Meet Captain Chris Conant

Capt. Chris Conant moved with his family from Idaho to SWFL to pursue a lifelong saltwater itch that needed to be scratched in a big way.

In reality, the story starts much further back than that. Growing up in Missouri, Capt. Chris visited SWFL and the Florida Keys with his family. Early morning kayak trips with his dad generally resulted in ladyfish brought to the boat on spin gear. Capt. Chris eventually graduated to a fly rod and started pulling ladyfish and Spanish mackerel with flies.

Back home in Missouri, Capt. Chris learned to tie flies at T. Hargrove Fly Fishing. He also honed his skill on the crystal clear trout and smallmouth waters of the Ozarks.

The fishing bug kept pulling at Chris and he landed a job in Southeast Idaho at the acclaimed South Fork Lodge. From 2006 to 2020, Chris spent a total of 10 summers in Idaho working at the fly shop and guiding during summer breaks from college and then law school.

That’s right, your captain is also a licensed attorney. Capt. Chris practiced law for 5 years in Houston, Texas. That’s where he met his beautiful wife Becca. Shortly after Chris and Becca started dating, Chris’s father passed away from prostate cancer (get checked fellas). That ordeal led to some serious soul searching which eventually took Becca and Chris back out to Idaho and the South Fork of the Snake River where Chris would guide and then manage the fly shop.

A couple of winters out West proved too much for the warm blooded Conants so they started looking at options. Chris and Becca couldn’t shake the idea of living by the white sand beaches and clear water of Southwest Florida. On a spring day driving to the Henry’s Fork River in Idaho for some early season caddis fishing, Chris said to Becca, “I guess if we moved to Florida, I could always get my captain’s license and run some trips.” As they say, the rest is history.

After the 2023 tarpon season, Chris and his family moved to Austin, Texas. Chris received an offer from Sportsman’s Finest in Austin to be their Fly Fishing Manager. You can now find Chris grilling, chilling and fishing around Austin for most of the year, but he will continue to offer dates in Florida during tarpon season.

You can learn more about Capt. Chris by checking out his appearance on the Outdoors Podcast with his buddy A.J. Eads.

Meet Captain Kevin Grainger

Captain Kevin Grainger grew up in Florida from the age of five. Growing up in East Central Florida he spent his childhood days fishing the Indian River Lagoon.

He got his first boat at the age of thirteen and never looked back. The freedom of having a boat quickly led to a love for Tarpon, Redfish, Snook, Seatrout, and anything else willing to play.

It didn't take long for the fly rod to find his hands once he discovered new areas of the Lagoon with beautiful clear flats, perfect for sight fishing.

His senior year of highschool he worked and learned to tie flies at Harry Goodes Outfitters in Melbourne. After graduating he moved to Southwest Florida to attend Florida Gulf Coast University.

It was here that he met Captain Chris at 239Flies in 2021. With the help of Captain Chris he got a part-time job at 239Flies, where he still works when he's not on the water.

Kevin would be lying if he told you that he didn't choose to attend Florida Gulf Coast University because of the world class fishing in the surrounding areas.

The Everglades and Ten Thousand islands quickly became his personal favorite. The remoteness of the area brought a new found calling to his fishing life, and big tarpon on fly sealed the deal.

In November of 2023, Kevin received the inaugural Next Generation Stewardship award for his work with with Captain’s for Clean Water. Not only is Kevin a dedicated captain, he is also a staunch supporter of conservation and ensuring our resources are made better for future generations.

Now with the help of Captain Chris once again, Kevin is offering guided trips with Morning Dew Fishing Company.