Our Guides

Brian Holden has been with Redfish Lodge since 1993, first as a guide and now splitting his time between guiding and managing the lodge. He is a product of Wallingford, Connecticut and 1993 graduate of Castleton State College in Vermont with a degree in sports medicine. He spent years fishing both the fresh and salt waters of New England before moving to Texas to work at Redfish Lodge. Brian runs a 22-foot Compass with a 200 Mercury motor.

Joel Pruitt is originally from Garland, Texas where he worked in his family automobile business for 25 years. He made regular trips to Rockport, stayed in the beach house his family built in 1926, and fished the area waters for the majority of his life. He moved to Rockport in 1986 to fulfill his life-long dream of becoming a fishing guide. He joined Redfish Lodge in 1998 after running a successful guide business for five years. He spends his winters as a quail guide and dog trainer for the Baluarte ranch in South Texas. Joel has earned the title of Black Drum King by successfully fishing the spring spawn every year and putting lodge guests on the biggest fish of their lives. Joel runs a 21-foot Shallowsport with a 150 Mercury.

Johan Coombs was born in Finland in 1984, and his family moved to the U.S. and settled in San Antonio in 1985. He graduated from Taft High School in San Antonio in 2002, and joined the lodge in 2003. He worked at the lodge for the last five years while he earned his BS in marine ecology from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. Johan will put his degree to work locating fish for Redfish Lodge guests..

Captain Ryan Mclaughlin joined Red Fish Lodge in the spring of 2010. Although Ryan spent most of his fishing career offshore his true passion is bay fishing. Even before moving to the coastal region in 2002 Capt. Ryan was visiting the coast on regular fishing trips with his family, boy scouts, and eventually on his own. When we opened our doors to him in 2010 he gladly stepped through to pursue his dream. He took on a brief hosting position before becoming a full time guide in September 2010. Capt. Ryan runs a 23-foot Haynie Bigfoot with a 200 Mercury motor..