Alain Pitre

CEO

At the age of 18, Alain joined the familly business, Rheal Pitre Sports, and never quit.

In 2003, he started a new division in the store for fishing and hunting gear. 6 years later, he became the owner of the business.

His  adventure with Guideline started in 2010 when he introduced the brand in his store. After 3 years of parternship, he is now the exclusive North American distributor of Guideline.

He discovered fly fishing only at the age of 35, but it quickly became his favorite hobby. Living in the middle of so many great rivers as the Bonaventure, Grande Cascapedia and Restigouche, when the season is open, if he’s not at the store you know Alain is gone fishing!

Email: [email protected]

Étienne Bélanger

Sales Director

Sports of all kinds always took an important place in Étienne’s life and his love for sports pushed him to join Rhéal Pitre Sports’s family when they moved to their new location in March 2009. Since then Étienne has worked as a sales representative in the sports, hunting and fishing departments.

Étienne is also very interested in business management. He graduated in December 2013 at the CEGEP Gaspésie-les-îles where he completed a course in accounting and management.

He left his hometown, New Richmond, in January 2014 to start his BBA at Bishop’s University. After a trimester, he decided to come back to join the Guideline Canada’s adventure.

Now as a part-time university student and full time sales director for Guideline Canada. Étienne is very proud to help Guideline to become a leader in the North American fly fishing industry.

Email : [email protected]

Neil Houlding

Tech. Rep

Fly fishing has always been an integral part of Neil’s life. At 18 years old, his passion for two handed rods was already awakening. He spent many hours honing his casting skills in the United Kingdom on such Rivers as the Lune and the Ribble, not far from his home in Leyland, Lancashire, England.

His move to Canada did not prevent him from pursuing his passion for fly fishing. His travels have taken him to such varied destinations as the Gaula River in Norway and the Spey and Dee in Scotland and a few of the famous rivers of Gaspe and Newfoundland.

An accomplished guide, Neil is also a Fly Fishing Federation certified instructor. He is certified both for single handed (CI) and for two handed casting (THCI) and was a coach/mentor for the first “World Youth Fly Fishing Championship” in Wales in 1998.

Neil has certainly demonstrated his enthusiasm and his teaching talents. His dedication and his abilities have not gone unnoticed in the fly fishing industry. He was on Pro Staff for 20 yrs and worked closely with the G.Loomis in the design of their Roaring River line of two handed rods.

Now Neil is very involved with Guideline from Sweden and works closely with the new distributor in New Richmond,QC.
He continues to attend events across the country to demonstrate his casting skills and share his knowledge with the younger generation of fly fishers and all other anglers.

Neils has now re-located to New Richmond in the Gaspe region enjoying the magnificent mountains and rivers in the region.
As Guideline Canada’s Technical Adviser please contact Neil at nhoulding@guidelineflyfish if you have any questions.

La pêche à la mouche a toujours fait partie intégrante de la vie de Neil. À 18 ans, sa passion pour les cannes à deux mains s’éveillait déjà. Il a passé de nombreuses heures à perfectionner ses talents de lanceur au Royaume-Uni sur des rivières telles que la Lune et la Ribble, non loin de chez lui à Leyland, dans le Lancashire, en Angleterre.

Son déménagement au Canada ne l’a pas empêché de poursuivre sa passion pour la pêche à la mouche. Ses voyages l’ont conduit vers des destinations aussi variées que la rivière Gaula en Norvège, la Spey et la Dee en Ecosse et quelques unes des célèbres rivières de Gaspé et de Terre-Neuve.

Guide accompli, Neil est également un instructeur certifié par la Fly Fishing Federation. Il est certifié pour le lancer à une main (CI) et à deux mains (THCI) et a été entraîneur/mentor pour le premier “World Youth Fly Fishing Championship” au Pays de Galles en 1998.

Neil a certainement démontré son enthousiasme et ses talents d’enseignant. Son dévouement et ses capacités ne sont pas passés inaperçus dans l’industrie de la pêche à la mouche. Il a fait partie du Pro Staff pendant 20 ans et a travaillé en étroite collaboration avec G.Loomis à la conception de leur ligne de cannes à deux mains Roaring River.

