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EDC GUIDE BLOG | WITH JAMES MCGUIRK IN UTAH

Team Redington June 19, 2025

The Everyday Carry Blog series asks our Redington guide buddies some serious and not-so-serious questions about what goes into a great day on the water with them. In keeping with the EDC theme, much of what we ask is focused on favorites -- the stuff they just don't leave home without.

In this edition, we caught up with pal James McGuirk in Dutch John, Utah. James is a Green River die hard. If you’ve ever fished there you’d understand why. If not, it could be time to make the trip, and while you’re out there, give James a buzz.

Here's what James had to say about who he is, what he does, and what's always in the boat bag.

Redington: Where do you do most of your guiding?

James: The Green River in Utah.

Redington: What’s your go-to set up for clients when you need to catch fish?

James: Without a doubt it's Redington’s new EDC. The 5wt EDC paired with the new Redington ACE is the most ideal setup on the Green in my opinion. Enough backbone to carry the varying 5 and 6wt setups I fish with my clients. Every EDC rod on my boat has a RIO Gold XP line which allows my clients the most accurate and smoothest casting possible regardless of what we’ve got tied on. A purist at heart, my favorite setup is completed with a 9ft tapered leader to a single dry fly.

The Green is known for its incredible mayfly, caddis, sally and cicada hatches. They’re why people come to the Green: to float a big western river and watch a brown trout demolish a dry fly. Nevertheless, it’s not always dry fly madness out here which is why having a rod as versatile as the EDC is so nice. I can also throw dry-droppers, or if necessary, add an indicator above two flies and a piece of split shot.

Redington: What’s your favorite way to catch fish?

James: Without a doubt it’s fishing with friends or my wife and daughter, and casting a single, size 18 peacock caddis to rising trout on the Green River.

Redington: What’s one thing you’d like to teach all of your clients?

James: Mending, mending, mending. The Green River demands a good mender. These fish are highly pressured and see flies all day long. They want to see a good
long drift that’s floating free and natural. Read the water, anticipate the direction, and mend gently. It’s the #1 recipe for success out here.

Redington: Favorite river snack?

James: Gin ‘n tonic and chili cheese Fritos.

Redington: If you could fish with any person in the world who would it be?

James: Aldo Leopold or Teddy Roosevelt. The Green has so much more to offer beyond the trout. These two guys would know that...conservation, the relationship between man and nature, and the lens we can use to make sure the Green River is around for generations to come.


SHOP JAMES' GREEN RIVER GEAR