August M. Crocker, Firearms General Manager
August has been an avid hunter and shotgun competitor since age 12. He grew up in South Texas and was fortunate to have a Dad that took him hunting and always supported his competing in clays. Everything he has ever won he owes to his father. Mowing yards put August into his first high grade gun (Win Pigeon Grade) at age 13 and he has been a lover of fine guns ever since. As a former rep and shooter for Eley & Kemen, August got to travel here and abroad chasing the things he had dreamed of doing. Here at home some of his favorite wins have included Capitol City Champ, High Hammer Champ at World Vintagers and making Master Class at the 04 Texas Challenge Series. As the General Manager of Firearms for Sportsman’s Finest, August handles the Selection, Fitting and Service of fine guns particular to a customer's needs, but also something they will enjoy every time they see it.
 

Stacy Lynn, Operations & Fly Fishing General Manager

The sport of Fly Fishing has been central in Stacy’s life since 1995.  Stacy has worked in Central Texas’ best fly shops since that time and is an avid saltwater and freshwater angler.  She is a Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructor and a graduate of Joan Wulff’s Fly Fishing Instructor’s School.  She has been an active member of the Guadalupe River Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Alamo Fly Fishers, Austin Fly Fishers, Rockport Fly Fishers and Texas Women Fly Fishers.  She is a Lead Instructor for Texas’ Casting for Recovery program – a weekend fly fishing retreat for women surviving breast cancer.  She has been a feature speaker and demonstrator at numerous events including The Fly Fishing Show, The Shallow Water Show, Fly Fish Texas, Flat Out Fishing!, TPWD Expo and several FFF Conclaves. Her favorite Fly Fishing endeavor to date is sight casting in saltwater, most specifically to Redfish, and her instruction specialty is helping fly casters prepare for the challenging and exciting Saltwater Fly Fishing experience.

Andy Fisher, Firearms Department
Andy Fisher joined the Sportsman's Finest team in the Summer of 2010 and comes to us as a well-rounded outdoorsman.  One of his earliest memories include a two week backpacking trip through the San Juan Wilderness of Colorado at age 8,  flyfishing in the hill country, coastal fishing, and family reunions at Devil's River in south Texas. His father, Rick and grandfather, Charles, shared his deep love of hunting and fishing with their sons, and Andy's adult life has been enriched by a love for the outdoors.  He's an avid participant in the annual dove, quail, pheasant, and deer hunts, and he loves fishing in a wide variety of formats from hill country fly fishing  to coastal flat fishing.  Andy thinks fishing is fun but prefers "catching!"  You can apply that to about any kind of hunt!
 

Ed Johnson, Firearms Department

Ed is a native Austinite and graduated from Austin High and the University of Texas at Austin.  He has been an avid hunter and shooter most of his life.  Ed enjoys shooting sporting clays and trap skeet.  He loves to fish at the Gulf Coast of Texas.  Ed has been employed in the shooting industry for the last three and a half years, after retiring from the local utility.

Greg Welander, Fly Fishing Department

Greg started fishing as soon as he was able to hold a fishing pole.  He has been Fly-Fishing exclusively since 1998.  He has fished everything from Stripers on the Red River below Lake Texoma to Redfish of the Lower Laguna Madre.   Hill Country Streams and Lakes are his local passion in between trips to the Texas Coast for Redfish.  Additionally, he has fished for Rainbow Trout on the Guadalupe River below the Canyon Dam tailrace since 1976.  In 2004, Greg took up the art of Fly Tying.  All of the flies that he has in his box are flies that he has tied. “It is very exciting to catch fish on a fly that came from my own vise.”  Greg has tied with some of the greats such as Bob Clouser, Colby “Pops” Sorrells and Kyle Hand to name just a few.  He routinely lead fly tying sessions for the Fort Worth Fly Fishers and at the Backwoods store in Fort Worth, where he tied weekly until moving to Austin in early 2009.  In June 2010, Greg was elected President of the San Gabriel Fly Fishers located in Georgetown, TX and in August 2010, Greg joined Sportsman’s Finest and now leads the very popular “Tuesday Night Fly Tying Class” held at the store.

Emily Glover, Cashier/Administrative Assistant
Emily graduated from Texas State University with a degree in English and has spent the last few years working in retail in San Marcos,Tx. When Emily isn't working she is exploring all the opportunities that Austin has to offer. Emily grew up in Corpus Christi,Tx amid a family of avid fishermen and hunters who are all thrilled by her new career path. 
 

