David Carpenter

Dave Carpenter is the owner/operator of Riverwood Flies, an online fly shop based in Lyons, Oregon. He began fishing the Santiam Canyon area in the early 1990's after moving to the area from southern Idaho. Having grown up on the banks of Idaho's Snake River, his fishing background included all forms or fishing for numerous species; heavy baitcasting for channel catfish and sturgeon, spinners and jigs for warmwater species, and fly fishing in the mountain streams and rivers for trout - even archery fishing for large carp in the slow waters of the Lower Snake.

Since moving to Oregon, his pursuits have been focused on the larger salmoniod species - Steelhead and Salmon. (with an occasional Columbia Sturgeon trip now and then). Beginning with the more common fishing methods for the andromomous species; trolling in the bays, using spinners / spoons / plugs / roe and shrimp in the rivers, etc., etc. But in the mid-1990's he saw a fellow angler catch and land a beautiful Santiam steelhead on a fly rod. Since then, you'll see Dave with a fly rod in hand most of the time..

Dave and his wife, Lori, currently reside on the banks of the Little North Fork of the Santiam River which offers steelhead and trout fly fishing opportunities. Living in the Santiam Canyon provides the opportunity to "field test" his fly patterns — quite literally, in his own back yard. Sending out his "Pro Staff" (7 kids) with a handful of flies provides instant feedback on how well the flies work! He’s also within driving distance of some incredible Steelhead and Salmon fisheries and has tested the Fly and Jig patterns all over the Pacific Northwest.

Dave has also recently started a new guide service along with two buddies - Oregon Outdoor Excursions offering guided drift boat trips on the North Santiam, Alsea and Siletz rivers. For regular updates on all things related to fly fishing the Pacific Northwest check out the blog