I am writing a review for Lillard Flyfishing
I am writing a review for Lillard Flyfishing on this site because I could find no other way to write a public review. All the reviews are on their own website.
First, I want to express that my son came home and had many good things to say about his adventure. It wasn’t all bad. He learned some things about fishing and said the last few day when they fished on the river was the best part. He said it was a little long for him. A few catches were large trout and he was proud.
I recently sent my son on one of there 17 day expeditions. After sending him, I became worried over the course of the first week after they had posted pictures for one of their updates. The company does three updates for the trip when the guide and group is in the front country.
In the photos it seemed the participants looked worn out and like there was not enough food planning for this many hungry teens. I emailed the owner and checked in. He was horrified that I had concerns. He mentioned that I should not expect “Ansel Adams” style photographs. Will Lillard did not start the conversation by asking how he could address my concerns to make me feel more comfortable. He went on to say that the boys were being fed well. Burgers, Pizza, Maverick snacks, fries and pasta. When I asked about self care, the owner said they cannot make the teens clean or swim because they don’t have lifeguards. I mentioned that I wasn’t talking about making any teen do anything but was asking the guides to give the boys guidance on how to clean themselves in the back country. The owner was actually quite rude when I wanted him to address my concerns.
When my son returned home, he said that he was always hungry and had to distract himself by tying flies. He said there was never enough food even when in the front country. He said they were always only aloud one burger. For breakfast only one egg and one sausage. He lost 10 lbs on the trip. He is a 6’4 athlete. Weight lifts everyday when home and plays soccer. It concerns me that a company that charges 5300.00 a participant, is not able to feed them enough. I asked for the menu plan and never received it.
Another concern is the safety and cleanliness in the back country. The boys hikes hard into the back country, through burn scars and they were not told how to wipe off with a cloth from the lakes. They did shower in between front and back country though. My son didn’t mind but I thought the self care should have been taught.
Another complaint that I have is that some of the boys were vaping at night. They had somehow brought their supplies with them. I believe the guides should have shut this down. There were also wildlife concerns. A moose almost charged my son from behind. Luckily he was able to hear it and drop all his things and hide behind a tree.
Overall, I am grateful my son is home and talked about the trip. Good and bad. I’m on the fence whether I would recommend this excursion to any of my friends unless the company could show meal plans and that they were going to be teaching self care and safety from wildlife.
I want to add in that the manager of the company was polite and informative in the beginning but after we started asking some questions and had concerns, he had the owner call me.