Biography ~ Tyler & Katie Steele – Shade Tree Outfitters and Guides

Tyler and Katie Steele call Fort Smith their home and in their free time, can be found fishing, hunting, camping, gardening, backpacking, and white-water rafting with their dogs Gus and Cooper. Tyler is an avid outdoorsman and has been guiding professionally for 19 years. He began his career in Wyoming guiding elk hunts and then transitioned to guided fly-fishing. He is a fishing guide, outfitter, licensed captain and loves sharing his passion for fly-fishing with everyone who steps in his boat. Katie is an avid outdoorswoman. She holds a degree in Biology and is a licensed captain. She is passionate about conservation and loves getting people outdoors to experience wilderness adventures.

Better pay for guides is a cause that we strongly support. Higher pay ensures that we attract good quality, professional guides to our area. All fly-fishing guides in Montana are independent contractors which means they can work for any outfitter of their choosing. It is a little-known fact that many of the outfitters and lodges keep up to 45% of the cost of the trip. When making bookings, we encourage you to please enquire about guide pay, and choose the outfitters that pay the guides the highest.