By putting a small propeller on the front of a fly, Chris thought it would give the fly more action and movement, similar to that of a small lure, yet still allow it to be fished as a fly. Chris's first PISTOL PETES were used by his family and friends on weekend fishing trips to the mountain lakes and streams west of Trinidad, Colorado. Their popularity caught on and Chris was soon selling PISTOL
PETES to the local sporting goods stores. A name for his new business was needed and Hi-Country Flies was born. By the mid-1970's, Chris was in high school and his fledgling enterprise had branched up Colorado State Highway 12 (the Scenic Highway of Legends) spreading his local fame into the Stonewall, Cuchara, and La Veta valleys. PISTOL PETES became household names to the fishermen at Monument Lake, North Lake, Bear Lake, and Blue Lake. Chris continued his business selling PISTOL PETES up Highway 12 while attending Trinidad State Junior College and the University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo. All the while, PISTOL PETES continued to grow in popularity around the southern Colorado area. Graduating in 1983 with a degree in outdoor recreation, Chris turned Hi-Country Flies into a regional business selling to sporting goods stores in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. The demand for PISTOL PETE flies soon became too much for Chris to do all the tying himself, so he established a small cottage industry in his hometown of Trinidad, Colorado. The added production enabled him to continue expanding his business. During the fall months of 1985 through 1989, Chris was lured by the call of the North. His love of hunting and fishing took him to Alaska where he worked as a hunting and fishing guide in the Wrangell Mountains and on the Alaska Peninsula. Chris tied flies at the lodge and on the riverbank. PISTOL PETES worked wonderfully well for the salmon, steelhead, arctic char, and rainbow trout that were so plentiful in the remote rivers and streams of Alaska. In 1990, Hi-Country Flies incorporated with Chris becoming president and CEO. That same year, PISTOL PETE flies expanded into the large Wal-Mart and K-Mart chains throughout the western United States. With these large chains and the many other accounts that continued to come aboard, the small cottage industry set up in Trinidad just a few years earlier was not able to keep up with the added demand. A facility in Cuernavaca, Mexico was established for increased production. Today, PISTOL PETES can be found throughout the western United States, Alaska, and Canada. They are also available on a limited basis at some stores in the Midwest, the New England states, and in the South. Requests for PISTOL PETES have come from as far away as Argentina, Hawaii, Italy, Japan, and Scotland. As Hi-Country Flies, Inc. has grown and flourished over the years, Chris still personally travels the original sales route up the Colorado Scenic Highway of Legends from Trinidad to La Veta, CO. Hi-Country Flies, Inc. has had continued success by proving to sell a quality, innovative product that truly works. A terrific product collaborated with a personal business approach, has established Hi-Country Flies, Inc. as the Home of the "PISTOL PETE".
