Meet the Captain

Captain Bryan Copenhaver is a United States Coast Guard–licensed captain who grew up fishing and boating on Hamlin Lake. He spent ten years working aboard a variety of charter boats out of Ludington, targeting salmon and trout, experiences that helped shape his lifelong passion for guiding and the outdoors. During this time, Bryan met his junior high sweetheart, Veronica, who would later become his wife. 

After graduating from Ludington High School, Bryan attended Taylor University in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministries. Following college, Bryan and Veronica moved to Kenai, Alaska, where they spent the next 18 years ministering to a local congregation, building their family, and deepening their appreciation of the outdoors. 

While in Alaska, Bryan served as a minister and guided both friends and clients on the Kenai River and out of Homer in pursuit of salmon, trout, and halibut. Winters were spent ice fishing with his three children—Kylie, Cayden, and Chase—targeting northern pike. Drawing on years of experience ice fishing Hamlin Lake, the Copenhaver family became well known on the Kenai Peninsula, remaining undefeated for 15 years in the total-weight division of a local ice fishing tournament with up to 1,000 competitors.