Aujourd’hui, Neil est très impliqué avec Guideline Suède et travaille étroitement avec le nouveau distributeur Canadien à New Richmond, QC. Il participe à des événements dans tout le pays pour démontrer ses talents de lanceur et partager ses connaissances avec la jeune génération de pêcheurs à la mouche, ainsi que tous les autres pêcheurs.
Neil s’est maintenant réinstallé à New Richmond, en Gaspésie, pour profiter des magnifiques montagnes et rivières de la région.

En tant que conseiller technique chez Guideline Canada, Neil demeure disponible pour répondre à vos questions concernant les produits Guideline !

Email: [email protected]

Amy Bujold

Distribution manager

Born in a small village near the forest and the river, Amy has always had a passion for the outdoors. It is her father, previously a salmon fishing guide on the Grande-Cascapedia River and passionate about hunting, who gave her the interest in hunting and fishing.

Since her young age, she has been surrounded by Fly fishing enthusiasts who motivate her to go further in this sport. She has recently joined the management team of a fly fishing organization for independent guides in the Gaspe Peninsula.
She is proud to inspire women to discover fly fishing in a community mostly dominated by men. She also offers beginner lessons of fly fishing in order to transmit her passion to new fishermen and women.

For Amy, fishing is much more than a sport! It’s the experience, the people who share the passion, the people she meets along the river, the friends and the time spent in nature enjoying life.

Having an interest in business management and numbers, she will soon obtain a Bachelors degree in accounting science. Her two passions led her to join the Guideline team in Canada this year as a distribution manager.

Issue d’un petit village près de la forêt et de la rivière, la passion pour la nature existe depuis toujours pour Amy. C’est son père, auparavant guide de pêche au saumon sur la Grande-Cascapédia et passionnée de chasse, qui lui a donné la piqûre pour la chasse et la pêche.

Depuis son jeune âge, elle est entourée de passionnés de pêche qui la motivent à s’investir dans ce sport. Elle s’est récemment impliquée dans la gestion d’une organisation de pêche à la mouche pour les guides indépendants de la Gaspésie.
Elle est fière d’inspirer les femmes à découvrir la pêche à la mouche dans un milieu qui demeure majoritairement masculin. Elle offre d’ailleurs des journées d’initiation de pêche à la mouche afin de transmettre sa passion et de donner à son tour la piqûre à de nouveaux pêcheurs ou de nouvelles pêcheuses.

Pour Amy, la pêche est bien plus qu’un sport ! C’est l’expérience, les gens qui partagent cette passion, les rencontres sur la rivière, les amis et le temps passé en nature à profiter de la vie.

Ayant un intérêt pour la gestion de commerce et les chiffres, elle obtiendra bientôt un baccalauréat en sciences comptables. Ses deux passions l’ont poussé cette année à joindre l’équipe de Guideline au Canada à titre de responsable de distribution.

Email: [email protected]

Jean-François Lavallée (JF)

 Pro Staff

Jean-François Lavallée (JF), is owner and chief instructor at the Modulus fly fishing school in the greater Montreal region in the province of Quebec.

For the past ten years, JF has dedicated most of his free time to his passion, the learning and teaching of everything surrounding the art of fly fishing. In addition teaching at the school, he also frequently volunteers time to the local fly fishing clubs.

Sole instructor in Quebec certified from both the renowned Joan Wulff school and from the International Federation of Fly Fishers (IFFF), JF also is the only Master Certified Instructor (MCI) in the province.

Double gold medalist at the 2014 Canadian National Fly Fishing Championship (NFFC) in Montebello Qc, JF has been active on the competition scene since 2008 as both competitor and organizer. This contact with the competitive world enables him to exchange and learn with the best anglers in Canada, the US and from Europe.

