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Bret Oeltjenbruns
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Bio
I grew up in a small town in Iowa. In the summers, my dad would take me on camping trips to
conventional fish for trout in Northeastern Iowa. A lot of folks think of Iowa as flat and filled with corn
fields, but Northeastern Iowa has some of the most beautiful scenery in the Midwest. After high school,
I fell out of fishing and moved to Minneapolis to pursue music. I was lucky enough to be in a band
touring the country full-time and singing in front of crowds every night. I would occasionally go back to
Iowa to fish with my dad, but it never really stuck until in 2012 when I was at a sporting goods store
deciding between a fly rod and a compound bow. Well, I went with the fly rod, and that sealed the deal!
These days, I frequently travel to Iowa to fish with my dad, fishing North Bear Creek and South Bear
Creek and floating the Upper Iowa River for trout and small mouth bass. My wife’s family lives in South
Dakota, so I’m lucky to be able to fish one of my favorite fisheries quite often. I also enjoy fishing
Wisconsin and Southeastern Minnesota for all fish species.
In the fall of 2016, I became a guide and instructor. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of
the greatest people in the fly-fishing community. In 2017, I graduated from the Sweetwater Travel Guide
School in Montana. Today, I guide in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin for
trout and small mouth bass. Being part of the community and getting the opportunity to teach this
amazing sport to people of all ages are my favorite parts of guiding and instructing.