FLYCRAFT USA

There's a particular kind of person who, when a timeshare salesman asks about their dream vacation, doesn't say Cancun. They say strapping on a backpack, grabbing a fly rod, and heading into the middle of nowhere. That's Kendall Johnson — the angler behind the YouTube channel Trout Howler — and that answer pretty much sums up his whole approach to life.

We caught up with Kendall on a reservoir during peak damsel hatch, where he was putting the Flycraft Ninja through its paces. The damsels were thick in the water, the tigers were cruising the shallows, and within ten seconds of his fly landing, something ate it. As Kendall put it: "It's poppin'."

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A Fishing Bum, And Proud Of It

Kendall's not shy about who he is. He's got a biology degree he doesn't use, a job at a window manufacturing company that lets him drive around and keep his free time wide open, and a passion that's run his life since right after high school.

"I make enough money to do my passions, and this is my passion," he told us. A lot of his college buddies went on to become physicians. Kendall went a different direction. "I was a bum. I couldn't give up fishing and skiing." After college he deliberately chose work that protected what mattered most to him — time on the water over a bigger paycheck.

His friends with the full family-and-career setup like to tell him the grass is always greener. But the refrain he hears most is, "Dude, it's just awesome you get to do what you want when you want." 

The bug bit him young. His dad took him and his siblings fishing, and of all of them, Kendall caught it the hardest. Then came a turning point: an unofficial gig as a TA for a fly fishing class at BYU. He didn't actually know how to tie flies yet — he fibbed his way in, then ran out and bought a book to learn. "It literally changed my course of life." He went from a dry-fly-only guy to a dedicated nympher who'll tell you straight up that 90% of a trout's diet is subsurface.

What Fly Fishing Teaches You

Ask Kendall what fly fishing has taught him and the first word out of his mouth is patience. "Not every day is a winner." He'll happily tell you about the backpacking trip to a golden trout lake the week before — a brutal hike that produced exactly one eight-inch fish.

That's the honest version of the sport, and it's something his viewers don't always realize. "It's just faster action on your videos," people tell him. Of course it is — he edits out the slow stretches and the busts. "No one wants to see that." (He also edits out the cuss words, for the record. He's gotten plenty of messages thanking him for keeping it family-friendly. "If you know how many cuss words I had to edit out, you would be...")

The Damsel Hatch Game Plan

On this particular reservoir, the whole reason they came was the damsel hatch. Kendall and his buddies were hoping for the big tigers that had been stacked in the shallows the year before. This time the big ones were scarce, but the cutthroats kept things lively.

His rig of choice: midge-tip damsels and a chironomid fished under an indicator, plus a balanced damsel. He ran about half and half. "Usually it's just mostly all damsels this time of year." When the adults aren't bringing fish up top, he switches to the nymph and it's lights out.

And then there's his desert-island bug — the ice cream cone. "High country, low country, whatever — for whatever reason the ice cream cone just is magical." He always carries a dozen.

He did land a tiger off the lower fly — a goofy-looking one, fat for its size, with a messed-up tiny tail. "He looks like he should be huge." First tiger of the day. He'll take it.

On the Ninja: "I Want One"

This was Kendall's second time on the Ninja, and his verdict was immediate: "This is sweet. I want one."

He's a longtime Flycraft guy — he runs a Stealth as his two-person rig and loves it — so he's got the perspective to compare. His take on the Ninja: "It's awesome for one person... super stable standing up. It's fun." If it were just him heading out solo, he said, the Ninja is the boat he'd grab. For more than one person, the Stealth is still the way to go, but for a one-man mission the Ninja checks every box.

What sold him on the details? The storage ("You got plenty of storage"), the cool little gear rack, and the motor mount. "That is A+. I love whoever came up with the idea for this."

His connection to Flycraft goes back to the early days. Just a year or two into fly fishing, the guy at his local shop mentioned that Ben from Flycraft wanted to know if Kendall would try a boat for a video. "Why not?" He and a buddy had an epic trip catching massive rainbows, and he's been hooked since. "It is a literal game changer."

He's run into more than a few anglers on the water who bought a Flycraft after seeing his videos. "Oh dude, I got this because of your videos." 

The Ninja One Man — Built For Exactly This Kind of Mission

The Ninja is the boat designed for the solo angler who wants to go where the crowds don't. At 64 lbs, 9' long, and 49" wide, it fits in a car, on a car, in a truck bed, or in an RV compartment — and one person can load it. Here's what makes it tick:

• Rigid, self-bailing dropped-stitch floor — stable enough to stand and cast all day, and it keeps water out for a dry ride
• Superior shallow draft (just 3–4 inches) — perfect for skinny water and stillwater edges where the damsels hatch
• Built-in anchor system — hold your position over a hatch even in current
• Trolling motor mount — handles up to a 30 lb thrust electric motor
• 360-degree rotating seat on a sturdy aluminum frame
• Room for a kid or a dog, plus an optional aluminum gear rack
• Rated for Class II rapids with a 400 lb capacity and a heavily reinforced bottom

👉 Grab your Ninja One Man here

Get Out and Explore

If there's one thing Kendall wants new anglers to take from his story, it's this: you don't need to buy everything to get started. He's a no-hotspot guy on his channel — he'll point you in the right direction, but the real reward comes from putting in the miles and finding your own water. (Pro tip from Kendall: call your state DNR and ask a biologist. They're usually happy to point you toward a few spots.)

And once you've found that backcountry lake nobody else knows about, there's no better way to fish it than from a boat you carried in on your own. The Ninja was built for exactly that.

Follow Kendall's adventures on his YouTube channel, Trout Howler, and tag us @flycraftusa when you get your Ninja on the water.

Some anglers are drawn to the water for the solitude. Others go for the fish. But for twin sisters Faith and Grace — sixteen years old and already four years into the sport — fly fishing is something else entirely: a shared world and a way of being together that no screen can replicate.

On a recent float down the famous Green River, we followed this family as they launched their Flycraft Guide, rigged their rods, and let the current do the rest. What unfolded was less a fishing trip and more a window into what happens when a sport becomes a family language.

Check it out: