1 terry and wendy gunn early years

There is no other word to describe the meeting of Terry Gunn and Wendy Hanvold Gunn except as being a miracle of nature.

It was the definition of serendipity.  It was a happenstance that literally changed the face and nature of Colorado River recreation, vacations, fly-fishing, and Northern Arizona/Grand Canyon accommodations.

It was 1986 and Terry had just returned from a summer of guiding anglers for trout and salmon in Alaska.  He had begun guiding at Lees Ferry in 1983 and when he ran into Wendy in 1986, she was working as a waitress at Marble Canyon Lodge.  Wendy asked Terry if he could teach her to fly-fish. And that was the beginning.

Miss Hanvold was from Issaquah, Washington.  Gunn was from Mountain View, Oklahoma.  What they shared from the very beginning were small town America values and a deep-seated belief in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.  Those values, love of fly-fishing and the outdoors would eventually lead to their ownership of Lees Ferry Anglers, Cliff Dwellers Lodge, Cliff Dwellers Restaurant, Lees Ferry Boat Rentals, and Kayak Horseshoe Bend.

The Gunns are recognized throughout the fly-fishing world from television appearances on Fly Fishing the World, Fly Fishing America, Fly Fish TV, Fishing the West, America’s Outdoor Journal, Fly Fish, and Fly Fishing Video Magazine.  They also appeared on CNN, and the PBS McNeil/Lehrer Report.  They’ve been in every fly-fishing and outdoor magazine in the U.S., with references or quotes in mainstream publications including National Geographic and major newspapers.

In 1989, they opened the original Lees Ferry Anglers Fly shop, guide service and unofficial headquarters for the growing fly fishing community.

terry and wendy gunn on vacation

Visitors from Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area couldn’t get enough of those big, broad-shouldered rainbow trout in the nearby river.  Days were long, work was hard, and the income was slim.  But it grew.

On June 1, 2001, Lees Ferry Anglers Guides and Fly Shop acquired the historic Cliff Dwellers Lodge and moved the original small tackle shop and guide service some five miles west of its founding location on Highway 89A.  And thus began a new chapter.

Under Wendy and Terry’s direct supervision, Lees Ferry Anglers guides have collectively spent tens of thousands of days guiding fishing clients on the Colorado River the nearly 16 miles from Lees Ferry to Glen Canyon Dam.

The restaurant at Cliff Dwellers Lodge was named one of Arizona Highways Magazine’s Top 10 Arizona restaurants and featured in both the magazine Arizona Highways, TV, and numerous other travel news reports and magazines.

The complex of 23 room Cliff Dwellers Lodge and restaurant, along with a small general convenience store, nationally renowned fishing tackle store, and gas station is located on the only road that connects the North and the South Rims of Grand Canyon.  They have received a Certificate of Excellence Award from Trip Advisor every year since the award’s inception.

Did Terry ever teach Wendy to cast a fly after she asked him?  You bet he did!

It is unlikely that any woman in history has ever caught more fish, larger fish or more diverse fish than Wendy Gunn.  She has set and still holds IGFA World Records for the size of her catch – she was the first woman to land a striped marlin on a fly; and in fly-casting distance competition has exceeded a remarkable 100 feet.

Her travels to achieve fly-fishing’s pinnacle look like a page from National Geographic:  Australia for black marlin; New Guinea for black bass, saratoga (or spotted barramundi) and black marlin; Brazil, Cuba, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina; Belize for bonefish, permit and tarpon (including two Grand Slams consisting of all three species in one day); Costa Rica for tarpon; Mexico for marlin, wahoo, roosterfish, dorado, yellowfin tuna and Pacific cubera snapper, Florida for tarpon and permit; and Alaska for rainbow trout, all five salmon species, grayling and northern pike.

She has been a competitive distance caster with a record 104-foot cast of a 5-weight forward line at an International Sportsman Show contest.  She is recognized as being the only woman to cast a fly more than 100-feet in competition

8 terry and wendy gunn enjoying retirement

Terry currently holds or has held 10 International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world records in both fresh and saltwater.  His fish and wildlife photographs have appeared in virtually every outdoor sports publication.

In June, 2022, Terry and Wendy Gunn sold much of the business and withdrew from the backbreaking day-to-day operation of Cliff Dwellers and Les Ferry Anglers.  However, they continued to live in the community, their son Troy manages Kayak Horseshoe Bend, and they spent many leisure hours in the restaurant with old employees and older friends.  Their advice was constantly sought by new management, guides and others facing the problems that business encounters.  And so, in early 2025, they jointly returned in a part-time supervisory management consulting position to all facets of the business they had worked so hard to develop.

Concurrently, the Gunns host North American and international fishing trips to Montana, Belize, New Zealand and points beyond.

And when they come back, they come back to Cliff Dwellers.