In parallel, his “corporate coach certification” from the World Association of Business Coaches, allows him to apply professional coaching techniques to his fly fishing instruction methods, in order to maximise their results.

From Quebec to New-Zealand, from trout to salmon, from dry fly fishing to Czech nymphing, where ever he is, JF will enable you through his presentations and his instruction to learn always more about the art of fly fishing, and this, always in a fun and light hearted way!

Email :    [email protected]

web site :   www.modulusflyfishing.ca

Jaap Kalkman

Pro Staff

Jaap was born in Holland where he started fishing since as long as he can remember. When he was 12 he started fly fishing for trout on the saltwater lakes in Holland and in Belgium, France, Germany and Austria. He also traveled to Scandinavia where he fished for Atlantic salmon, mostly on the Gaula. Since then he has travelled the world for exotic fly fishing destinations and experiences, and has settled in Smithers at the heart of the Skeena drainage. He guided for steelhead on the Bulkley River for the past 18 years.

When he is not guiding, he and his wife can be found camping and fishing for steelhead and spring salmon on the rivers of northern BC. He started to fish with double-handed rods when he was young, back in Scandinavia, and enjoys teaching others. When is not fishing he loves tying flies, enjoying the creation of patterns that are beautiful, practical and that reliably catch fish.

He recently started Skeena River Fly Supply; a company that focuses on quality fly tying materials and is an outlet for his creativity and interest in innovative designs.

Mark Dort

Pro Staff

At the very young age of 4 years old Mark was taken fishing by his Grandfather. 31 years later there has not been a season that passed without water on his waders. Mark grew up in the small village of Country Harbour, Nova Scotia with the river flowing through his back yard. Mark’s love for an outdoor lifestyle is entrenched in who he is today. Mark fishes all four seasons whether it be wading the cold waters in the spring to floating his boat in the summer, swinging salmon flies in the fall or drilling through the ice in the cold windy days of the winter.

Fishing to Mark is more then about catching fish. It is about experiencing the outdoor life, appreciating the access to open water and being passionate about something. Mark’s camera is used just as much as the fishing rod! Mark likes to capture pictures of the fish he hooks and releases as well as the amazing water ways and picturesque views of Nova Scotia.

Trout management and protecting the wild Atlantic Salmon are Mark’s priorities while sport fishing.  Mark has fished all over Nova Scotia with his faithful fishing dog Luda and has tried his luck for Steelhead and Chinooks on the Credit River in Mississauga Ontario. Mark presently sits on the Board of Directors for the Antigonish River Association. Mark looks forward to helping Guideline become a leader in the North American fly fishing industry and showcasing a great product line up on his fishing adventures this season.

Roberto Licciardello

Pro Staff

Fishing has always been a great passion for Roberto. At a very young age of 4, Roberto followed his father fishing every weekend in the Montreal region for perch, pike and bass. At the age of eight he felt passionate of the delicate and fulfilling feeling of fly fishing. He bought his first fly rod in a large sports store on St-Laurent in Montreal for a mere $ 0.99 cents, he still has the rod.

A couple of years later a Salmon fisherman from the Moisie river brought him on the Matane river for his first Atlantic Salmon experience.  At the age of 20, Roberto took his first salmon fishing alone on the Dartmouth River in Gaspé. Since then, he has fished many rivers of Quebec. From the Haute St-Jean and the Moisie on the North Shore to all rivers of Gaspesie. It soon became his favourite playgrounds and travelled it for more then 25 years. The art of presenting a dry fly on one of those crystalline rivers has become his trade mark.

Roberto has initiated many anglers to the sport and has been involved for many years in the mentoring program of the Fédération Québécoise pour le Saumon Atlantique. Not only is he a lover of the art of fly fishing single and double handed rods but will be passionate and extremely generous to share is knowledge.

Now settled in the Quebec City area, he will be honored if you contact him to share fishing experience and try the wonderful Guideline products.

On your next trip in the beautiful Gaspesie, if you hear a smiling fellow screaming « Andiamo Bambini !!!  while hooked on a fish, take the time to go and share the moment with him.