Spencer Berman is the owner and operator of Spencer’s Angling Adventures.
Spencer has been competing in musky tournaments since he was a teenager, building a reputation as one of the best musky anglers on Lake St. Clair. In 2022 alone, his guide service landed 723 muskies, with 53 over 50 inches.
In the spring months, Spencer provides guided trips on the Detroit River for walleye.
Christina Truppe is the owner of Musky Guide Service out of Wisconsin.
She has been fishing musky ever since her father put a rod in her hand at a very young age. Christina provides guided trips in northern and central Wisconsin.
Surfcasting specialist and owner of Tactical Anglers
New York | Florida | Surfcasting
“Crazy” Alberto Knie is a fishing legend. He was born in Hong Kong, moved to Brazil with his family when he was young, and eventually made his way to Manhattan.
His contributions to striped bass surfcasting tactics in the Northeast are substantial, and he pioneered many techniques that are still popular today.
Alberto currently splits his time between New York and Florida. He is the owner and CEO of Tactical Anglers, a manufacturer of surf plugs, clips, and other fishing products. Alberto is known for fishing at all times of day and night, often when most people would not even think about being on the water.
Jeff Warford is a New Jersey native and full-time captain of the 58-foot Viking, F/V Wolfpack.
Based out of Long Beach Island, New Jersey, Jeff can be found fishing in tournaments, trolling for tuna, and daytime swordfishing the canyons up and down the East Coast.
Cal Lane
MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational angler
Alabama | MLF Invitational | Bass
Cal Lane fishes the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational circuit.
Cortland ambassadors put our lines to work across freshwater, saltwater, conventional, and destination fisheries. Start with the water you fish most, then explore the line category built for it.