Ryan Watters, Fishing Department
Ryan grew up in Fort Worth, TX and has been fishing for as long as he can remember.  He was lucky enough to have a dad who started him out as soon as he could hold a rod and even luckier to have a dad who put a fly rod in his hand at age 10.  He grew up fishing the rivers of Northern New Mexico during summer vacations and numerous streams and lakes around the DFW area.  Since that time he has had the opportunity to fish many different species in locations all across the country including, stripers off Cape Cod and the Red River below Denison Dam, salmon and steelhead in Washington and Alaska, trout in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Texas, and redfish on the Texas coast.  Ryan has volunteered at Fly Fish Texas and was also a member of the Fort Worth Fly Fishers, serving as Vice President/Speaker Coordinator in 2006/2007.  Ryan loves fishing smaller streams and stock ponds for bass and sunfish and is also an avid photographer.
 

Sheila Anderson, Fishing Department

Sheila has been bringing the joy of fishing and the enthusiasm of teaching fly fishing to the sport since 2000.  She is an active member and past president of the Texas Women Fly Fishers, she is also a member of the Federation of Fly Fishers with her sights set on becoming a Certified Casting Instructor.  One of Sheila’s favorite aspects of fly fishing is fulfilling her role as a casting instructor and staff member of the Casting for Recovery Texas program.  She has been active in the CFR program for the past six years, and enjoys working with past participants as they continue to fly fish after their introduction to the sport at the retreats.  In addition to fly fishing, she also loves to tie flies – often donating her flies for sale to TWFF members and other clubs to raise funds for Casting for Recovery.  Mentored by Kyle Hand, her specialty is tying the classic wet flies as works of art.  Sheila’s knowledge of fly fishing and fly tying, and her business experience and education are a welcome addition to the Sportsman’s Finest team.

Stephanie Carter, Bookkeeping
Growing up on a 1000 acre ranch highly influenced Stephanie's outdoor activity. She enjoys both hunting and fishing. She harvested her first deer when she was about 11 years old. Her Dad took her fishing when she was little with one of those Snoopy reels. Stephanie has been fortunate enough to experience a wide range of fishing and hunting destinations and has long since abandoned her Snoopy reel and now favors spending time shooting machine guns. "From fishing Blue Marlin in Hawaii to hunting in Africa", she says, "if you are ever given the opportunity to explore a new destination don't pass it up!"
 

Johann Jonak, Firearms Sales

Johann recently moved to the Austin area from Arkansas where he was actively involved in the NRA as a Pistol Instructor and an avid sport shooter in IDPA pistol competition. He has won several regional tournaments, (3) Back to back first place wins at Mountain Valley for central Arkansas and back to back 3^rd place in the Arkansas State Championships. Teaching gun safety and introducing new shooters is what he does best, from choosing the right gun and caliber, to how to safely handle and store your gun. If you have any questions on choosing the right handgun, or interested in IDPA, just ask.

 

Garrett Martin, Firearms Sales

Garrett “Waterloo” Martin, joined the Firearms Dept. in August, 2011.   Garrett’s passion is in Cowboy Action shooting where he  started shooting competitively at age 16.  He has had a phenomenal career since, including 1st, 2nd,  & 3rd place finishes at the 2009 & 2010 Texas State Championship’s in Long Range Rifle, Fastest Derringer, and Master Gunfighter, and has 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place finishes at both 2011 National & State Championships in 8 different disciplines.  To watch him shoot is incredible: very smooth and very fast.  He has a thorough command of a vast selection of firearms and can guide both novices and pros in choosing the right firearm and accessories.  Garrett is as friendly a gentleman as you will ever meet.

Chuck Banks, Fishing Department

Chuck Banks has been fishing for as long as he can remember, starting with a safety pin and a hot dog on a cane pole. He began fly fishing in 1991 when he took a guided trip on Gore Creek in Vail, CO. chuck has an extensive retail background: he has been in the retail shop business in Austin since 1976.  In 1998, he opened Austin Outfitters Fly Shop in Barton Creek Mall with the idea of introducing fly fishing to those who had never experienced the sport.  Chuck feels fortunate to have fished many of the rivers and streams of the Western U.S. for Trout and Steelhead.  He has also fished for Redfish on the Texas coast, Tarpon and Snook in Florida, and Permit and Bonefish in Belize. His favorite fishing is small stream Trout in remote areas. Chuck’s philosophy is that there are no “bad days” fishing.