Who is Al Smatsky?

Encouraged by life long friend and fishing buddy over 35 years ago, I purchased my first fly rod for a trip to the Yuba River for shad.  From that point on, I was hooked for life.  Back then, there wasn’t an abundance of help for the beginner, so during the winter we would dream up new shad patterns for the next years run.  Some worked and some didn’t.  Since that time, I have been fishing from Alaska to South America in pursuit of most fresh and saltwater species.

In 1977, I joined the Delta Fly Fishers and quickly made friends with anglers that shared the same interest.  As an active board member and past-president (twice) the club grew to over 100 members, which it still maintains.  As the Program Chairman for over twenty years, I had the opportunity to meet many wonderful and talented fly fishermen which help me expand my knowledge of our sport.  In 2003 I was awarded the honor of “Life Member” for my faithful membership and service to the Delta Fly Fishers.   

I have always been an avid traveler and planned trips to Alaska for myself and my friends starting back in the early “80’s”.  In 1989, I made my first bonefishing trip to Christmas Island, since then I have been hooked on saltwater fly fishing.  My belief is; a fishing trip should be more that just “fishing”, it should be an experience, so in 1994 I started my own business, Excellent Adventures.  The business specializes in hosted and un-hosted fly fishing trips to affordable destinations from Alaska to South America.  Over the years, hundreds of anglers have used Excellent Adventures for their travel plans.

My guided trips; American Shad in Central California, my first love, and steelhead in Northern California.  I consider myself just a fly fisherman with a lot of experience that I would like to share with other anglers.